Getting your snare to pop?

[jane]

We wouldn't want to hear the whole track dude. We all know the project guidelines and general rules. If you are uncomfortable sharing the song for various reasons that's cool.

BTW if you are still having trouble give these two vids a go:

You might not have the plugs, but they should give you a general idea. They are techniques that have been used for decades.

Also if your snare is in the same frequency range and stereo position as other elements of your mix some slight side-chaining could go a long way. Side-chaining doesn't always mean pumping can just be some slight ducking.

Vid for creative side chain uses:

I don't wanna give me myself even more snare neurosis than I have already You know when you get to that point and you don't even know what sound or timbre you're after anymore? Last night I got it to be like a trash can lid. I love trash can lids as much as anyone but how did I even get here.

BTW. Killer vids. Thanks.

[antiPLUR]

With regards to the limiter on the snare I would have to recommend against it. It is likely that you will be limiting the master of your mix and that will squash the transient as it is. In addition I do some waveshaping to my snares and this also can affect the transients. Compress aggressively if you must but save the limiting for the end. Also, I would recommend against adding heavy compression or limiting to the drum bus as you can get ducking etc.

These things work for me so I do them. If you can find a better method that yields better results for you then by all means do it. Somebody mentioned parallel compression and I would highly recommend looking into that as well.