I have a snare I LOVE!!! my go to snare, but, I think I could make it even better. Rimshot Backbeats are KILLIN' on it, but I get some extra snare buzz after the initial hit. I like my wires mediumish + or - in either direction that makes the drum sound best. Wires are DW & I cut off 4 from each side making it now a 12 wire snare. I've tried various bottom head tunings, i.e. bed lugs loose vs. tuned even or tighter & not fixed it. I find tighter 4 @ beds best on this drum. I wonder if the wires are the issue? If I tighten up the wires to the point where the buzz goes away, the snares don't react when I play ppp. Is it a 1 or the other situation? Do I expect too much from this drum? Thanks in advance... John I meant to say my snare sounds best with 4 lugs @ beds looser, much looser sounds best..

Hey John!

There has to be some frequency making the snares buzz after the hit- it could be coming from the drum itself or from the surrounding drums responding to the initial hit.  If you've already cut down the snares to 12 and it's still doing it- that's impressive!!!
So here's a couple of suggestions (lemme know how they work!)

-If it's happening at the kit- muffle the individual other drums- both top and bottom heads at a time- while you hit the snare.  If the afterbuzz stops- then the drum you're muffling is obviously the culprit.  change it's tuning one way or the other to stop the harmonic resonance.

-If it's happening away from the kit- there could be a frequency within the drum that's making it happen- detuning the lugs around the bed is a SUPER old school way of killing the buzz- it does work but it's going to affect the dynamic range.  What happens when both the top and bottom heads are tuned exactly the same?

In the end, it could also be that the heads need to be changed- the thin snare side heads can only stretch so far and then they won't come back and although some older snare sides deaden out and that's favourable to some- old heads can also start making some weird frequencies, which could cause some issues.  The snares might need a refresher too- if they've been beaten up for a while!!! (see below for stuff on that)

I've had drums that were kinda one trick ponies before- amazing rimshots but muffled ghosts- an old maple one comes to mind...

Hope this helps!
J!