How to make a Joey Sturgis-style SNARE BOMB in Cubase

Nail The Mix Staff

What’s up, producers? You know those moments in a heavy track – the breakdown hits, the tempo drops, and that snare just explodes with an epic, room-shaking verb? That, my friends, is the magic of a well-crafted "snare bomb." Joey Sturgis, the mastermind behind countless killer metal mixes (and co-founder of Nail The Mix), has a go-to technique for this, and today we're diving into how you can create that massive snare bomb sound right in Cubase, even if you don't have a dedicated snare room mic.

We're talking about transforming a standard snare hit into something that sounds like it was recorded in a colossal cave, then compressed to oblivion, all to add serious impact. Let’s get to it.

Why Even Bother with a Snare Bomb?

In heavy music, especially during slower, more impactful sections like breakdowns (think almost half of a halftime groove), a regular snare can sometimes feel a bit… polite. A snare bomb injects a huge sense of space and power into those specific hits. It’s not for every snare in the song, but for those moments you want to go truly epic, it’s an indispensable trick. Joey often uses this in his mixes, like on the Chunk No Captain Chunk tracks, to make those heavy parts hit even harder.

Setting Up Your Snare Bomb Track in Cubase

First things first, we need a dedicated track for our snare bomb effect. You don’t want to mess with your main snare sound; this is all about creating a new, effected layer.

Duplication and Isolation is Key

  1. Duplicate Your Snare Sample Track: Find your main snare sample track in Cubase. Duplicate it. The crucial part here is that you’re keeping all the existing processing (EQ, compression, etc.) from your main snare. You like that core tone, so we’re building on top of it.
  2. Clear the Clutter: On this new duplicated track, select all the audio events and delete them.
  3. Cherry-Pick Your Hits: Go back to your original snare track and identify only the specific snare hits you want to turn into bombs. Usually, these are the ones on the downbeats in slower sections. Copy these selected snare hits.
  4. Paste 'Em Down: Paste these chosen hits onto your newly created (and currently empty) snare bomb track. Double-check that they’ve pasted in the exact same position – timing is everything! In Cubase, ensuring your "snap to events" or similar grid/event locking is on can help maintain precision.

Now you have a separate track with only the snares destined for epicness, complete with your original snare's core sound.

Building the "Room" – Your First Reverb Layer

If you don’t have a stellar snare room mic track already recorded (which, let’s be honest, many of us don’t), you’ll need to learn how to get huge drum room sounds without room mics. This first reverb is all about creating that convincing "snare in a room" vibe.

Enter Cubase Roomworks

For Cubase users, Joey recommends Roomworks, a stock reverb plugin that’s perfectly capable of getting this job done. Add Roomworks as an insert on your new snare bomb track.

Dialing in a Realistic Snare Room Sound

To make a dry snare sound like it's being picked up by a room mic, you need some specific settings:

  • Pre-delay to Zero (0 ms): This is vital. A real room mic captures the sound as it blooms into the space, with the reflections starting almost immediately with the direct sound. A pre-delay would introduce a noticeable gap between the initial hit and the reverb tail, sounding like two separate events. We want one cohesive "roomy" snare.
  • Mix to 100% Wet: Since this is an effects track, we want only the reverberated signal.
  • Open Up the Filters: Don't be shy with the input filters on the reverb. Let the full frequency spectrum of the snare hit the reverb to get a natural sound.
  • Combat the "Underwater" Muffle: Initially, it might sound a bit dark or "underwater." Raise the high-frequency content in the reverb and turn the Dampening parameter all the way down. This should give you a more hi-fi, open room sound.
  • Time and Size: Increase the Reverb Time to make it last longer and play with the Size parameter to simulate a larger space.
  • Add Diffusion: A bit of Diffusion will help smooth out the reverb tails.
  • Loop and Tweak: Put one of your chosen snare hits on a loop. This is the best way to fine-tune. Adjust the Dampening parameters and the Reverb Character until it genuinely sounds like a natural snare room recording. Compare it to your dry snare – it should sound like the same snare, just in a live space.

The "Crush" Factor – Strategic Compression

With our simulated room sound established, it’s time to add some serious attitude. This means compression – and not just a little bit. We’re aiming for a heavily squeezed, almost explosive sound. For more on the basics of compression for mixing rock and metal, see our other tutorials.

Compressor Choice and Placement

You can use pretty much any normal compressor plugin for this. The exact model isn't as important as how you set it. Joey suggests placing this compressor before the second reverb we're about to add (the "cave" effect). However, don't be afraid to experiment! Try it after the second reverb, or even as the very first plugin in the chain, to see what character you prefer.

Obliterating the Snare (In a Good Way)

Prepare for some extreme settings:

  • Attack: Crank it (fast or slow, experiment, but often a slightly slower attack can let the transient poke through before the smackdown).
  • Ratio: Crank it. Think 10:1, 20:1, or even higher.
  • Threshold: Crank it (i.e., pull it way down) so you’re getting a LOT of gain reduction.
  • Release: Crank it (often a fast release works well to bring up the tail, but sync it to the tempo if you can).

The goal is to really crush the dynamics of our "roomy" snare and bring up all that delicious sustain and character.

Creating the "Cave" – The Second Reverb for Epic Space

Now that we have our compressed room snare, it’s time to make it truly gigantic. This calls for another reverb, one that will give us that "cave" or "stadium" level of epicness.

Choosing Your Second Reverb

Joey mentions using a different, often more simplistic reverb plugin for this stage – something that might have some “magic settings” he just loves for this kind of effect. Another approach to get a huge sound in Cubase involves layering in dedicated snare room samples, which can complement this technique. You don’t necessarily need a super-complex reverb here; sometimes simpler tools do the trick perfectly. Insert this second reverb after the compressor (if you followed the primary placement).

The Four Knobs of Power

Once you have these three core elements – Room Reverb (Roomworks), Compressor, and Cave Reverb – Joey points out that you can generally dial in your perfect snare bomb by focusing on just a few key parameters:

  1. Compressor Threshold: Adjust how much squeeze you’re applying.
  2. Roomworks (Reverb 1) Time & Size: Control the characteristics of your initial "room" sound.
  3. Cave Reverb (Reverb 2) Time & Pre-delay: Shape the vastness of the final effect. (A little pre-delay on this second reverb can sometimes add clarity by separating it slightly from the initial compressed room sound).

Play around with these parameters while listening to your looped snare hit until you achieve that perfect, powerful "bomb" you're after.

Final Touches: Boosting and Polishing

We're almost there. The snare bomb should be sounding pretty huge, but a couple more steps will make it sit perfectly in the mix.

Making it Loud with a Clipper

To ensure your snare bomb is “loud and proud” and really cuts through, especially when it hits your drum bus compressor, add a clipper plugin at the end of your snare bomb track’s plugin chain. Understanding the difference between limiting vs. clipping can help you choose the right tool for maximum loudness. Bring up the volume to an insane level. The clipper will shave off the peaks, allowing you to achieve a much higher perceived loudness without harsh digital distortion.

EQ Cleanup

All this intense processing – multiple reverbs, heavy compression, and clipping – will inevitably bring up some undesirable frequencies or resonances. This is where you can apply surgical EQ, similar to the process used to remove unwanted ring from a snare.

Add an EQ plugin after the clipper. Listen carefully for any muddy low-mids, boxiness, or harsh, "raspy" high-end frequencies. Use surgical cuts (narrow Q) to notch these out. A gentle high-pass filter can also clean up unnecessary sub-bass rumble. The goal is to make the bomb sound powerful, not painful.

The Snare Bomb Unleashed (And How to Learn More)

And there you have it! By duplicating your snare, simulating a room with Cubase Roomworks, crushing it with compression, drenching it in another massive reverb, and then polishing with a clipper and EQ, you’ve created a Joey Sturgis-style snare bomb. When those specific snare hits land in your track, they’ll have an undeniable impact.

This kind of detailed sound design and effects wizardry is just a taste of what goes into a professional metal mix. If you’re serious about taking your productions to the next level, imagine learning these techniques directly from the pros who mix your favorite albums. At Nail The Mix, you get exactly that – access to multitracks from massive bands and in-depth mixing sessions with world-class producers like Joey Sturgis, showing you every step of their process.

Want to go beyond presets and truly understand how to craft signature sounds for every instrument in your metal mix? Dive deeper with our comprehensive course, Unlock Your Sound: Mixing Modern Metal Beyond Presets. Give this snare bomb technique a try, have fun with it, and hear the difference it can make in your heavy tracks! You can explore more tutorials and get the tools used by pros at Nail The Mix.