Ah, the Pryda Snare - if you’ve spent any time in the world of EDM or big room music, you already know the sound I’m talking about. You hear that driving four-on-the-floor groove, and you just know it’s coming. That momentous, ultra-compressed, reverb-gated, 909 snare hit that’s been prepping for drops and rattling festival speakers for well over a decade now. It's so iconic that it’s practically become the sound of the genre - right up there with the obligatory bass drop.
But let's be real: as legendary as it is, the Pryda Snare is also one of the biggest clichés in electronic music. You can almost set your watch to it in some tracks! Yet, despite its overuse, producers keep coming back to it. Why? Because it just works. There's something about that punchy, reverberating hit that gets crowds going every single time.
In music production circles, we call this infamous sound the Pryda Snare, named after Eric Prydz, the man responsible for popularizing it. In this guide, we're going to do a deep dive into the history of the Pryda Snare, dissect what makes it so special, and, most importantly, show you exactly how to recreate it in your own tracks. Let’s get started!
The Introduction of the Pryda Snare
The story of the Pryda Snare begins back in early 2009 with the release of Eric Prydz's track, "Miami to Atlanta." If you’re an EDM fan, you’ve probably heard this one. It’s still one of his biggest tracks to date.
The track kicks off with what you’d expect from a Pryda tune: a classic 80s groove, some smooth synth melodies, and that signature atmospheric vibe that Prydz is known for. Everything feels familiar, almost like a warm-up lap around a track you’ve raced a thousand times before.
But just after the minute mark, things take a sharp turn. Out of nowhere, Prydz starts dropping these massive snare hits on the four count. With each hit, it’s like he's daring you to ignore it, but you can’t. Why? Because almost everything in the mix feels like it’s sidechained to that snare. The bass ducks, the synths pull back, and the kick almost hides in the shadows, all to let this snare stand front and center.
It’s bold, it’s in your face, and it’s impossible to forget. That snare wasn’t just a percussive element. It became the star of the show, giving "Miami to Atlanta" its unique, almost hypnotic memorability.
So, why did this sample gain such notoriety?
Well, fast forward to 2011, and festival EDM was on a meteoric rise. This new style of electronic dance music was all about massive drops, high-energy builds, and ear-wormy vocal hooks. And with that rise, the Pryda Snare found its way into just about every big room track out there. It became the go-to weapon of choice for producers looking to inject that same explosive energy into their tracks.
However, it wasn’t necessarily that the snare itself was some groundbreaking, never-before-heard sound. In fact, it’s surprisingly easy to recreate (more on that later). The real magic was in how Prydz used it.
The Pryda Snare Spreads Like Wildfire
Once the Pryda Snare hit the scene, it didn’t take long for it to spread like wildfire. Producers quickly realized that this snare was the perfect tool for transitioning into more energetic parts of a track or for signaling those all-important drops.
And with that realization, the Pryda Snare started popping up everywhere.
One of the most recognizable features of the Pryda Snare’s use was the small bit of silence that followed it. This moment of quiet, a sort of sonic vacuum, created a dramatic pause that almost forced the listener to anticipate what came next. It was a technique straight out of the original Prydz track, and it became a defining characteristic in the way the snare was used by others.
Take “Antidote” by Swedish House Mafia and Knife Party, for instance. This track is a masterclass in how to use the Pryda Snare as a marker for the drop. Every four bars or so, the snare crashes in, announcing the high-energy parts of the track like a siren.
Soon enough, the Pryda Snare was appearing in tracks left and right. Nicky Romero’s “Toulouse” and R3hab & Swanky Tunes’ “Sending My Love” are prime examples. By 2013, it was everywhere you could hear big-room music - at festivals, in clubs, and on the radio. It was the sound of the moment, and if you weren’t using it, were you even making big-room music?
W&W, one of the genre's heavyweights, became massive proponents of the Pryda Snare. Tracks like “D# Fat” and “The Code” practically revolved around it. They knew the power of that snare to whip a crowd into a frenzy.
Then came the moment that solidified the Pryda Snare’s place in EDM history. A young Dutch producer by the name of Martin Garrix dropped a little track called “Animals,” and, well, you know the rest.
In what would probably be its most popular use, the Pryda Snare became a staple throughout the song. You can almost set your watch to it - there it is, like clockwork, driving the track forward and building tension every time it hits. “Animals” became an anthem, and the Pryda Snare became its heartbeat.
The Decline of Big Room
As with all things that rise to meteoric heights, the popularity of the Pryda Snare eventually began to spiral into something else - disdain. What was once the secret sauce of big-room EDM started to leave a bad taste in people’s mouths. The genre, which had thrived on its larger-than-life energy and festival-ready hooks, began to feel stale and predictable. And at the center of it all was that now-infamous snare.
In 2013, the Swedish duo Daleria released "Epic Mashleg," a minute-long mashup that cheekily stitched together 15 of the most popular tracks from the Beatport Top 100. The mashup was a not-so-subtle commentary on how trite and formulaic the big room sound had become. As you might have guessed, the Pryda Snare made its obligatory appearance - every few bars, to signal the next section of the song. It was a brilliant, tongue-in-cheek showcase of how a once-iconic sound had turned into the genre's biggest cliché.
This brings us to where we currently stand, looking back at big room EDM through the lens of a single snare sample that was used so relentlessly that it almost became a parody of itself. It’s not the first time a sound has come to define and then overwhelm a genre.
Take the Amen Break, for example - a six-second drum loop from The Winstons’ 1969 track “Amen, Brother,” which went on to become the backbone of countless drum and bass and breakbeat tracks. Or the dubstep wobble bass, which started out as fresh and exciting during its rise in the late 2000s, but as it was pushed to its extremes more and more, it eventually hit a point of absurdity.
But there’s a key difference: while these sounds were sliced, diced, and reimagined in all sorts of creative ways, the Pryda Snare was, more often than not, just copied and pasted with very little variation. It was as if producers were slapping a "big room approved" sticker on their tracks, and moving on to the next festival hitter.
The overuse of the Pryda Snare became so notorious that even BazzFeed couldn’t resist poking fun at it. They ran a satire article with the headline, “ Eric Prydz Sues Over 1000 EDM Artists in World’s Largest Ever Copyright Lawsuit. ” While the lawsuit was fictional, the sentiment wasn’t far off the mark - everyone had borrowed from the Pryda Snare, and it seemed like no one had anything new to say with it.
And so, what was once a defining element of big room EDM became a symbol of its decline. The genre that had once set dancefloors on fire began to lose its spark, and the snare that was at the heart of its biggest moments became a reminder of how quickly innovation can turn into imitation.
With that said, there's still room for this snare sound in electronic music, especially as we start to see more hybridized genres popping up. So for anyone interested, here's a quick tutorial on how it's made.
How to Recreate the Pryda Snare
So, how do we recreate the infamous Pryda Snare? Well, if you’re feeling a bit lazy or just in a hurry, you could take the easy route and rip a sample straight from a popular big-room track. Or, if you’re more of a legal eagle, you could grab one directly from any samples platform. There are countless pre-made Pryda Snares just waiting for you to drag and drop into your DAW.
But if you’re up for a challenge and want to make one from scratch, here’s the easiest way to do it. Trust me, it’s more satisfying, and you’ll end up with a snare that’s uniquely yours. Let’s dive into the steps:
- Start with a 909 Snare Sample : Load up a classic 909 snare sample in your DAW. This is your foundation, as the original Pryda Snare is based on a heavily processed 909 snare. You can find plenty of 909 snares in most drum machines or sample packs.
- Add Reverb: The reverb is what gives the Pryda Snare its cavernous, larger-than-life feel. Use a reverb plugin with a long decay time - around 2 to 3 seconds should do the trick. Make sure to dial in a pre-delay of around 20-30ms to keep the initial snare hit clear and upfront. Adjust the wet/dry mix to taste, but keep it on the wetter side to achieve that iconic reverb-gated sound.
- Apply Heavy Compression : Next, throw on a compressor and really crank it. You want that snare to punch through the mix with authority. Set a slow attack to let the initial hit through and a medium release to let the tail breathe a bit. Adjust the threshold and ratio until the snare feels tight and impactful.
- Gate the Reverb Tail: Here’s where the magic happens. Add a noise gate after the reverb to cut off the tail sharply. This creates that distinct reverb-gated effect where the reverb suddenly stops, giving the snare its punchy, in-your-face character. Adjust the threshold so the gate closes right after the reverb tail you want to keep. You can also resample the snare with the regular reverb and manually chop off the tails.
- Layer It: If the snare still feels a bit thin, don’t be afraid to layer it with another snare or clap. Choose a sound that complements the 909 snare, like a short, snappy clap. Then, blend the layers together to create a fuller, more impactful hit.
The Legacy of the Pryda Snare
After all these years, the Pryda Snare remains one of the most iconic sounds in electronic dance music production. While it might have become a cliché at one point, its impact on the genre is undeniable. I hope that you enjoyed taking some time to explore the details of how this snare was created and used, as it can teach you a lot about sound design and music production!
