Snare beds

so, in my mess of 49 drums shells for 60 bucks I bought a few weeks ago, I got one decent 12" Pearl Export snare. So I put lugz and a decent pearl throw on it, some alright heads and transformed it into a snare drum. I am having a hard time making the snares sit flat on the bottom head, so I investigated snare beds some more and found this helpful article on here-

Choosing the right snare wires
How Your Snare Beds Affect Your Snare Sound
By Not So Modern Drummer’s John Aldridge

When choosing a set of snare wires for your snare drum, it is important to consider the design of your drum as well as the type of sound you want to get from it. One of the most overlooked considerations in selecting the right set of snare wires is a drum’s snare beds. The snare bed is essential n creating a bow in the center of bottom head that increases the amount of contact between the drumhead and the snare wires themselves.

Keep in mind that not all snare beds are created equal. Some are as wide as 8 inches and as deep as a quarter inch, where others are as narrow as an inch and a half or as shallow as 4/1000ths of an inch. A deep, wide snare bed will produce a bow in the head which is fairly consistent over much of the surface. A narrow, shallow bed will create a bow and a snare sound that are less pronounced. However, both types of beds can be very effective in producing attractive snare sounds in a wide variety of applications.

To determine the type of snare bed your drum has, take the bottom head off the drum and place the drum on a flat surface. Put a light source inside the shell so that you can easily see the gap between the shell and the surface. This will allow you to more accurately gauge the width and depth of the snare bed. Once you’ve gotten a measurement of the bed, you can determine what type of snares will give you the sound and action you want.

Start with the basic premise of choosing a set of snares that will best complement the snare beds on your drum. Remember the old adage, “Less is more”. There are few places where this saying applies more accurately than in choosing a set of snare wires.

· To get the brightest, most resonant sound from the drum and the most activity out of the wires, select a set of snares that are about ½ the width of your snare bed, generally 12-16 strands. That way, the part of the head that is most active (the center of the bed) will have the most impact on the sound and provide you with the most snare action (sensitivity and response).

· If you are playing in an environment where you want a lot of snare action, but would prefer a bit shorter decay, choose a set of snares that are slightly wider – approximately 3/4ths the width of the snare bed – usually 16 to 20 strands.

· In a close-miked studio environment, where you might want to get the maximum snare sound but decreased response and decay, try a snare unit that is wide enough to cover the entire snare bed – 20 to 24 strands.

· To further dampen the drum, use the widest set of snares available (assuming the snare bed is wide enough to accommodate them). This will focus the drum’s tone and reduce the length of decay as much as is possible without muffling or choking the drum. However, as the bow of the head decreases towards the edges of the snare bed, the amount of tension on the snares may have to be increased to keep the outer strands from bussing excessively. Generally, this tends to lessen the impact of using wider snares in the first place, but because Puresound snares are designed to be more active than others, the 24-strand model is wide enough to accomplish this effect while avoiding snare wire tension problems.

· In situations where an even drier, tighter, yet still musical sound is required, the off-set wires of an Equalizer model may be the ideal choice.

Then I'll throw in some links

http://www.drumfoundry.com/t-making_a_snare_bed.aspx
This has the formula and picture diagrams of cutting a bed

http://www.drumdojo.com/snare_bed.htm
This has good info about history and why you need them

http://www.dunnett.com/bedprimer.html
A bed primer