Floor tom tuning problem

BroKen_H

BroKen_H

Re-member
I have a 5 pc Pearl set at the church. I decided a couple of weeks ago that I didn't like the drop between the second and floor toms. So I tuned down the top head about one interval (full step). I expected it to ring less and have that nice drop "growl" you get from detuning the top head, but it just made it sound clunky and nasty. The bottom head is still in tune with itself. Should I have dropped the bottom head instead or have I made the interval between top and bottom too much by going a full step deeper (it was already tuned about a minor third apart, leaving them about a 4th apart now)? Is it possible that one or the other heads is not seated correctly? I've been playing this set for about a year and they have not had new heads. Maybe new heads would bring the sound back, but it was odd that detuning made it sound that bad...
 
Could be because they're old heads. One of the issues with old heads is that their tuning range greatly diminishes.

I generally have my bottom heads tuned roughly a third higher than the batter head for rock tunings. Also head choice. If you want a good deep growl, get a nice 2-ply head like an Emperor. LOVE those on toms. What heads are on there now?
 
Higher on the bottom IS the right answer, then? These are a Pearl Mesh set that I put on when I started playing drums (instead of keys) at church, actually 2 1/2 years ago now. Probably well overdue for a change.
 
There is no right answer. Experiment! It depends on the drum, the heads, and the sound you are going for.
A lot of guys around me tune their resonant heads as low as possible and the top heads around a 4th above that. It is a very dark, vintage, growly sound.
 
JG96 said:
There is no right answer. Experiment! It depends on the drum, the heads, and the sound you are going for.
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^THIS^ is very true.

I have had many drum kits and they all are different. The floor tom I have now, needs no dampening and just sounds great. Batter and reso head tuned relatively equal. Others I have had to fight with to get close.
 
Also If I'm reading correctly I think you said that these heads are mesh? You are definitely going to want to change that. G2s/emperors on top and g1s/ambassadors on the bottom are pretty fool proof.
 
jimmys69 said:
I have had many drum kits and they all are different. The floor tom I have now, needs no dampening and just sounds great. Batter and reso head tuned relatively equal. Others I have had to fight with to get close.
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Yes, I learned that the more I separate the bottom head the less it rings. I have 0 dampening on my drums at present and the ring is barely noticeable in live performance. You can hear it when I practice, but not really noticeably unless i'm just hitting to hear the sound of the drum. With the cymbals and mix of drums, it sounds really good! Thanks all for the replies. Are mesh heads really that bad? I bought them because the guy at GC said they were better for quiet play i.e. jazz and in a small church that sounded good. I don't want to invest in a sound barrier just yet @ $700, but maybe when we get a bigger church (coming this fall!) we'll put in an iso booth...that would be great! Whoa! way off topic.
So are mesh heads bad for tuning? I haven't had any problems with them until I tried to drop the tuning after 2 1/2 years. I was assuming the failure to sound good was because of age, not type.
 
BroKen_H said:
I have a 5 pc Pearl set at the church. I decided a couple of weeks ago that I didn't like the drop between the second and floor toms. So I tuned down the top head about one interval (full step). I expected it to ring less and have that nice drop "growl" you get from detuning the top head, but it just made it sound clunky and nasty. The bottom head is still in tune with itself. Should I have dropped the bottom head instead or have I made the interval between top and bottom too much by going a full step deeper (it was already tuned about a minor third apart, leaving them about a 4th apart now)? Is it possible that one or the other heads is not seated correctly? I've been playing this set for about a year and they have not had new heads. Maybe new heads would bring the sound back, but it was odd that detuning made it sound that bad...
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You're forcing the drum to do something it doesn't want to do. That's why it sounds bad. And get rid of those sorry mesh heads. I would suggest you replace all the heads, and just tune each drum so it sounds best for itself. Forget intervals or tuning to a pitch. That stuff really only works well with very high quality shells with very good hoops and bearing edges. Just tune each drum to sound it's best and let the intervals fall where they may.
 
Moon gel is really only needed for recording, I see no reason to use it for live or rehearsal application.

Also, while I did suggest that I personally tune to intervals, its all really rough. Don't even worry about tuning to a note or anything like that. Tuning to notes only work with single headed drums.
 
Seafroggys said:
Moon gel is really only needed for recording, I see no reason to use it for live or rehearsal application.

Also, while I did suggest that I personally tune to intervals, its all really rough. Don't even worry about tuning to a note or anything like that. Tuning to notes only work with single headed drums.
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Moon gel for recording only? I couldn't disagree more!! That is when I would be less likely to use it. It has been the case for me that at live gigs during line check my one of my perfectly tuned drums goes whacko, I don't have time to fuck with it and even though it bugs the shit out of me, get it close and put some moon gel on it and get on with it.
 
The only reason why that would happen is if the head is crappy or if the lugs are crappy.

One of my snares detunes a bit on the lugs where I do rimshots (old 70's Pearl, so not great to begin with) but its never been an issue in a gig. If I tune right before going on, then I'm good for the rest of the night.
 
Seafroggys said:
The only reason why that would happen is if the head is crappy or if the lugs are crappy.

One of my snares detunes a bit on the lugs where I do rimshots (old 70's Pearl, so not great to begin with) but its never been an issue in a gig. If I tune right before going on, then I'm good for the rest of the night.
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Mine's the same way. Supraphonic, not a crappy snare. I just whack the shit out of it. It happens.
 
Yeah all snares do it over time. I have a nice modern brass snare that will eventually detune on that end a noticeable amount, but it takes hours and hours of playing for that to happen. Some just do it faster than others. But yeah, usually the worst snares will hold up for a 45 minute set easily.
 
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