snare drum tuning

J

jmh8605

New member
i'm not going to pretend like i know anything about drums. I'm a guitarist/bassist that has a cheap ludwig set. I just put new heads on to replace the originals (i know enough to know that those heads suck). I put coated ambassadors batters on toms and snare and an a new snare side hazy ambassador. i will admit i am not a good tuner of drums, but my snare sounds horrible. The toms are fine. It has this very wierd ring and just sound flat and has no attack. Did i just put a bad head combo on the snare or do i just need to keep tuning. i even have moongel on the snare and its still weird. Any help would be appreciated.
 
How tight are the heads?
What snare drum is it?

I normally tune the bottom head pretty tight. About a full step above the top head. You did pick a head that tends to be pretty ringy if it isn't tuned perfectly. Just make sure that all the lugs are at the same tension.
 
Generally, the Ambassador heads are pretty decent. I've used them for many years, though I haven't actually tried the hazy snare bottom head myself, I have read about a number of guys who do like it (hehe... though, I also found an incredibly negative review of them from one customer on zzounds who put the snare head on the batter side and was complaining about the dents his sticks were making on the head! What a genius! ;) )

So chances are, the troubles you are experiencing have more to do with the tuning, or possibly the drum itself.

You may find this link helpful. It's probably the most detailed explanation of drum tuning I've seen.

The Drum Tuning Bible: http://home.earthlink.net/~prof.sound/

Good luck!
Tom
 
the snare is a ludwig 6.5 x 14 wood snare, it's tuned fairly tight. i don't know why because i like a more woody kind of snare with good attack, rather than a piccolo sort of high crack, if you know what i mean. do you have any suggestions for less ringy heads?
 
i'm sure its just that i suck at tuning, i am just trying to convince myself that theres an easy fix. i just need to sit down and learn how to tune properly. thanks alot.
 
Take the batter head that you just removed and cut it form the metal hoop. Measure in about and inch from the edge and cut again. Place on the snare drum. Ring should be very diminished.
 
I prefer the Evans Genera HD Dry heads. They are much easier to keep from ringing. There is nothing wrong with your head, plenty of people have used them, they have been around forever.

You need to make sure that the tension is the same at all the lugs. If it is, and it still rings, loosen one lug a bit.
 
Tuning snare drums took me the longest to learn. Follow the link to Prof Sound's Drum Tuning Bible and read. It takes a while to understand the tuning zones he writes about, but the more you play with the tuning of the batter head and the snare side head the more you will understand. Some of these zones are very fine increases or decreases in tuning, so take your time. Some of my snares have the batter tuned higher than the snare side, while others have the sound I want with the batter tuned lower than the snare side. Don't be afraid to experiement, but do keep notes to help you find certain sounds again.

Too much ring (overtones) can be damped by using drum rings, moon gel, or my favorite: tuning. You will find that as you go through tuning zones you will get major ring, moderate ring, or very little ring. Once you get close to the amount of ring you want, you can detune (slightly)one lug on the batter and that will kill any remaining ring.

My approach to tuning: Seat the heads (see Prof Sound), tune the batter for the tension/rebound/action you want, make sure the lugs are in tune with each other, then tune the snare side head through the different zones until you get the sound you want, again make sure the lugs are in tune with each other, then adjust the snare wire tension and alignmentclick here , finally adjust the overtones a hair with detuning a single lug. I hope this helps.
 
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