Why??? Why??? Why????

eyeslikefire

eyeslikefire

I CAN SMELL EM!
Can't I get our drum set to sound good.

Over the weekend I heard a small 4 piece band playing in a youth rally, their drummer sounded SO freaking good!!! I'm not talking about techniqe, I'm talking about sound!!! Man,... that snare, those toms all sounded so tight and powerful!

To begin with the set was not mic'd so their was nothing between me and the set except air.
Our drums are properly tuned and our drumer maintains them well, then why is it that it sounds like a trash can compared to that bands drums???? Their drums are a set of Yamahas, nothing spectacular and ours is Pearls. (not Exports)

Go easy on me guys I'm not the drummer, and I really don't know jack scnitt about drums but I can't get an answer from our drummer. And I would really like to improve the sound.

ELF
 
well, i think ed (sonusman) will agree with me on this one, a lot of yamaha kits sound really good in the studio. lots of tone and balls in them.

i know that you werent in a studio, but i just thought id say that a lot of the yamaha kits ive worked with do sound excellent when tuned well.

Romesh
 
I have a Yamaha kit in the studio right now and it IS one of the better kits I've had mics around. That being said a lot has to do with the player and the room the drums happen to be in. Also, it's been my experience that 85% of ALL drummers have no idea on how to tune a drum kit.
 
I wouldn't rule out technique.. The slightest changes in technique can make a big difference in sound. Also, you say the drums are "in tune", but perhaps your drummer likes his drums tuned differently than you like to hear them? Also think about head/stick selection.

Scott
 
good sounding drums rely on a number of factors but here's what i'm thinking:
1. yamaha makes some damn fine kits, especially if you're talking about one of their maple kits, however, you can still get a good tone out of a lower end kit by tuning it properly.
2. That resonant head is very important as it's what the audience is getting to hear as opposed to what the drummer is hearing (the batter head, the one he's hitting). Gotta tune those bottom heads right to project well to the audience.
3. How long's it been since he changed the heads on the drums, and what kind of heads is he using?
4. Is he 'muffling' the heads with a bunch of towels and stuff? A lot of guys like to kill the overtones of the drum with tape and stuff and sometimes that's just the stuff that the drum needs to cut through the mix!

5. most importantly, does he accept or reject your feedback that the drums currently sound bad?
 
No offense to your drummer, but as suggested before, he's not tunning them right and/or is not using proper muffling. And his heads might be crap....and his sticks might be crap....and the room might be crap....and the.....well anyway, the point is there are way too many variables involved in properly tunning a drumset to post here. I currently own a Yamaha Birch Custom Absolute kit (pretty much the best kit they make next to the Maple Custom)....and I used to own a Pearl Export kit (pretty much the exact opposite). And with proper heads, tunning, technique, accoustics, I made that cheapo kit sound great. If he's got a better model than the Export, trust me, he's not doing something right....but what that something is, neither me nor anyone else on this board can tell you. Too many variables without a listen.
 
erichenryus said:

4. Is he 'muffling' the heads with a bunch of towels and stuff? A lot of guys like to kill the overtones of the drum with tape and stuff and sometimes that's just the stuff that the drum needs to cut through the mix!
Click to expand...

what i meant to say was, try taking off the tape and muffling devices.

And I agree with Drummerbones, you can still get a good tone out of a crappy kit if you just keep the heads fresh and tune it right.
 
Well, the thing is that after the band played (the one with the great sounding kit) we were up. The sounds from the drums where like night and day,... Man what a difference!!!!!!
So I know it wasn't the room... :(

Upon hearing your replies I can see that you guys are right, he's probably doing something wrong.
Is there somewhere in the net where I can get info on the CORRECT procedure for tuning?? Just so I can compare it to how he is doing it....

If that doesn't work then it's probably his technique, I'll just have to get another drummer then.... (just kidding :D)

Thanks again dudes!!!!

ELF
 
there is a whole website dedicated to drum tuning. i can't remember what it is but it's called the 'drum tuning bible'. way more detail than you probably want to know but basically you might want to just try buying some new heads if they haven't been changed in a while.
 
Here goes...

Okay, you're gonna owe me for this one, but here goes:

First of all, tunning is an art & aquired skill. Not everyone's good at it, even when following the "rules". Having said that:

1. Remove the old drum heads, top and bottom down to the bare shell (with hardware still intact, of course). Take a rubber or padded mallet of some sort while holding the shell as "freely" as possible and strike the shell. It will resonate a tone/pitch. This gives you a good idea of the natural "tune" of this drum and to what tunning it will "sing" the best. This might be overkill in some cases, but I'm covering all the bases.

2. For the batter side, I recommend Remo Pin Stripes. For the bottom, Remo Clear Single-Ply....tastes vary on drum heads. (Do you like Coke or Pepsi?)

3. Place the drum on a carpeted floor and put on the new head by hand-tightening the lugs as far as they'll go. Once they're all "equally" hand tight, start tightening them by doing one, then the one directly across from it (sort of a star pattern). **MAKE EQUAL TURNS ON EACH LUG TO KEEP THE TENTION FAIRLY EQUAL**Once you've got the wrinkles out, put your fist in the middle of the head and push like hell (this breaks the glue & properly seats the head).

4. Repeat the previous tunning process until the drum is close to the desired pitch. With the drum sitting on carpet (silencing the opposing head), you can lightly tap by each lug on the head and hear that lug's relative pitch. The key hear is to find the pitch you're wanting (refer back to the mallet smacking) and get each lug to that pitch. Your drum is now in tune with itself, so to speak.

5. Some people like their bottom heads a little tighter than their top (primarily on snares). I, however, keep my bottom heads a bit looser than the top. Again, personal taste here.

Follow these steps for each drum & any kit worth a damn can sound good. As far as muffling, I use Remo rings (or you can take the old drum heads and cut out the middle leaving a 1" wide circle to lay on top of the drum). Some will say this is way too much muffling, and others use even more. Again, you want the drums to "sing", not go "thud". So don't over do it on the dampening.

Did you get all that? I'm ready for a nap.....
 
seriously though, the drummer will dictate a LOT of the drum sound. drummers who play hard but with good technique will usually get great tones out of the drums. im not a drummer myself but i work with drums and drummers almost daily. some drummers dont hit the things well and they get lousy tone .
 
Holy sh_t!!!!!

You guys ROCK!!!!
Man I never knew the drummers forum was so full of COOL :cool: peep's. I'm gonna start hanging here more often. :)


Thanks so much for all your replies!!!!!


Oh, and bones....
Your checks in the mail my man!;) ;) ;) ;)
 
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