Drum tuning terms...

[whattaguy]

What's the point of no resonance?

http://www.drumweb.com/profsound.shtml

"12. Once set and cool, with the drum still on the floor, loosen as you tightened with 2 keys in ¼ turn increments just to the point of no resonance."

I tried tuning our church's drum kit last night (they sound much better btw), but was confused at the "point of no resonance". Would anyone care to share with this non-drummer what this sounds like? Thanks.

Also, I got the rack toms sounded pretty nicely, but am having a real difficult time with my floor tom. Any easy fixes? I did the whole seating thing twice, but the drum sounds "ringy". Thanks again.

 

[maddrummer]

I didn't read the whole article but im assuming this step is after you have seated the head. One of the things that I've seen taught a lot is to bring the head to it's lowest tuning note. So after you seat it, bring it all the way down, and to do this you would have to go to a point of no resonance and then bring it up a little. so then you can get it in tune with itself at it's lowest note. (remember you want that note be able to ring clearly.) Then you can slowely bring it up to a good pitch for that drum and get a good ratio between the two heads. good luck.

Is the floor tom ring like higher pitched overtones or is it just the drum itself goes on forever? Try a different balance between the two heads, or loosening just one lug a little below the others. Also try to figure out if it's comming from the top or the bottom head. If you plan on using any kind of dampening, use it as your last resort. Try to get the drum the way you want it naturally, then if you need to dampen anything, start small. Good luck.

 

[whattaguy]

maddrummer,

Thanks for your response! Suprisingly, I understood all that, but still don't get "the point of no resonance." Is it the point when the head is so loose that there's just a "thud"? That's what I'm understanding it to be.

Hmm...I don't know how to exactly describe the floor tom sound. It's kind of an inconsistent overtone...many different sounds going on. When I get it to a half-decent sound, it feels like the lugs are loose. I haven't tried adjusting the resonant head yet...I'll try that.

I got the rack toms to sounding nice without padding of any kind...so I "think" I'm on the right track. Btw, the beater heads are Remo Pin Stripes (that's all I know). For financial reasons, I didn't get new heads, but took off the old ones and reseated them (they were in good shape...no dents or any indentations). Thanks again.