help tuning!
- Thread starter mm2k5
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Farview
Well-known member
is it a snare drum? you most likely have it tuned too high. try tuning it down. Put your finger in the center of the head and tap at each lug. Listen for the same pitch that the ring is. When you find that, tap the opposite lug and see if it is the same pitch. If it is, tune them both down (a bit) if it isn't, try to get them to match
Farview
Well-known member
The biggest mistake made is tuning the drums too high. The bottom head needs to be tuned higher than the top (just a bit, 2 or 3 semitones). What metal guys have been doing forever is tuning the bottom head to the note you want, and tuning the top head almost slack (don't worry about a wrinkle) Just tight enough that the stick will still bounce off. If you get ring that way, your bottom heads are our of adjustment (the tension is not equal between the lugs)
drummerdude666
immature
obviously if u ask drummers how to tune a kit then ull get a diffrent responce form each. In a big fan of the Vinne Coliuta style of tuning. Fingertight - quter turn on head peg (reso side) (and in star shaped) - then quter turn on each peg (batter head) (again the star) - then i usual hav to do this twice then an 1/8 turn on the reso maybe. But generally in the heads have even tensoin then they will give of an envn pitch - all you hav to do is raise of lower that pitch untill you get the one you want.
I think what you have to understand is that sound works in mysterious ways.
There is a phenomenon in which objects tuned to the same notes will "transmit" to each other.
For example, if you played a C sharp on a piano in one room, the C sharp string in the other piano of another room will also vibrate. Much like 2 cups tied to a string.
In the same aspect, if one or more of your drums are tuned to the same note as your snare, it will fall subject to buzzing or ringing.
This is a common problem among cheaper drumsets and/or drumsets with improper tunning.
There is a phenomenon in which objects tuned to the same notes will "transmit" to each other.
For example, if you played a C sharp on a piano in one room, the C sharp string in the other piano of another room will also vibrate. Much like 2 cups tied to a string.
In the same aspect, if one or more of your drums are tuned to the same note as your snare, it will fall subject to buzzing or ringing.
This is a common problem among cheaper drumsets and/or drumsets with improper tunning.
I think my main problem from the get go was my muffling. My old set i had i had rings on the top, with a paper towel taped under that head, and then another paper towel taped on the inside of the bottom head. lol. I guess I just forgot what the real drums sounded like. 
now i know better. Actually a little ring is nice.. Thanks again
now i know better. Actually a little ring is nice.. Thanks again
drummerdude666
immature
just out of curiosity - what reso head are you using and also what size kit are you using. fusion etc. Im intrested because i had a band in last week who was recourding using an pearl etx fusion with g2 coateds and g1 clear. I just could get a happy osund out of them. Nothing i did worked. So i used the resos as the batter and used the stock reso head as the reso. Then used some moon gel.
Farview said:
Hey Farview, are you saying that when a drum is tuned properly, a little wrinkle is roughly where the tension should be? If so, does that apply to all drums, including the snare? I've been fighting drum sounds since buying a kit for my home studio, but I've been throttling down pretty good on them lugs.
Farview
Well-known member
ez_willis said:
It is one way to do it. It isn't everyones favorite. I don't do this with my snare all that much, it makes it very hard to play.
This technique works very well on kick drums (in almost any situation). It is good on toms if you want the over the top, almost drum machine type sound. (a birch kit helps)
It is hard to tell someone how to tune drums because each drum has its quirks. If you try this on a set of DW toms, it will sound like crap. If you try it on a Pearl Export it will sound great. The bearing edge will determine how forgiving the drums will be to different tuning styles.
To answer your question about the wrinkle, Don't be afraid of the wrinkle if the drum sounds good. I normally have mine tuned just tight enough to not have a wrinkle. And I wouldn't recomend it on snare.
RecordingIdiot
New member
If you try it on a Pearl Export it will sound great....what about pearl forum? is there different tuning techniques for cheaper drums? my toms sound decent but im getting a god awful ring in my snare and floor tom, causing feedback when im mic'ed. any suggestions?
Farview
Well-known member
RecordingIdiot said:
The cheaper drums tend (I'm using a broad brush hear) to have rounded bearing edges. This technique works well with them. DWs and other high priced drums tend to have sharper edges and, at least in the case of the DWs that I have come in contact with, are really only happy when you tune them to the note that they want to be at.
The ring on the floor tom (and I guessing here) is probably because the bottom head is tuned too high. Or it could be that the top head is too high, or both. I need to know what size, what heads, what wood.
What kind of head are you using on the snare? (and how old is it?) I have never been able to make a coated ambasador work (I know its just me) Tune the bottom head up and the top head down, see if that works. With a snare you have to have the lugs at equal tension and tuned well for it not to ring. You also have to be hitting it in the middle.
RecordingIdiot
New member
well the floor tom is 16", and im using a remo ebony pinstripe head, and im not quite sure on the wood. and on my snare im using a coated ambassador, and its about two months old.