hey..i need some help with tuning.

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andoo

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i know this question has been asked billions of times but i just can't get them to sound good, but how what note should i tune them to? i'm kinda new with drums...but i know music well.

i have 2 toms and a floor tom...a 12x9, a 13x9.5 and a 16x16...

i heard that the bottom head should be a third interval of the top head..but i don't know what the top head's note should be.

i'm not sure if i should just do the highest tom an octave higher than the floor tom, and the mid tom a 5th of the floor tom, or what.
i'm also not sure what the root note should be..

thanks for any help. oh...by the way, i'd want a jazzy or a rock sound to them.
 
You're on the right track, and definitely check out the link that tourettes posted.

Here's my suggestion:

Start with your smallest tom. Tune the bottom head to the pitch you want the drum to be, then tune the top head 1 third lower. This will cause the pitch of the drum to kind of dip down into the pitch of the next tom. You can fine tune the top head as much as you need for the amount of pitch bend that occurs. Of course, there's nothing wrong with both heads being the same pitch, you just won't get that effect.

Once you have the smallest tom done, go to the next one & do the same procedure. Tune the drum a fourth down from the top one (think "Here comes the bride" where HERE is your lower drum and COMES THE BRIDE is the smaller one).

Continue down the kit.

There really is no specific note to tune the drums to. Each shell is different & has its own resonant properties. Reading the link above will tell you more about finding the different tuning ranges of each drum and how to recognize what you're looking for.

"Jazzy" or "Rock" tuning can be accomplished using these steps, but there's more involved. For a Jazz tuning I'd use some thinner heads and tune the drums a little higher in pitch. For rock, some nice 2 ply heads (Evans G2 clear / EC2s) can provide more of a punch.

What kind of drums are you
 
So, I figured instead of starting a new thread, I would come here. I've been tuning my toms to equal notes on both the top and bottom heads. I think I am going to try the 3rd up on the bottom thing. But, should I use a major or minor 3rd? Could I use a minor 3rd and get a darker sound? I'm joining a new band and I guess thier sound is like hardcore/dance? (don't ask) and I want kind of a big sound on my toms, like Alex Rodrigez from Saosin. Although I'm sure his toms are bigger than mine (i've got 8,10,12,14,16 I think he only uses like a 14, 16,18 setup)
 
sirslurpee said:
So, I figured instead of starting a new thread, I would come here. I've been tuning my toms to equal notes on both the top and bottom heads. I think I am going to try the 3rd up on the bottom thing. But, should I use a major or minor 3rd? Could I use a minor 3rd and get a darker sound? I'm joining a new band and I guess thier sound is like hardcore/dance? (don't ask) and I want kind of a big sound on my toms, like Alex Rodrigez from Saosin. Although I'm sure his toms are bigger than mine (i've got 8,10,12,14,16 I think he only uses like a 14, 16,18 setup)
Click to expand...

Funny you ask....I use minor 3rd. I used "3rd" in the top post, just for general speaking (unfortunately, many drummers hell.......many players don't know the difference.) I'm not sure you'll get a "darker" tone by using the minor 3rd. If you think about it, all it's doing is changing the amount of pitch bend you'll get after the initial attack of the top head.

I use 8/10/12/14/16 & have a good large sound. I was disappointed with my recording customs at first, 'cause they didn't sound as "big" as my maple's. I tried a lot of different things, but finally I came to 2 solutions.

1. I realized birch just isn't maple (duh!)....once I became comfortable with that, new ideas emerged.

2. Many players stick with a single ply resonant head. After talking with my drum instructor, who's played on the same rec. customs for over 15 years, he told me he recently got his nicest and "largest" tom sound using G2 coateds on top & G2 clears on bottom....hmmmm

My solution.....Evans G2 clears or EC2 on top, with G2 clear resonant. For rock / pop, I'll never go back.

Don't be afraid to tune the drums up a little higher than you are. One mistake I made when going for a bigger sound was I tuned everything really low. My 16" top head was tightened by hand, and then turned 1 full turn on each lug.....lowwwwwwww.......tuning the drums up higher will allow them to sing a little more, and cut through the rest of your band. Remember drums sound different out in front of you than they do from where you sit behind the kit.


My point being, if you can't seem to get the thick full sound that you're looking for, don't be afraid to change the resonant head to a thicker one.
 
sweet thanks.. I really think I'm being sold on evans heads. Especially after the remo not seating right or whatever it's doing on my kick. I do want to try coated heads on the toms but I can't afford them right now. I want to re-head the resonants because i have the pacific heads on the bottoms still but the tops are clear pinstripes. Anyway, thanks for the advice.. I'll see what I can do.
 
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