Tuning My Drums

[avieth]

I just picked up a used 5-piece set, no cymbals but I've got a hi-hat and ride with the hardware. Anyways, I knew these drums weren't going to be tuned and sound great right when I set them up but I thought I'd try tuning them myself. The snare and all three toms have remo ambassadors on the tops. The bottom is seemingly no-name or factory.

First off I threw a pillow in the kick drum because I don't like a resonating bass sound, I want it to be more of a pulse. Then I set all the drums up and decided to check out the drum tuning bible, easily found by googling.

Attempting to tune my drums is driving me insane. I realize I can tune them however I like, but each of my drums sound terrible. First of all, the snare. Not having touched it, it sounded too weak, and after hitting it, the sound sticks around for a few seconds and slowly fades away in a painful way. I tried tightening and loosening both heads but nothing helped.

The toms are all pretty much the same as the snare, they leave an awful resonating sound. My band is kind of experimental but I'm going for a rock-ish sound.

 

[ez_willis]

If the heads aren't brand new, you're fighting a losing battle if you don't know how to tune them already.

 

[PhilGood]

We need more description.

What condition are the heads? What wood are the drums made of? What are the bearing edges like? What heads are you using? What's the condition of the snare strainer and snare bed?

Quite often we want to compare how the raw drums sound vs. what we hear on a CD. If I set up my drums with new heads and tune them properly, they sound raw, loud, and uncontrollable. But if I put the right mics on the kit, in the right placement, and record them, the sound is exactly what I hear on my favorite CD or album. If I mute the hell out of them, then they sound like cardboard boxes! We all want that nice round tone we hear on records, but did you know that the signal chain is how to get that sound, not how we mute the drums and listen with our ears?

Mics don't work like ears! ...Period!

Try and give us a more detailed description of what the sound is like. If we have a better understanding of the problems in sound you are having, the better we can help you. Describe the flaws, tone and ring etc.

Maybe post an example.

Personally, I hate pillows in the kick unless I am recording a country sound. For rock with a lot of slap and big bottom I prefer to put a gallon paint can in the middle of the kick on a towel while using felt beaters.

 

[avieth]

I got the kick and snare to sound pretty good Took me a few hours though.

As for the toms, they need serious help. I think they're made of maple, but I'm no wood expert. The wood is yellowish, and it's in great condition. I removed the heads and rims. They must have been on there for a while because some tiny wood shavings chipped off and were trapped under them, no damage to the shell though.

The heads don't look too beat up. They have obviously been hit a lot, but there are no serious indentations. They are all Remo weather-kings, even on the bottom of the toms, not the snare though. I tightened all the heads back up again. I started on the floor tom and tightened until it sounded deep enough. Then I got my tuner and it rung an A. So I decided I'd tune the bottom head to a G, one step below. I did that and set the tom up. It didn't sound too bad when I first hit it, but the sound rings for a couple seconds afterwards and it sounds awful.

Same story for the other two toms, that awful resonating (which isn't the room acoustics), and it happens a little bit on the snare and bass too, but it's not nearly as bad. Also, if I hit the bass or tom it vibrates the skins on all the toms. Is this because they aren't tight enough?

 

[RezN8]

I got the kick and snare to sound pretty good Took me a few hours though.

As for the toms, they need serious help. I think they're made of maple, but I'm no wood expert. The wood is yellowish, and it's in great condition. I removed the heads and rims. They must have been on there for a while because some tiny wood shavings chipped off and were trapped under them, no damage to the shell though.

The heads don't look too beat up. They have obviously been hit a lot, but there are no serious indentations. They are all Remo weather-kings, even on the bottom of the toms, not the snare though. I tightened all the heads back up again. I started on the floor tom and tightened until it sounded deep enough. Then I got my tuner and it rung an A. So I decided I'd tune the bottom head to a G, one step below. I did that and set the tom up. It didn't sound too bad when I first hit it, but the sound rings for a couple seconds afterwards and it sounds awful.

Same story for the other two toms, that awful resonating (which isn't the room acoustics), and it happens a little bit on the snare and bass too, but it's not nearly as bad. Also, if I hit the bass or tom it vibrates the skins on all the toms. Is this because they aren't tight enough?

Sounds like you're off to a great start so far. Think of the drum set as a whole instrument, because every thing resonates. You can control this to a certain degree, but you're better off "fine tuning" the kit to resonate together.

It does sound like it's time to change all the heads. If you've been using the tuning bible as reference to seat the heads and tune the lugs evenly, then the bottom heads probably sound "awful" because they are shot.

There are heads on the market which have sound control built in, so research those. For the kick, I've had great success with the Acquarian Superkick packs (front and back heads and a beater pad all in one package). The toms are more of a choice thing, but I'd still suggests single ply heads on the bottom (resonate side).

There are products like zero rings and moon gel to help control some of the ringing, but start with new heads and proper tuning first. The ol skool way was to use tape, paper towels or gauze, wallets etc. But don't kill your tone!!!

If it is a maple kit you've got a good kit. Maple kits are designed to resonate. Any idea what brand you have? Can you maybe post a pic of the set?

Also, if I hit the bass or tom it vibrates the skins on all the toms. Is this because they aren't tight enough?

If the bottom heads sounds "papery" when you tap them with your finger, then the heads are too loose.

 

[avieth]

It's a CB kit.

I'm getting so frustrated. I'm planning on going out and buying new hi-hats and some skins next weekend, but for now I'd like to at least try and get this thing to sound decent since I've got a rehearsal on Saturday.

I'll give you a run-down of my kit:

Bass Drum: Felt beater. Seemingly no-name heads. I have it sounding decent. One pillow inside touching both heads.

Snare: Remo Weatherking Coated Ambassador batter head and factory resonant head. I have it sounding great, it's got great attack and a quick decay, no unwanted overtones or resonance. Kick drum sets off snares, and it's stand interferes with the snares.

Floor Tom: Remo Weatherking Coated Ambassador batter head and Remo Diplomat resonant head. After hours of trial and error tuning following the Bible the best I get is a half-decent (not deep enough) sound with painful echo coming from the batter head. It sticks around for about three or four seconds. The kick drum sets off both heads no matter how high or low they are tuned.

Mid and High Toms: Same heads as the floor tom. Same problem as the floor tom.

I want the toms to sound deep and warm, and not echo. I have no clue what to do other than ask for some professional help.

 

[RezN8]

Just to get you through the rehearsal this weekend, try taping a small piece of folded paper towel to the toms batter heads near the edge of the drum. The smaller the drum, the less you'll need. That will control the batter head ringing you describe.

I think you'll find that once the whole band starts playing, it will mask a lot of the ringing you're hearing.

The snare basket should be adjustable, so look for a way to seat it in the basket so it doesn't interfere with the snare strands. Maybe even need rotate the drum.

I don't remember CB ever making a maple kit. I could be wrong. I though they just made entry level kits so don't expect miracles, just a bit more control.

When you go to the store next weekend, bring one of the toms with you and ask if you can try out some zero rings and/or moongel. Also sounds to me like you would favor two-ply clear heads instead of coated single ply.

 

[emergencyexit]

If the echo you are describing is truly echo, then its not the drums, its the sound of the drums in the room. Meaning its really the room. If your looking to controll some of that get some owns corning and study up on acoustics to find out where best to put it. Blankets and pillows will even help with the echo, just not with the bass frequencies.

As for the toms, I used to find the same sort of problem with the crappy $50 used kit I bought from some kids basement. I even find it a lot in my friends premier set. Once I got the Tama rockstar I have, everything sounds deep, with no weird ring, even if the tom heads aren't tuned in a desirable way. When you say that the weird ringing is coming from the batter head, do you mean that when you put the drum down on carpet (so that the reso is muted) and tap the batter with a stick, it resonates with an irritating ring? Thats probably the first check I'd do to make sure its actually the batter. I have ambassadors as my resos and when I tune them high I often start to hear a weird ringing too. So I tune them lower, problem solved. Actually recently I've been tuning them below their lowest producing pitch to get that fat sound. It works great! Either way, I don't suggest muffling them. I did it for years, and it just made me have to hit the drum harder to hear it when playing with my band, which ultimatly broke holes in the batters, and pushed them out of tune constantly (yeah its a metal band so everything is louder).

Good luck to you. We all know that tuning drums is a huge pain at first, but I think you'll start to find some tricks that might help you get the tone you want with any drum.

Ben

 

[ImagoStudios]

Drum Dial!!!!

I just discovered this thing today...The Drum Dial. It's great!!!! I tuned my drums EXACTLY the way I wanted in 20 minutes. Now you have to play with this thing a little to get the sound you want, but once you do you can just write down the setting and tune the drums exactly the same way next time. I love it. It's like 50 bucks or something , but it's totally worth the dough.