Tuning????

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drummer_phobia

New member
Hey all!

Ok, no laughing, but i need some help understanding how to tune my drum kit!
What are the best ways of tuning your kit up? How do you get the sound you want?

Im completly hopeless!! :o :o

Thanks!
 
Sorry didn't read the link......

I prefer to tune by ear.I know all the steps but If I have a drum that doesn't sound right then...
I work on it until it does. ;)
 
Don't be afraid to experiment a little with tuning the heads tighter/looser. If you get the sound you want, than the experiment worked, if not, just go by the book. My drum teacher gave me a quick how-to on tuning but I learned it mostly by experimenting to get the sound I wanted.

I've found that seating the drumhead (check the link above, it's great) really helps make it easier to tune. Could be just me though lol.
 
Ever had a head pull what? Did you break it? When you are seating it, you will hear cracking noises, this is normal (and necessary) If you broke it, you are WAY to tight.
 
I usally tighten the bottom heads on the rack toms really tight and the bottom heads on the floor toms tighter than the batter heads. Then tune the batter heads to the desired pitch. This has worked for me. The tighter bottom heads on the smaller drums makes them punchier. Others might disagree but this works and sounds good. As for the bass drum, I tighten both heads to about the same pitch. I hate wrinkles in any drum head. The snare, I tighten the bottom head tighter than the batter head but not too much. Again, some people say that you have to go by a certain book but that's not always the case. Trust your ears. Record it, then listen to it and see how it sounds, or if you have a friend there have them play your kit and you stand 5 to 6 feet in front of it and listen to it. I use Ambassadors on the bottom and two ply heads on the top (ie Emperors, Pinstripes). I prefer the Coated Emperors myself. Good luck.
 
Tuning the bottom heads really tight works very well with coated emporers as the top head. IMO it sounds like crap when using pinstripes. The head combination will also determine which tuning method will work the best.
Thicker heads that are really tight will have a lower pitch than thinner heads that are just as tight. There really are a lot of variables. It will take a lot of messing around with a lot of different kits and a lot of different heads before you get really good at tuning drums. I've been doing this for a long time and every once in a while someone will come in with a new combination of heads and shells that gives me trouble.
 
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