What are the ranges of tones of my drums?

FattMusiek

FattMusiek

New member
Hey everyone. Been a while since I surfed this site. I was wondering if you all could help me find the ideal tuning "range" of my drumset. It is a Tama Starclassic Birch wood kit. I've tried finding my exact set on musician's friend where I bought them but never had much luck. So, before I can give the exact sizes I must first ask this question: How exactly do I measure my kit? Which comes first in standard measurement, the length or the depth (pretty sure it's length by depth but not 100% sure). When measuring depth, do I consider the rim into the measurement or just where the head is on the drum?

Thank you. If I get some responses I will measure the kit asap.
 
All measures are of JUST the shells...
Generally speaking you´ll find measures in length by depth format, but that´s not always the rule...

BTW, Tuning range depends on many factors... Shells construction, size, heads, style of music you wanna play, etc...

HTH
 
I'd like to know the fundamental tones, but also the approximate tension range when using a tension dial.

Snare: 14 x 5 1/2
High Tom: 10 x 8 1/2
Mid Tom: 12 x 9
Floor Tom: 14 x 10 1/2
Bass Drum" 22 1/2 x 20 1/2

I had a slip of paper with the ranges that came with the Drum Dial brand tension dial but I think I trashed it like a damn fool. Thank you.
 
Also, which would be more suitable to use with my floor tom, the Hi or mid tom? I'm looking for the most tried and true intervals. I would like the most cookie cutter tones possible instead of thinking outside the box and it being perceived as bad.
 
Fattmusiek,

Attempts to use some standard mathmatical formula to find the "ideal tuning range" simply do not work. I have spent waaaay too many hours and money on books, drum dials, etc. I have tried to tune to specific melodic notes (3rds, 4ths, etc). I have tried to tune to the key of a given song (when recording drums). I even took all the hardware off of one kit so I could hit the sheel to determine the "ideal tone" of just the shell.

The fact is, drums are not be definition a melodic instruments and do not tune to some specific pitch. Each drum does have a tuning range in which each drum sounds best, with nice tone and good resonance - however, that is not determined by a formula, it is determined by your ear!!!

Make sure each drum head is in tune with itself (relatively even tension at each tuning lug). Trust your ears to tell you when a drum sounds good. Once each drum sounds good by itself, you can then use the overall tuning range to tweak each drum so all the drums sound good together (this is where attempts to tune each drum a 3rd, 4th or 5th apart has some practical application.

For what it's worth - I've played drums for over 40 years and have owned about a dozen kits. I also worked in a drum shop for several years. I've had opportunity to read and experiment with various formulas, theories, etc (I do own and use a Drum Dial - to help obtain even tension, not to assure a specific tone).
 
Mikeh said it well, I have never done any calculations or anything to tune my toms. It is all about knowing the sound you want then experimenting with tuning to get what you want. I suggest looking at this website, it is very very detailed, but by far the most informative thing for tuning I have seen.
http://home.earthlink.net/~prof.sound/
 
Gidge said:
Ive enjoyed your helpful posts over the years...bought a few mics unheard based on your rec...but that....that....

that was just the single most helpful piece of information Ive EVER read on the interwebs.....
Click to expand...
Keep in mind that the above tuning is for heavy metal tracks, AND I'll add reverb on the Snare and all the Toms.
 
The convention is to list depth x diameter, or diameter alone. If it's a Starclassic Birch (or, more likely, Performers, which have been birch since '99), the tom sizes are probably 10-12-14 [edit: the standard depth is the "Accell" size: about 8x10, 9x12, 11x14 (mounted floor tom)]. They should have a wide tuning range; mine do.

Tune the floor first. Just put the head on (or loosen the lugs all the way) and tighten the lugs a few turns at a time, in a crosswise fashion, until finger tight. Then with a key, turn each lug 1/4 turn, again, crosswise, until the tom begins to ring properly. I do the batter first, because I tune the reso higher, so the lowest point the batter rings is the limit on the low end of tuning. I tune the reso a fourth higher than the batter (My Dog has Fleas, or the horse race trumpet), and the next higer tom to the same pitch as the lower tom's reso.

This tuning will be as low as you can go, it will be deep and slappy. I tune up a little from this point, to reduce the stick slap, and get a rounder tone. It takes very little to get big differences, maybe 1/8 turn. You could also try tuning the floor like a kick, with the reso significantly lower than the batter. It will thump mightily.
 
Harvey,

I try to read every post I see with your name on it - I think anyone who has been on this site has respect for you - but that post was one of your bests!!! Rarely do I see a post which makes me laugh out loud - but your post achieved that!!!!!
 
The laws of physics do apply to drums. Theoretically speaking, certain formulas and mathematical models should work when applied to drum tuning. However, they rarely seem to do so…at least not very well. However, they do offer general guidelines. Regarding the Tama Performer Series: these are thin shells. As the thickness of a shell decreases, so does the fundamental pitch of the shell. So, the general principle is you’re your drums should sound great at a low tuning. The best way to find the fundamental pitch is to strip the drum of its hardware, hang the shell by a string and hit it with you fist (the fleshy side works better than knuckles!).
Once you isolate the fundamental pitch, write them all down, reassemble the drums and then throw the piece of paper in the trash. I have also spent way too many hours trying to find the correlation b/w a shell’s fundamental and head tension. I’ve tried tuning the head to the pitch, and to every interval (excluding semitones) on the scale. It does not seem to work. So, in this sense I agree with what has been said.
However, drums can be tuned to specific notes. But, before you learn to do that, you should probably start with a more basic goal: learn to get a good sound. The Tuning Bible in Chester’s post is the best single document in the known universe on this topic and should keep you busy for quite some time.
 
Great, informative posts. Man it's nice to visit a forum with no trolls. Though extremely informative, I haven't found the tuning bible THAT helpful to me over the years. I've probably made mortal enemies with that statement (lol). I've found just dinking around with different tunings is the best way, not following step by step. I always mess up somewhere in the directions and get frustrated. I'm sure there are others like me who have gotten so pissed off at the practice of drum thing that you have dented heads by snapping mentally and just whacking the head as hard as you can...at least I hope I'm not the only one!

Anyway, I should have known better than to ask "what is the best way to blah blah blah?". It is always going to depend on too many things. The quest continues. I hope my thread keeps goin'!
 
OK, firstly, there is no set convention when dealing with drum sizes, some countries and manufacturers use diameter x depth, others go the opposite way. This was recently discussed on a drum makers forum and the general consensus was that most people felt that diameter x depth was the more logical approach and before anyone chooses to debate this, please consider that virtually all drum parts suppliers as well as Keller themselves list their shells by diameter.............this is a fixed spec whereas depth is a variable.

Apart from Harvey's gem of a post, Drumzealot has summed it up pretty well, however, one thing that appears to have been missed here is that while the "ideal" shell should have a clear, defined fundimental note, the fact is that this is rarely the case, most shells have a variety of overtones and depending on the shell they may be barely noticable OR they may (and frequently do) overpower the fundimental.

:cool:
 
ausrock said:
...while the "ideal" shell should have a clear, defined fundimental note, the fact is that this is rarely the case, most shells have a variety of overtones and depending on the shell they may be barely noticable OR they may (and frequently do) overpower the fundimental.

:cool:
Click to expand...

That’s true.
Over the years I’ve done the “note test” with most of the drums I have owned (hundreds). I’ve tried to identify any patterns and in regards to what design seems to facilitate a clear tone I have not been able to isolate any obvious pattern. I have developed a theory: thinner shells exhibit more focused tones with less harmonics/overtones. I expected shells made of a single type of material to have better clarity. But some of my less expensive, crap wood shells had much better clarity. Tama Imerialstars and a set of late 70’s Yamaha (Asian mahogany and birch) student model drums were much more focused then Tama Superstars, Starclassics, and Performers, Yamaha Maple Customs and Birch Custom Absolutes, Ohio-vintage Rogers, and vintage Gretsch round badge shells. Keep in mind I’m only talking about the fundamental note with all the hardware removed from the shell. When it came to how the drums performed when assembled the more expensive drums out performed the less expensive.
I’ve concluded that this is due to other factors that do not affect the “note test” like roundness and quality of the edges. A drum with rough edges that is not round may have a clear fundamental note, but sound like crap once assembled.
 
Snare batter vs. resonant head tension

What is considered average when comparing the tension of the batter head and resonant heads of a snare drum? Which is most common among drummers around here, the resonant head being looser, tighter or the same as the batter head?
 
The snare side head should almost always be tighter. I usually have mine a 3rd or 4th tighter. Sometimes I like the sound of the bottom head cranked as far as I can get it if I'm tuning the top head to a really high pitch. If I'm using a lower top pitch I still want the bottom head to have a nice "crack" or "snap".

Reso heads for toms should be a step higher than the batter or the same pitch.
 
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