what the hell does this thing really work

  • Thread starter Thread starter Nick The Man
  • Start date Start date
I used to use the Tama drumwatch like this. It's an easy way to get you in the ballpark, but fine tuning is best done the old fashion way. After a while you just develop a feel and don't need it anymore.
 
Tuning Dial

Especially great for high tension heads like the Freefloaters! :)
 
it works in an ideal situation. which is to say, it won't work exactly right anywhere else. it assumes everything is 100% -- your bearing edges, the shell roundness, the consistency of the head, etc etc.

HOWEVER there IS a use for it in nonideal circumstances:

tune your drums by ear.
use the drum dial to see what values are at each lug. write them down.

if you bust a head at a show, tune the head quickly using those values. voila, your head is in tune, assuming the tuning situation hasn't changed (which, if you take care of your drums, it shouldn't).
 
Hell, with that and a Makita (on slow) with a drum key in the end, you'd be golden in that situation!
 
Drum dials are a waste of money. I've got one...it's sitting in a box in my studio somewhere far from the light of day. A prick salesman talked me into one a few years ago...I don't know why I bought it. I've been playing for 17 years, the last 10 professionally. If you know so little about tuning that you need something like a drum dial, the drum dial won't save you. If you know enough about tuning that you can effectively use the dial, you don't need it!!
As was said before, these things only work under optimal conditions. I tried using the dial alone (after several experiments to determine the proper tension of the drum in question) to see how well it worked. I had to tune the drum by ear when I was done anyway! It's like using a guitar tuner, then having to retune the guitar by ear when you're done. Save your dough bro.
 
I was wondering about this myself, mainly because I tuned all my toms today and my ears ache from smacking the things with my fingers while holding them close enough to my ear to hear the subtle changes in pitch as I tweak each lug. Nothing a few hours of rest won't fix, but if I end up doing this often, it seems like if these things actually worked, it would have been nice to avoid the earstrain. :D

Any tips in that area?
 
Obviously, you're going to have to do a little tuning by ear. You can use this to match up pitches between lugs. Also, if you take note what the tension is at when the head is tuned to a note that you really like.. write it down and you'll be able to get all future heads to that note. At least you'll be in the ballpark instead of just guessing.

NOTHING is a perfect, one-stop fix.
 
I don't agree that a Drum Dial is worthless, nor do I think they are a mandatory piece of equipment. I own one and use it alot, but I am not a slave to it and am very capable of tuning by ear.

They can be very useful in working to get even tension, an important ingrediant to assure the best resonance for a drum head/shell. Careful ear tuning can achieve the same thing and in fact even when I use the Dial I may tweak the tuning because my ear tells me to.

If you change heads often it can same time by getting you close to the right tension very quickly.

Where I think the Drum Dial can be very useful is in a live situation. Often at various private affairs, they don't want noise during the dinner, speeches, etc. - a quick check of the Dial can assure the drums should be very close to proper tuning (witout making a sound). Also, I have set up in clubs where the stero is soooo loud I can barely hear the drums to tune (why are the loudest speakers always right wear the drummer sets up????) so the drum dial always me to get a quick, easy reference.

Are they the greatest thing since cymbal springs? No. can they be yet another useful tool? I think so. Would I buy one rather than upgrading a cymbal, etc. No.
 
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