[slingerland59]

Originally Posted by marko46

...If you shooting for the pitch drop, tune the reso lower. And finaly, if you want the pitch to bend up, tune the reso higher than the batter. Your ears must learn to hear the drum sing....marko

This is interesting stuff. I've never heard tuning explained in this level of detail before. I definitely agree that it takes a long time to learn how to "hear" drum notes and tone and to really understand how to make your drums sound their best.

I tune the smallest tom first, trying to get it to sing with a full, clear tone and then I work my way down to the low notes. I think it's way easier to get a good floor tom sound than a tenor tom sound. I've never tuned to piano notes because I just want my drums to vibrate fully at whatever note will have that effect. But I'm sure going to take don's advice and see if I can figure out what note my shells vibrate at.

[tamazildjian]

Originally Posted by slingerland59

This is interesting stuff. I've never heard tuning explained in this level of detail before. I definitely agree that it takes a long time to learn how to "hear" drum notes and tone and to really understand how to make your drums sound their best.

I tune the smallest tom first, trying to get it to sing with a full, clear tone and then I work my way down to the low notes. I think it's way easier to get a good floor tom sound than a tenor tom sound. I've never tuned to piano notes because I just want my drums to vibrate fully at whatever note will have that effect. But I'm sure going to take don's advice and see if I can figure out what note my shells vibrate at.

Opposite for me. I thinks its harder to tune the floor tom.

[haldrums]

Originally Posted by don11817

Tuning drums to notes:

The best overall sound that drummers get in a typical 5-piece kit (snare, kick and 3 toms) is to tune the toms approximately a 5th apart in scale. However, there are many things that will affect the ability of a drum to match a note or to get a nice tone if you are trying to do the 5th -style tuning.

Drum shells have a fundamental tone of their own called timbre. To get the most resonance and clearest tone from a drum tune it to (or close to) it's natural timbre. When the heads and shell are resonant at the same pitch the drum will "sing" more.

One way to find a drum's timbre is to remove the drum heads and thump the shell with the heel of your palm while holding it with your other hand by the mounting hardware, allowing it to resonate. If you have a keyboard handy you may be able to identify approximately it's timbre and try to tune to that pitch when you replace the heads.

This is usually a difficult way to tune drums though, and you may find that the drums are not naturally 5ths apart, so tuning to timbre may make a roll around the toms sound different than you want it to. I recommend tuning the floor tom to the sound you like first, to give you a base (and bass) line and a reference point to tune the next largest tom, followed by the smaller tom.

You could tune your floor tom to say, a C note, the 5th up for the next tom is then G and the smaller tom a 5th up would be D etc.... But, it's not necessary to tune drums to notes. You can approximate the tones in your head usually, and can get a nice sounding tuning on the drums if they are close to being 5ths apart. Once you identify the way 5ths sound it will get easier to replicate...

Hope this isn't confusing... I know if you're new it may seem overwhelming but you will eventually get a feel for what tone you want to get out of the drums and how to get it without needing a pitch reference...

Was just reading over this thread, a bit old I know, but found tghis really helpful. Drum tuning is a real pain at times, if you are still learning anyway. I read how to tune drums and watched some vids on youtube (bob gatzen I think) that were really good too.

[Andy B]

Drummers bible says


10”x 9” tom: D sharp
12” x 10” tom: A sharp
14” x 12” floor: F
16” x 14” floor: C

22” x 16” kick: Batter F (octave lower than floor); Resonant E

Main snare 14” x 6” YAMAHA Anton Fig: G above the 10” x 9” D#, both heads the same

However rock bands you may want a deeper sound on the bass drum and a low sound on snare or high sound...good advice is start from the kick get your toms to flow from left to right high left lowest floor tom.... get rid of as much ring overtone from the toms you want the drum on the cusp not dead and not boomy that way you get as much feel on the skins as possible if miked the natural pitch of the drum and then do the snare a balance so it sounds crisp you want it either higher or lower than the first tom working on a 12" tom for pitch...remember learn to tune the pitch with your ear when on stage you do not have time to mess around between songs you test and tweak just before the sound check and then tweak just after....

	Yamaha Drums Shop for Yamaha Drums at Musician's Friend

[tamajama]

Well-tuned drums cost nothing but time, and make wonderful difference in sound.

I don't think you tune to actual notes - an interval is best, and won't resonate with the bass. Can you sing "Here Comes the Bride?" Between 'here' and 'comes' is a forth. I try to get floor tom a forth up from kick, then forth up to next tom, and so on. If playing a 4-note kit, try going up by fifths from kick.

When tuned in intervals, whacking 2 toms simultaneously gives strong chord-like note.

You can find lots of info on the mechanics of this on the nets, incl. the Drum Tuning Bible, a free pdf download.

tamajama

[Rhett]

Originally Posted by Puta

Thanks guys, i've tune my high tom in c note and low tom in a note. I was planning to make it from the highest to lowest sequentially c, a, g and e. Is it right to do that or should i take a same note for all set. Like all in c.

Check out Bob Gadsten's videos on youtube. The absolute best tuning vids available.