[Eli]

hey guys/girls, im eli and im a senior at scitech in south texas, n iv got 2 solve da problem of tuning. i no for most beginners, this is a hassle, and for vets, you or your drum tech proly still has a hard time tuning those drums. so my contribution to the drum society is to come up with/ solve this problem of tuning. if you all could reply and leave your experience noted on the reply, that would be greatly appreciated! thnx for reading this and i hope to hear for every single one of you all!!!

[Bruce_B]

You might want to check out the Drumdial. It doesn't solve everything but it does help.

[shazaam]

dunno if this 'll be a legit answer for ya but the drum bible comes into play yet again lol
Drum Tuning Bible

Personally I start first(assuming new heads or just retuning)
Get each head evenly "tight" doin the star pattern.
then I get my low tom in tune to the heads extent cause I like it really low
then I work my way up...for me it's just a second tom but yea.
I get somewhere close to the sound I want.
roughly check tension around each lug and even it up the best i can.(press down with my thumb around each lug n yea, make sure tension is about the same at each lug)
Then I get more precise.
hit the drum and figure out if there's any nastiness
sorta retune either the rs or batter head to get rid of any nasty overtones or other stuff.

hope that makes sense lol, there's more prolly. o yea, that's assuming your heads are stretched already so they won't loose there tone within like a min. of playin em lol. Before putting on new heads I stretch the heads also.

yup, hope that helps. just go by ear for all of it too

[anotherdrummer242]

Shazaam has it right on the monies. sure it might take a bit to really work out the kinks in the tuning of your drums, but in the long run, it's well worth putting an extra five or ten minutes of effort into it.

[skinslapper]

Now that you've got the physics down, next comes the creativity, which you may be able to help with. You see, drummers want the drum to sound like something. Some drummers don't know what and they'll either tune it as low as possible (without distortion) or just leave it at some random tension and play it anway.

Other drummers have developed an idea what they want their individual drums to sound like but are still having difficulty getting there. Some key points regarding this problem would be; How can I find out what note my drum is playing?
What is (on average) the most resonant note this size drum can play?
What should be the tension ratio between batter and resonant heads?

I guess what I want is something of a referance point to get my drums just where I want 'em.

[anotherdrummer242]

I've heard of people tapping the shells of their drums, taking that pitch as a fundamental, and tuning their drums to that pitch or a note complimentary to it. That sounds kind of sketchy to me, I would rather seat the heads, then starting with the lowest pitch possible, tune up until i find the tension where the drum sings. Personally, I know what i want a medium-high note for my rack tom, and as the note decays, a small amount of fall in the pitch. I also like a really low note for my floor tom. I think it helps to have some musical background that is not purely drum set related when it comes to tuning.

[shazaam]

lol. it helps if you play a "pitched" instrument like mallets, piano, or some brass or woodwind too. for me it's mallets and piano.

yea, I see where skins comin from. If I had the money I'd learn the resonance of each wood and get a perfect set made lol. But yea, for most drummers it seems to be start with a basic kit. play other kits. learn the wood you like maybe even heads also. your next kit will be that wood. find heads that compliment your drums and the sound you want. it's finding that sound you want though lol being you can't liten to a cd and want the kit that drummer has cause it's been reworked in the studio a million times over to fit. but yea. I'm babbling now

[anotherdrummer242]

haha, yeah i forgot to mention that I've played mallet for nearly 8 years. I took some piano, but that ain't my cup o' tea. You weren't babbling, just ranting in an informed manner

[hotspark]

All good points.I'm new to drumming and bought a used Remo set,it came detuned(the guy told me that's how you store drums)Well I brought them home did a little homework on the internet(see dt bible) and had them tuned for what I thought was pretty good.I too was looking for what the tone/pitch should be.All was well until I purchased a 10" tom to go with my 13" and 16" I got an Evans torque key~didn't like it seemed to be inconsistent back to school for me
Next I purchased a drum dial,I liked the fact that it came with base line settings,I work in a machine shop so I trust the dial indicator approach.First off I checked all my drums before I started in with the dial,surprisingly( or not)My tension was fairly even all the way around on 2 bass,8 toms(no I don't play them all) all be it lower than the DDs settings.Then I tuned everything to the lowest end of the DD recomended settings,didn't like the sound,to tight for my liking.On the other hand they where tuned well without any buzzing or unpleasant sounds.Ive got new clear emps over ambs coming for my pdp x7 set if anyone here has any history with theses and a DD I'd love to pick your brains for settings 'nough of my rambling.PEACE!

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	Remo Drumheads Shop for Remo Drumheads at Musician's Friend