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Go Back   Drum Forum at Drum Set Connect > Drum Forums - All About Drums > Drumsticks, Drum Heads, and Hardware


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  #11 (permalink)  
Old 02-28-2007, 02:32 PM
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Blake N Blake N is offline
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Well I have been playing drums for bout 20 years and have still not mastered the art of tuning. Yes "correct" tuning is an art. I just try my best to get an all around even pitch.
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Old 03-01-2007, 03:44 AM
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I can also recommend the book T.A Drums Drumset Tuning Theory by Tony Adams. find at http.www.tadrums.com

After initial seating in of fresh heads (important) and tensioning down to the ball park, i find drums don't take long at all to tune up. Good heads are a must.
I usually put all the toms out on a piece of carpet and tune each drum so head tensions are equal and at the desired tightness for the pitch i want. I check the head sounds the same at each tension screw (with thumb centre head) Then turn over and repeat on batter head.
Then i place the toms on the kit and tune them for the seperation and tone, and blend that i like. Often it's just the turn of one tension screw.

Then at the gig, (naturaly each venue is different), i will slightly adjust if needed the botton heads only, higher for the reverb room so they cut through.
Kick and snare i leave pretty much as is, and give them an even tweak when the heads start to flat.


All up a general tune around 20 minutes.

It can be confusing when you start and easy to be distracted, that's why i line all the drums from small to big and work methodically through them.

You get better with practice and with a focus and knowledge to get exactly what it is that you are trying to achieve, get the book.

And try to listen out front of the kit, they sound different from that perspective.
I learnt that lesson years ago when i was listening to a local drummer who sounded great. I was given the opportunity to play on his drums and from the throne they sounded dreadful. He used his soundman to guide his tuning, it works.
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Old 04-04-2007, 03:40 AM
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Surfing i stumbled apon this site, may be helpful for tuning info.
It's amazing the info out there these days, sometimes there is too much which can confuse a learner, best bet is to experiment and find what works best for yourself. A good idea is to keep a notebook for reference i.e what heads you use, tensions of heads, etc, then when you want a change in sound you have a base that you already have tried out to work from, and improve from there.


http://www.tunadrum.com/
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Old 04-04-2007, 07:09 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by skinslapper View Post
Check out the drum tuning bible online. It helped me out no end.
you must love to say that line lol.
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Old 04-06-2007, 09:22 PM
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shazaam shazaam is offline
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so no one here uses the infamous drum-dial that's supposed to be a really nice lil' piece of hardware? I know, at least by the reviews I've seen, I'd like to get one.
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Old 04-07-2007, 05:59 AM
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I think the drumdial helps. I have one and use it, but by no means is it a definitive way to tune your drums. It is good for establishing a baseline tune, with all the lugs the same tension, then I tune from there. Nothing beats your ear for what you want to hear.
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Old 04-07-2007, 09:54 AM
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there is a "creeter" tuner, used when you are in a loud music hall and you cant hear your drums, i think its like a clamp. idk about that

but... whats that think that makes your bass drumm sound like a machine gun? Is it the same thing?lol
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Old 04-07-2007, 06:30 PM
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I agree with most of whats been said. I use a drum dial but only to get the tension even, then its down to your ears...
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Old 04-07-2007, 08:25 PM
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Yea, I'm thinking about getting a drumdial so tuning'll go quicker and each lug'll be closer in tension to each other.
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Old 04-23-2007, 01:36 AM
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easy way to tune


i am not sure if this thing really works but it looks cool!
It says that by using leverage it can tune the drum by only using one crank instead of tuning each lug. http://www.drumtech.com/dts.html
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