That's about all there is to it. Which one do you guys prefer and why? I need to get one sooner or later, and would prefer to not have to swap!
Thanks.
Thanks.
Drum Dial or Tama Tension Watch?
- Thread starter Ermz
- Start date
BLUElightCory
Member
I have both and prefer the Drum Dial. The primary reason is that the Drum Dial includes a metal attachment that makes it much easier to keep it equidistant from the rim of the drum at each lug. This helps make it a bit quicker and easier to use.
monolithsound
Member
As previously stated, the attachment on the Drum Dial makes it easier to get an accurate reading. I've had nothing but good luck with my Drum Dial.
darthjujuu
Member
neither....just get a hockey puck & drill a hole the center then stick a dial indicator (from harbor freight) in there. Homemade drum dial for like $15. Just use a quarter or something to keep it the same distance from the hoop. I did this and it works just as good. Super sensitive.
Either way you still need your ears.
Either way you still need your ears.
Joshua Wickman
Yes Sir!
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Nebulous
Daniel
Ermz if you need to use a Tension watch for sessions feel free to ask for mine. I have had a chance to use it on afew occasions and quite liked the results. As you could imagine though I don't use it often so I would feel better knowing that it's getting some use.
If you give me enough notice I can drop it off at your place after work coming up to your sessions as long as it's not a Monday.
If you give me enough notice I can drop it off at your place after work coming up to your sessions as long as it's not a Monday.
Morgan C
MAX LOUD PRESETS¯\(°_o)/¯
Ears 
But feel is important too (sometimes it sounds all even tones but you have weird overtones and actually a couple of lugs might be really loose).
Although I haven't tried these, I think they're just to get you in 'the ballpark', in which case just adjusting by tension is a ton easier imo. Then you have to use your ears from there anyway.
But feel is important too (sometimes it sounds all even tones but you have weird overtones and actually a couple of lugs might be really loose).
Although I haven't tried these, I think they're just to get you in 'the ballpark', in which case just adjusting by tension is a ton easier imo. Then you have to use your ears from there anyway.
Thanks Dan but I think it's probably best if I just get my own unit for this. Need to become more self-sufficient and stop borrowing amps/gear left right and center for sessions. Just a convenience thing.
Cheers for the suggestions all. Drum Dial it is.
@Morgan: I believe the ears are to get you in the ballpark, and the tension unit is to get you closer to exactness, much as is the case with guitar tuners. I don't trust myself to tune my guitar to perfect pitch, so I definitely wouldn't trust myself to use them to get the drums 100%.
Cheers for the suggestions all. Drum Dial it is.
@Morgan: I believe the ears are to get you in the ballpark, and the tension unit is to get you closer to exactness, much as is the case with guitar tuners. I don't trust myself to tune my guitar to perfect pitch, so I definitely wouldn't trust myself to use them to get the drums 100%.
Morgan C
MAX LOUD PRESETS¯\(°_o)/¯
Honestly from all I've heard about these things its completely the other way around. You're never going to get 'perfect' pitch with drums, and even if you do after even a few minutes of someone whailing (sp?!) away at them some lugs are gonna loosen.
If you're struggling with tuning I can try and help you out a bit (I'm no pro but I'm decent).. but I wouldn't trust these tension things to get you exact results, they're not AT ALL like a guitar tuner.
The one benefit of these for experienced drum techs, etc. would be for live sound, so you can replicate the same sound night after night. Or if you're doing a Black Album type thing, replacing the heads every 30 minutes (or day.. for us poorer folk).
Haha, us poorer folk are lucky if we even get new heads to start a session with. We live in Oz, man, the Black Album session may as well have been a fairy tale as far as we're concerned.
Cheers for the heads up, but I'd like to get started with these drum dials as an aid to help me tune drums better. Oz (Glenn) seemed to be pretty insistent on using them to give you a leg up. I know drums are fickle beasts, so any boosters help.
Cheers for the heads up, but I'd like to get started with these drum dials as an aid to help me tune drums better. Oz (Glenn) seemed to be pretty insistent on using them to give you a leg up. I know drums are fickle beasts, so any boosters help.
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Im do the exact opposite! i use the drum dial to get it in the ball park then fine tune with the ears. And by ballpark, i use he drum dial to get the tension even all over the head then fine tune with the ears. ps- quite a few aussies in this thread
::XeS::
Member
I use it, but I find it not too much accurate....way less than your ears.
Anyway, if you don't want to spend 70$ for a drumdial: http://www.pearldrummersforum.com/showthread.php?t=134980
Anyway, if you don't want to spend 70$ for a drumdial: http://www.pearldrummersforum.com/showthread.php?t=134980
digitaldeath
Member
I love my DrumDial! It is the perfect tool for when a shit drummer brings in a shit kit with shit skins.
I love my Drumdial but I recently dropped it and thought it was out of calibration or ruined. I found this calibration video at their website and I was able to get my tuner re-calibrated pretty easily.
http://www.drumdial.com/calibrate_video.htm
http://www.drumdial.com/calibrate_video.htm
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DeclanWhite
Senior Member
coming from a drummer who knows his stuff, that's completely wrong.
Tuning a drum is like tuning a guitar with a floyd. you change the tuning of one lug/string, and all the others change. but that's kinda off topic.
go ahead and 'tune' a drum with the drum dial, hit the head at every lug, and tell me it's in tune.
yeah I kind of looked at it opposite... the drum dial gets you in the ballpark and you get it the rest of the way by ear.
either way it's still a useful tool, been wanting to grab one for a long time...
either way it's still a useful tool, been wanting to grab one for a long time...
They're great for consistency- I'd a band come in over a few months to do a song at a time, we noted the tensions of everything using the tama at the first session and made our live a hell of a lot easier for the rest.
Drum tuning is something that you really need to practise alot at- I'm using every chance I get to try it out and after a while it really does start getting easier. I'm lucky cause I do live sound alot so get guys bringing in different kits the whole time, whenever the tunings way off I sit down and give it a go giving me more practise.
I do prefer using my ears to the tuners though- I tend to follow how the drum should sound rather than what the dial is telling me should be a good sounding drum this way
Drum tuning is something that you really need to practise alot at- I'm using every chance I get to try it out and after a while it really does start getting easier. I'm lucky cause I do live sound alot so get guys bringing in different kits the whole time, whenever the tunings way off I sit down and give it a go giving me more practise.
I do prefer using my ears to the tuners though- I tend to follow how the drum should sound rather than what the dial is telling me should be a good sounding drum this way
