Drum tuning in studio

[Heabow]

Hi

I use the tune bot since a few weeks and it's a great tool to get a precise tuning when the main tone is found by ear (in my case) and great for checking between takes. Good purchase! Now I wonder if much engineers/drummers like to tune the snare so it fits the key of the songs.

I've never done that and it seems like a pain because one song would need a higher tuned snare then the other one would need a lower tuned snare so the heads would not keep in tune I guess. Worst with toms because some would need to be removed and with all the mics placed it can be source of problems. Could you share your experiences and thoughts about that?

Cheers

 

[Jordon]

I think tuning the drums so that they sound the best (meaning, tuning each drum so that it "sings" or resonates properly and each drum works with the kit as a whole) is more important than tuning to the key of the song, which immediately goes out the window as soon as you introduce key changes to the song.

 

[Heabow]

That's what I think too. I don't really understand the need to tune the drums according to the song tbh but some use to do that..
What I would tend to do would be change the snare depending on the song vibe/drum parts - Bergstrand always do that and it pretty logical to me as the snare is the center of the kit. Never had the time to experiment tho.

 

[Jordon]

True enough about the snare, and I guess if you have a very ringy snare with a prominent note, tuning it as close to the key of the song as possible could be beneficial, but yea...all about vibe, for me.