Drums - tuning help please.

[martyfireball]

OK, managed to get the drummer to drop his toms up before the recording session, they are Gretsch Catalina Elite's with Evans g2 on the 10x8", Remo Ambassador on the 12x9" and g2 on the 14x10". The resonants are stock Gretsch.

This is the state of (un)tuning that I recieved them in.....
http://www.martyfireball.f2s.com/noise101/drumz.mp3

So now i've actually got a few days to play with them (usually, it's bring a kit, mic it, record!) but it's really doing my head it.
I've read LOADS about tuning and apprechiate all the principles with regards to tension and tone at the lugs and I think i can get pretty even tones all around...BUT i really am not sure what the drums should SOUND like!! Pitch is really confusing me at the minute and i'm not sure if i'm too high or low!
Anyone got a decent 10/12/14" tom sample I can use for reference?

 

[Skaldir]

There's a method I tried and it works good.
but I'm so bad in english, don't know how to describe it.
One thing, you don't need to tune for special notes. The fact that the toms have the 10 12 14" dimensions makes the right intervalls if you tune everyone the same way.
and that is...
Start with the lowest tom.
Release all screws, so that the skin gets foldings. then press your finger in the middle of the skin and start to tighten one screw till the folding goes away. not too much. then continue with the screw diagonal to your first one. At the end you have no foldings and the skin is ALMOST under equal tension. At least a very good starting point for fine tuning it. *
Do the same with the bottom skin. They should have the same tension and the same tone for maximum volume.
This method is for tuning the toms to the deepest keynote that the tom has. Good for metal, because the skins are pretty loose and that brings the attack! When you do this "releasing and tighten up with finger pressed in the middle"-thing to the higher toms you should have good intervals.

*Finetuning
But the tom between your legs, so that it's free.
Again, press the finger in the middle and use the hit the skin at every screw (very close) and check if the pitch is the same at every screw. Notice that very little motions on the screw will make a huge jump in pitch, be careful!

It takes some time until you're satisfied.
Hope it helps and you can understand what I mean

 

[Glenn Fricker]

If you're using a tension watch, a good rule of thumb is to keep the skin values the same from drum to drum. I.E. top skins at say, 57, bottoms at 50.

You can also experiment with the bottom skin tuned higher & top lower.

My suggestion, find the drum that's easiest to tune, write down the values, an apply to the rest.

-0z-

 

[The Seeker]

They don't sound too shabby as is, especially the 14", but I can detect some distortion from the 10" tom (i.e. there's a ripply vibration occuring towards the end of the hit). This sound could prove to be nasty down the road when EQing and compressing. You'll most likely be able to eliminate the distortion by cranking all of the batter side tuning pegs up by a 1/4 to 1/2 turn. If that doesn't help, try bringing it back down. If that doesn't help, try doing the same with the resonant side head.

I highly recommend the Drum Tuning Bible by Prof Sound:

http://home.earthlink.net/~prof.sound/

Even the most seasoned drummer or sound engineer can learn a thing or two from this drum tuning guide.

 

[Glenn Fricker]

Thanks for the link.... an excellent page!

-0z-