Tuning Drums

Polpotkin

Polpotkin

Hit'er in the shitter
Dec 12, 2005
316
0
16
Sweden
www.myspace.com
Hello!
Everybody knows that it's impossible to get a good sound from drums that doesn't sound good on its own, and I believe tuning is the key, right?

Unfortunately it seems that many drummers, unlike most other musicians never learn to tune their instruments and it seems that I have to learn myself if i don't want to record bad sounding drumkits for the rest of my life.

So, I figured some of you guys probably know alot about these things and hopefully is willing to share your knowledge. What about drumheads, which ones are good for metal, rock, jazz, "pop" and how to tune them?

If any experienced drummer could do a tuning guide that'd be great, and make it a sticky :)

:kickass: :headbang: :loco:
 
i did a youtube search for guides on tuning drums- i learned alot from there, just watch 5-6 different vids that look decent and you'll soon start getting the idea, after that it's just practising it,
 
www.drumdial.com

I've got one... follow the instructions with the instructions that come with it.

drum heads are sort of personal preference to drummers. Most of the time I've been using Clear 2 Ply drum heads for recording as they give me a more Attack than Coated ones. Coated ones sound good if you're looking for that Deftones tom sound.

Usually, I've got Evans EC2's on my kit or G2 Clear, alternatively Remo Emperor's or Clear Ambassadors.

Kick = EQ3 Clear / Powerstroke 3.

Evans Resonant heads on the bottom.

Snare = personal preference. Evans Powercenter, Genera Dry or SD Dry. Remo Ambassador (for an open sounding snare, lots of ring), Powerstroke 3.

It depends on what sound you are going for.

The EC2 Coated heads also sound pretty good if you want more of a Dull sound on your toms.

Hope this helps...
 
Kick= Aquarian super kick 2

I love this head for a few reasons:

It has really nice attack and decay, and there is no need for dampening material inside your bass drum as the head provides the right ammount right out of the box.

Without stuff inside the bass drum it's easier to place your mics.

The downside is they are pretty pricey compared to standard drum heads.

Check it out here:
Super Kick II
 
as being a drummer myself i tried a lot of skins for the last 12 years and this is my last setup for a nice and 'modern' kit sound.

snare: powerstroke 3 coated - diplomat clear
bassdrum: powerstroke 3 clear - powerstroke 3 clear
toms: powerstroke 3 clear - ambassador clear

with these skins i have a hard attack and controled sustain - i really like it, especially miked.
friends of mine heard the bassdrum, miked with a d6 and could not believe, that there was no eq involved.

i use the tension watch for the beginning and do it by ear for the last steps.
bottom skin is always looser, but not very much

i am a fan of remo, tried evans and aquarian and they are more expensive here in germany and you can get along with them all, just a personal preference - there is no best skin, i think!!

hard to tell in what genre particular skins are, it always depends on what drumset they are mounted - cause the shells make the tone, that's why good drumsets are that expensive.

coated skins on toms can be a bitch if you want that 'metal' sound - to me it always sounds more 'alternative', maybe warmer, might be uglier!

if i record a band i tell the drummer to buy new skins and i tell him what skins. when we're setting up the drums, i tune them the way i like it - leasts for about 2 hours for a complete set.
the cheaper the drumset is, the more i have to retune the toms in the recording session.

btw, i have never met a drummer who knew how to tune his drums - never!!!

good luck!!

best,

alex
 
I have a drum tutorial coming out soon that covers a bit of tuning (but mostly recording and mixing). It'll also have some kickass drummers featured, including a fantastic metal drummer.

anyway, my advice is practice. Start with the bottom heads, get them evenly tuned to a medium balance. Get the top head on and start with it at a low balance, equalizing the tension of the lugs. Stretch the head by pushing on it a few times, you'll hear the crackling. Then tighten the lugs back to an medium loose tension and then start hitting the drum while making very fine adjustments to the lugs, until you're getting the tone and pitch you want.

Eventually, you'll really get to know the lug tensions and you'll be able to feel it out while hitting it. Believe it or not, on both my Pearl Masters kit, I can tune the toms just by tension alone, without ever hitting the drum, just from tuning them so much.
 
Slate said:
Believe it or not, on both my Pearl Masters kit, I can tune the toms just by tension alone, without ever hitting the drum, just from tuning them so much.
Click to expand...


pearl masters!!!! :headbang: - i own one, too and that is what i said, you need some nice shells to get a trusty and good tone out of it!!

that doesn't mean, you can't get decent tones out of some 'standard' drums - maybe you'll miss that mojo and have to work harder for it!
 
Just a side note: always tune the lowest drum first. You may end up going a little higher than you'd imagine on the hi tom - but you are always able to get a good balance. Otherwise if you go hi to low, you may start too low on the hi tom and not have room to get a good tension on the low.
 
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