Drum Tuning- The Basics?

[DogpitStudios]

I was combining sets with one of my friends and fellow drummers the other day to create a real double bass drum set so that we could re-record our album with a set that feels more comfortable to play, and so that we could have more control over our bass drum sounds having to do with compression and isolation. We began a discussion (as most drummers do) about our preferences to the style in which we tune drums. The other drummer stated the following "I like to tune my drums different than you. See, you like to tune so that everything sounds good in the drivers seat, while I like to tune my drums so that they sound good from far away". I didn't have much of a response to that, because I was afraid it would turn into a huge argument (as matters having to do with drum tuning always do). But this is what I have to say now. Although I understand that drums sound different at different distances (actually, everything sounds different at different distances), a drum that is in tune will sound in tune 5 feet away, just as well as at 10 feet or 20 feet. And it will also sound in tune in the "drivers seat". The idea behind his argument was that he tunes drums to sound good. Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but I tune my drums to be in tune. There may be many ways to achieve this, but the fact remains that drums should be IN TUNE.

The problem with most drummers is that they think of a drum as something to hit as various speeds and velocities. While this is true, this is definitely not the sole purpose of a drum. I believe that a drum is more than a percussive bang-box. Drums to me, are instruments, just like guitar piano, horns, and various other tools that create enjoyable sound. Most drummers can't tune there drums because they simply don't know what an in tune drum sounds like. This is probably because they have never played one for large amounts of time.

I can't explain to you how to hear the battling sound of out of tune lugs when tuning a drum, but its something a little less noticeable than in most other pitched instruments. I can tell you however that no pressure gage or pressure measuring drum key is going to tune your drums for you. Though these can help distribute pressure equally on your heads, the increments in which to turn your key to take an out of tune lug and put it in tune can be so small that these tools are no help. Your only reliable tool is your own ears. Because a drum has many lugs, you must do that much more tuning than with most other instruments, and it will become a long and annoying process the first couple times. Believe me, after you finish tuning your first time, you will LOVE the results.

I can't urge how important it is to turn each lug only in 1/4 to 1/2 turn increments when bringing a drum up in pitch. Turning each lug (even when turned in opposites) single to multiple full turns will warp the head, and screw up any chance of that drum producing a clear, steady tone, and will knock off a couple of tunable notes in the lower range of the drum.

When talking about drum tuning, I like to compare the drum to the guitar. When a guitarist puts on a new guitar string, they tune it up to the desired pitch. Then after playing on that string for a bit, the string becomes out of tune (I think this is because they stretch?). The guitarist will then retune the string. Well even though it may not be the for the same reason, drum heads should be treated the same way. After tuning the drum to the initial pitch, you can do you must do what's called seating the head before proceeding to detune the head and tune it back up to a finalized pitch. You can preform this process in one of two ways:

1. The first and most natural method (my preference) is to let the heads sit in the environment they will be most played in for 24+ hours before proceeding. This lets the head adapt to being stretched before being destroyed by the modern drummer.

2. The second method includes a household hair-dryer. Following the perimeter of the drum, you should circle about 3 times with a hair dryer 2-5" above the head until the head is **** and stretched. Let it settle afterwards until it reaches room temp. Then proceed to detune the head, and retune it.

One thing I have noticed, is that when fine tuning the lugs to a note, the lug you are checking (buy lightly hitting it with a stick) is most effected by its pressure and the pressure of the lug directly across from it. I have many times not been able to bring the pitch of a lug below the pitch of its surrounding lugs because the lug across from it was tuned higher. This has delayed me hours in my tuning process, and has happened on every single drum I have tried to tune.

I can go into a lot more depth about the tuning process, but I'll leave it at this for now. I can try to answer any specific questions from personal experience.

Ben

[brandondrury]

What you say seams to be pretty consistent with what I have experienced.

The idea behind his argument was that he tunes drums to sound good. Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but I tune my drums to be in tune. There may be many ways to achieve this, but the fact remains that drums should be IN TUNE.

I don't agree with you here. I don't think there is a "right way" to do anything in recording. There is a right way to code in XML. (If you don't, the program simply won't function). There is a right way to build a car. (If you don't build it right, it won't start). However, a good sounding drum is a good sounding drum. There is no need to do things properly just because there may be a "proper" way. There is no "best" or "proper" crayon.

Maybe we are debating if an "in tune" drum is a good sounding drum. Well hell, I don't know! I would assume so. If your buddy's drums sound good, they are in tune. If they don't sound good, they are not in tune.

I don't know what the hell he is talking about in regard to tuning to the drummer vs turning to the audience.

Anyway, great article, Dogpit!!
Brandon

[lumpy]

I don't know what the hell he is talking about in regard to tuning to the drummer vs turning to the audience.

I do. Most of it has to do with dampning, ie putting tape or "moon gel" or internal/external devices or "x-rings" on the batter head. This kills projection in a live situation. Recording is a different animal though and I wouldn't be against dampning in the studio. There is such a thing as too much resonance.

Let the drums sing and ring. The best way to tune drums in my experience is make them sound good to your ears, and give your buddy the sticks and stand back. Also realize that the drums are going to sound very bright in an empty room, people are sound sponges.

In the studio I would just listen to the producer.

I've heard tale of this "hairdryer" method. I like the idea of conditioning the head to your enviroment before applying, especially in high humidity. The manufacturing methods and standards of quality drum head makers should make this unnessesary in most situations though, unless using old calf skins.

Some good points in the article. I believe the most important step when mounting drum heads is to ensure the head is seated on the bearing edge. I always place the drum on a flat carpeted surface, put the head on and firmly press my fist in the center of the head as hard as I can.

Lump

[DogpitStudios]

Dampening has given me many different results in the past. Rings around the drum generally completely kill the attack and body of the drum. Sure it sounds "wet" and floppy or big, but I just hear a choked tone with no initial smack. A bit of tape, or cloth taped to the edge has often taking away some of the odd characteristics of my toms in the past, but I generally have to be careful with how much to apply before I murder the drum.

Good points lumpy.

Tuning a bass drum is a completely different story. Some people say tune the bass drum an octave lower than your lowest floor tom. Well I tend to record a lot of metal, and the drummers I record request the style of tuning where you drop the reso heads below the point where they can resonate when being played without distorting. In this case you control the pitch of the drum with the batter heads tightness. This gives you that really fat wet drum sound that you hear on a lot of those played out 80's metal drums. When I tune the bass drum an octave lower, its very low. I've noticed that most of the bass drums I tune get a lot more punch in them when you tune them a bit higher, and they still have a very low power to them.

Anyone else have any preferred methods of tuning? I'd love to give them a try.

Ben

[MetalDave]

I think the drums should be tuned to sound good when played with other instruments. Go here to read all about tuning drums...
Toms Howie Drumming Web - Tuning

[Irish614]

You could tune with your bass player if you know how to hear notes. This guy has saved my life when it comes to tuning drums- Bob Gatzen. He is on youtube I will send you the links- watch these and your drums will sound amazing!
Part One-YouTube - Drum Tuning Series Pt. 1 INTRO

Part Two-YouTube - Drum Tuning Series Pt. 2 SNARE

Part Three-YouTube - Drum Tuning Series Pt. 3 TOMS

Part Four-YouTube - Drum Tuning Series Pt. 4 Bass Drum

[MetalDave]

Originally Posted by Irish614

You could tune with your bass player if you know how to hear notes. This guy has saved my life when it comes to tuning drums- Bob Gatzen. He is on youtube I will send you the links- watch these and your drums will sound amazing!
Part One-YouTube - Drum Tuning Series Pt. 1 INTRO

Part Two-YouTube - Drum Tuning Series Pt. 2 SNARE

Part Three-YouTube - Drum Tuning Series Pt. 3 TOMS

Part Four-YouTube - Drum Tuning Series Pt. 4 Bass Drum

I have to say, I have never seen a guy make tuning a drum look as easy as this guy! I wanted to just spend the rest of the night watching him. I just may have to buy his DVD. Watch these short vids you will not be sorry! Thnks for turning me on to this Irish! Kudos to you!

[Irish614]

Hey man not a problem, I am here to spread the knowledge that I find/learn.

[veggo32]

Been playing drums for 25+ years, tuning to notes will cause you to eventually go deaf. So, all you drummers etc. want to know what's the easiesest way to get a great drum sound? well, here you go.

A) forget about tuning to notes, since when do drums play melody.
Tune according to the drum.

B) tensions tuning. Tension tune your drums with your feel. When all lugs of a drum are evenly tense then you can fine tune to remove overtones. (you don't need a drum dial to do this, the best drial dial is you.)
Always tune to the highest note, if it' s too high then start over again. If this takes you more than 2 minutes to perform, start over. This applies to batter and resonant. I tune my resonant slightly higher (especially when playing live). It cuts down on the sustain which makes the soundguy happy.

C) when tension tuning especially 6 lug toms or less. Press down the head of the tom with your fingers and tension tune with the other.

D) Always remember when tuning that when you want to increase the tone at one lug, you don't necessarity tune up that lug. Sometimes, increasing the lug across will increase the tone of that lug. Play around with that and you will see what I mean.

E) eAsy with your drum key, a fraction of a turn will make a huge difference all around. Utilize small increments when fine tuning.

Most imp't thing is to have good quality heads and a decent quality kit.
Don't expect to get a good drum sound from 5 year old Batter/resonant drum skins.
Yes, resonants are just as important as batters.
Finally, if you have like a CB kit or equivalent entry level kit, throw it away they are shit. (no offence but its true) Even a master drum tuner can't make these drums sound good. Better off buying a used inter/pro kit.
There you go, easy! Now you can enjoy playing more, and spend less time fiddling.

[Irish614]

I have never heard tuning drums to a note will make anyone go deaf. You can use a guitar tuner if you wanted to get it to a certain note, I've noticed when my friends tune their guitars and I hit one of my drums the freq. from my drum(s) makes their tuner light up. This is only recommended if you want that exact note to be heard from that drum. I don't recommend tuning to notes either, easier to do it by hand.

You should never really push down on your drum head when tuning it, I know this technique has been around for years but it can really damage the head, instead put the head on and finger tighten the tension rods all the way around then do the star pattern, making sure you finger tension the opposite tension rod again because it will become loose.