Drums tuning
- Thread starter seekz
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turbochicken
New member
Heya,
tuning's mostly about preference, just some points you might wana take note.
the best sound from any drum / the sound that it's made to produce is when both skins are tuned to roughly about the same tension, both not too tight that is.
setting the skin down, apply pressure in the centre of it while tuning / turning the lugs half a turn at each time. tune by opposites. eg you turn the first lug, next go for the one directly opposite instead of the one beside. it gives more even tone and sets the skin evenly down on the drum.
while tuning, hit the sides of the drum(at each lug) and try to make them pitch the same. that way you won't get tones that are too drastically apart when you hit different parts of the drum.
personally, i do not tune in one sitting. i set the skins, leave them to sit for a day or two, then do my tuning. i find the tuning's easier after you give them ample time to stretch.
and:
tighter top / looser bottom = less decay on snare / more boom on kick
looser top / tighter bottom = more snare sound / kick'll sound wet
of course the tension of the snarewire affects the "combi" too.
2cents
tuning's mostly about preference, just some points you might wana take note.
the best sound from any drum / the sound that it's made to produce is when both skins are tuned to roughly about the same tension, both not too tight that is.
setting the skin down, apply pressure in the centre of it while tuning / turning the lugs half a turn at each time. tune by opposites. eg you turn the first lug, next go for the one directly opposite instead of the one beside. it gives more even tone and sets the skin evenly down on the drum.
while tuning, hit the sides of the drum(at each lug) and try to make them pitch the same. that way you won't get tones that are too drastically apart when you hit different parts of the drum.
personally, i do not tune in one sitting. i set the skins, leave them to sit for a day or two, then do my tuning. i find the tuning's easier after you give them ample time to stretch.
and:
tighter top / looser bottom = less decay on snare / more boom on kick
looser top / tighter bottom = more snare sound / kick'll sound wet
of course the tension of the snarewire affects the "combi" too.
2cents
seekz
New member
well... I'm more interested in the toms actually..
when i do both head to roughly the same tuning, its very resonant. very ringy... So i make the bottom really slack. And it works for the small mounted tom, and somewhat for the mid tom. But the floor tom.... its sounds very very wongy, jungle tribal sounding.. dunno how to describe..
any what is there a note i should tune to ?
I follow the pearl websites where you'll tune according to the "Here comes" part of "here comes the bride song" exactly a fourth.
But the reference note i dont know.
Snare sound i dont really know how to hear. For me i hear a nice crack can liao. For my kick i just anyhow tune and then throw some soft toys inside and close back. so its just sounds like "thud"
when i do both head to roughly the same tuning, its very resonant. very ringy... So i make the bottom really slack. And it works for the small mounted tom, and somewhat for the mid tom. But the floor tom.... its sounds very very wongy, jungle tribal sounding.. dunno how to describe..
any what is there a note i should tune to ?
I follow the pearl websites where you'll tune according to the "Here comes" part of "here comes the bride song" exactly a fourth.
But the reference note i dont know.
Snare sound i dont really know how to hear. For me i hear a nice crack can liao. For my kick i just anyhow tune and then throw some soft toys inside and close back. so its just sounds like "thud"
Personally i feel that drum tuning is all about personal preference. It really does not have to strictly adhere to the rules about reference notes. As long as you like the sound, its a good tuning. :lol:
Just a thought.... if you make the bottom of the toms really slack, the sound is really "empty" isn't it? well at least for me i feel it is. I tune both top and bottom to about the same pitch and eliminate the ring quite effectively with some tape and tissue lol :wink: or alternatively you could get some products from remo which i've seen (sorry can't remember what they are called) its like a mounted ring of sponge and you put it on your drums before you put the skin on. it helps eliminate the ring. Those are nice but a little more expensive then tape and tissue. :lol:
Just a thought.... if you make the bottom of the toms really slack, the sound is really "empty" isn't it? well at least for me i feel it is. I tune both top and bottom to about the same pitch and eliminate the ring quite effectively with some tape and tissue lol :wink: or alternatively you could get some products from remo which i've seen (sorry can't remember what they are called) its like a mounted ring of sponge and you put it on your drums before you put the skin on. it helps eliminate the ring. Those are nice but a little more expensive then tape and tissue. :lol:
turbochicken
New member
try using hydraulic skin for the floor tom. that should cut some overtones.
if it's still too over the top, it could be you've tuned the drums too low, or your room acoustics.
IMHO, avoid tissue and O-rings(unless it's for casual jamming where you wana minimise the noise).
tissue kills the tone of the area you dampen so you get an awful drastic dip in tonal quality when you hit different parts of the drum.
O-rings just rob your drum of its natural decay which half makes it sound like a drum.
there IS a product that might solve your problem without compromising sound though: moongel. i have a friend who's distributing it. you can email me if you're keen.
if it's still too over the top, it could be you've tuned the drums too low, or your room acoustics.
IMHO, avoid tissue and O-rings(unless it's for casual jamming where you wana minimise the noise).
tissue kills the tone of the area you dampen so you get an awful drastic dip in tonal quality when you hit different parts of the drum.
O-rings just rob your drum of its natural decay which half makes it sound like a drum.
there IS a product that might solve your problem without compromising sound though: moongel. i have a friend who's distributing it. you can email me if you're keen.
turbochicken
New member
lubricating gel? what do you wana lubricate? 8O
haha.
seekz,
some drummers go the extra mile by tuning their toms according to the song's progression and key(eg the key / chord just before chorus when the drums fill in) but no matter coz only a handful are practising it.
as for the kickdrum, basically you don't have to stuff it with materials coz that'll kill the tone somehow. just put a pillow or a cushion to touch the front skin(back too, it's preference) and that should do the trick.
for jamming of course anything goes, for your convenience.
but if it's recording, personally i'd try to get as much natural tone from the drum as possible, then compress the shit out of it(an acquaintance of mine's fav phrase).
haha.
seekz,
some drummers go the extra mile by tuning their toms according to the song's progression and key(eg the key / chord just before chorus when the drums fill in) but no matter coz only a handful are practising it.
as for the kickdrum, basically you don't have to stuff it with materials coz that'll kill the tone somehow. just put a pillow or a cushion to touch the front skin(back too, it's preference) and that should do the trick.
for jamming of course anything goes, for your convenience.
but if it's recording, personally i'd try to get as much natural tone from the drum as possible, then compress the shit out of it(an acquaintance of mine's fav phrase).
turbochicken
New member
front = the skin facing outwards / NOT the one you kick
seekz
New member
Seems like only me and TurboChicken discussing only, hope more ppl can offer a lil insights.
Anyway, the drumset is total nightmare. Readin up on the web, I realised the drumset can be tuned to a live set and a recording set. So how to tune it best for recording ? Okay maybe ts too vague a question... hehe
anyway i tune up my snare already. I sounds "right" to me. Cos it sounds like the Metalica "Frantic" kinda snar sound. Correct me if i'm wrong. Previously i got a fren who told me my snare sounds like shit. So.. I got pretty worried.
Need feedback of the snares. BTW i was lazy and recorded with drum overheads only. Treated with light compression. a ratio of 1.3:1. Nothing much added.
So does the snare sound alright? What about the toms? You know i was complaing that the toms were too ringy previously? yeah i realise whe you play eventhing together, the ringy gets drowned out and without it, the toms actually lose alot of their punch. Anyway, useful it may seem, the ringy resonances kept givin me snare buzz. I almost tear my hair out...
tuning drums is such a bitch... i stuck the stupid reciept that i bought the drum with and put it inbetween the snarewires and the head.
So this is the sound.... dont really know how to descibe it.
how about you guys try?
http://www.seekz.net/drums.zip
Anyway, the drumset is total nightmare. Readin up on the web, I realised the drumset can be tuned to a live set and a recording set. So how to tune it best for recording ? Okay maybe ts too vague a question... hehe
anyway i tune up my snare already. I sounds "right" to me. Cos it sounds like the Metalica "Frantic" kinda snar sound. Correct me if i'm wrong. Previously i got a fren who told me my snare sounds like shit. So.. I got pretty worried.
Need feedback of the snares. BTW i was lazy and recorded with drum overheads only. Treated with light compression. a ratio of 1.3:1. Nothing much added.
So does the snare sound alright? What about the toms? You know i was complaing that the toms were too ringy previously? yeah i realise whe you play eventhing together, the ringy gets drowned out and without it, the toms actually lose alot of their punch. Anyway, useful it may seem, the ringy resonances kept givin me snare buzz. I almost tear my hair out...
tuning drums is such a bitch... i stuck the stupid reciept that i bought the drum with and put it inbetween the snarewires and the head.
So this is the sound.... dont really know how to descibe it.
how about you guys try?
http://www.seekz.net/drums.zip
may i know if u are tuning the drums for ur own home practice or what?
to me, the recording sounded like u just recorded using a condenser mic or just one channel.. a drum recording should have a properly mic-ed drums! so i can't give u accurate feedback.. but ur snare sounds ringy to me..
u know there's this drum tuning bible? do a search.. i tuned my church drums trying to follow the "bible" and it helped me in my tuning alot..
i like my snare very very sensitive..
but that's just me!! and my toms with more resonance and depth..
to me, the recording sounded like u just recorded using a condenser mic or just one channel.. a drum recording should have a properly mic-ed drums! so i can't give u accurate feedback.. but ur snare sounds ringy to me..
u know there's this drum tuning bible? do a search.. i tuned my church drums trying to follow the "bible" and it helped me in my tuning alot..
i like my snare very very sensitive..
but that's just me!! and my toms with more resonance and depth..
seekz
New member
Hahaha, no offence... Using a drum bible for the church drums hehehe.
Can see the tinge of irony there? just joking. Anyway i saw it already. Its quite a hefty read. Thats why i suddenly wana record my snare and ask for a response. And its alot of trial and error. And still its quite a bitch to work thru
yeah. They were miked with a pair of condensers. But cant you hear the stereo separation??? The ride is so obviously on one side But i specifically said i recorded with over heads only... and i dont think it'll matter much if i switched it with a SM-57. cos i aimed the overheads at the snare.
well... i'm in camp now... listening to it on my camp computer again.
yeah indeed very ringy. I wonder why. Cos on my monitors they sound really fine... Whats your listening enviroment might i ask?
What do you mean by sensitive? Easy to rattle ? or what? cos i totally hate it when i whack a tom and the snare wires will go buzzing all over the place. Very bad for recording.
I feels a simple and solid sounding crack with the snare should suffice. But when i listen to (you can try) Blur - Song 2, or Metallica - Frantic, or Muse - Time is running out. Their snares have a very nice lingering undertone there. Undertone or overtone whatever they calll it...
Yeah so it sort of became my reference., yeah i wanted it to be ringy. But i dint realise its so ringy on normal speakers.
So other it being ringy is there anytihng else you can bring my attention too?
1.Is the crack part of the snare too neutralised by my "paper" that i slot in?(please read the prev post if you dont know what i'm talking about.)
2. Is there anything i can do to cut away some of that overtone?
I tried a drum ring. it does more than reduces it, its just cuts it away.
Or is its a natural Steel Snare thing to sound like that.
3 or is the batter skin tuned too tightly?
Cos sometime i dont even know if what i'm hearing is right or wrong.
Can see the tinge of irony there? just joking. Anyway i saw it already. Its quite a hefty read. Thats why i suddenly wana record my snare and ask for a response. And its alot of trial and error. And still its quite a bitch to work thru
yeah. They were miked with a pair of condensers. But cant you hear the stereo separation??? The ride is so obviously on one side But i specifically said i recorded with over heads only... and i dont think it'll matter much if i switched it with a SM-57. cos i aimed the overheads at the snare.
well... i'm in camp now... listening to it on my camp computer again.
yeah indeed very ringy. I wonder why. Cos on my monitors they sound really fine... Whats your listening enviroment might i ask?
What do you mean by sensitive? Easy to rattle ? or what? cos i totally hate it when i whack a tom and the snare wires will go buzzing all over the place. Very bad for recording.
I feels a simple and solid sounding crack with the snare should suffice. But when i listen to (you can try) Blur - Song 2, or Metallica - Frantic, or Muse - Time is running out. Their snares have a very nice lingering undertone there. Undertone or overtone whatever they calll it...
Yeah so it sort of became my reference., yeah i wanted it to be ringy. But i dint realise its so ringy on normal speakers.
So other it being ringy is there anytihng else you can bring my attention too?
1.Is the crack part of the snare too neutralised by my "paper" that i slot in?(please read the prev post if you dont know what i'm talking about.)
2. Is there anything i can do to cut away some of that overtone?
I tried a drum ring. it does more than reduces it, its just cuts it away.
Or is its a natural Steel Snare thing to sound like that.
3 or is the batter skin tuned too tightly?
Cos sometime i dont even know if what i'm hearing is right or wrong.
okie, that's alot of stuff for me to digest. i'm using my computer speakers. can use headphones to listen again if needed. i was listening in a quiet environment.
sensitive as in the ghost notes sounded alot of buzzing and abit snare hit when i do 16th ghost notes.. and has quite a bit of snare buzz when playing normally. so far, have not really encounter any serious problems of producing snare buzz when hitting other toms or what. only when my guitarist on his amp!!!!!
i heard frantic by metallica. if that's the sound u are looking for, u may want to take out the skins and again and try tuning. ur batter is abit too tight. and top is abit too tight.
i know the paper thing u referring. i haven't tried it myself. can't give any comments.
u tried drum O rings? it does cut away some overtones. i tuned my church birch recording with snare O rings on.
for more accurate recording, mic-ed ur snare or something? if u use condensers, it won't be that accurate and it might not pick up all the "sounds" from ur snare.
sensitive as in the ghost notes sounded alot of buzzing and abit snare hit when i do 16th ghost notes.. and has quite a bit of snare buzz when playing normally. so far, have not really encounter any serious problems of producing snare buzz when hitting other toms or what. only when my guitarist on his amp!!!!!
i heard frantic by metallica. if that's the sound u are looking for, u may want to take out the skins and again and try tuning. ur batter is abit too tight. and top is abit too tight.
i know the paper thing u referring. i haven't tried it myself. can't give any comments.
u tried drum O rings? it does cut away some overtones. i tuned my church birch recording with snare O rings on.
for more accurate recording, mic-ed ur snare or something? if u use condensers, it won't be that accurate and it might not pick up all the "sounds" from ur snare.
seekz
New member
well... a sensitive snare is what gives me a headache, cos my drums is used more for recording than for live playing. I feel that snare buzz spoils a recording. Anyway thanks again for your feedback i appreciate it.
Too tight eh? hmm.. I'll go try again when i book out later.
I tried a drum ring, this clear plastic ring thing right?
It totally cuts away all the over tone man. Still a decent snare crack, but its just too dry. its like there no tonal qualities in the snare man. well maybe dry is considered a tonal quality, yeah but *shrugs*
I believe most of any drums recording comes from the overheads.
Well but there's no fixed rules to it. But i think an extra SM-57 on the snare mic will only make it louder and also enhance the stick/head attack/dynamics.
but i may be wrong. I'll try to loosen the tuning a lil and see what else i can do. maybe post a shorter one.
Too tight eh? hmm.. I'll go try again when i book out later.
I tried a drum ring, this clear plastic ring thing right?
It totally cuts away all the over tone man. Still a decent snare crack, but its just too dry. its like there no tonal qualities in the snare man. well maybe dry is considered a tonal quality, yeah but *shrugs*
I believe most of any drums recording comes from the overheads.
Well but there's no fixed rules to it. But i think an extra SM-57 on the snare mic will only make it louder and also enhance the stick/head attack/dynamics.
but i may be wrong. I'll try to loosen the tuning a lil and see what else i can do. maybe post a shorter one.