What To Do With New Drums?

[HappySoul]

My school band just got a new drumset, a pearl forum set, from Swee Lee I believe, as the name was written on the box. The first time I saw it it was already set up, but I am unsure if it is ready for playing as the toms sound a little off. I do not have any idea what has been already done to it.

Do I need to take out the tension rods and oil them then tune them? Do I still need to "seat" the drum and "press" it to make the crackling sounds? I want to re-tune it for sure. What oil should I use? I heard that vaseline petroleum jelly is good.

What other muffling methods are there? The toms from the other drumsets in my band are muffled by a piece of cloth over the shell but I some videos I have seen tell me it is no good as it is "uneven" between the "clothed" part and the rest of the drum. I know there is a think called sticky hands and moongel but where can I get it in sg?

As for the bass drum, what should I stuff in to muffle the sound? I am thinking of a pillow, does it work? The other bass drums have pillow and flour in them.

How long would it take if I were to re-tune it, muffle it and do all the other neccessary stuffs before it is ready for playing? My section is really eager to use it and I know I have to do it fast.

 

[weckl-x]

Hmm.. you sound unsure about the sound you want.

Can refer to the Drum Tuning Bible. It goes into great detail about tuning, muffling, etc.

My advice would be not to do certain things just because other people do it, but rather learn how those things affect/change the sound so you can tweak it to what satisfies you or the environment you're playing in. E.g, closed room, open stage, outdoors etc.

Tension rods - probably won't need oiling since it's a new set, the lube applied at the factory should still be there. I use normal oil, the type used for sewing machine.

Heads - No harm reseating if you have time. If you guys are not on a tight budget, can explore the option of changing the stock heads as well. This is another area you which can affect your final sound. Coated, uncoated, 1ply, 2 ply. etc.

Can refer to this link for some info on heads + muffling
http://www.pearldrum.com/2002_techspeak/drumheads.asp

Another link on tuning
http://www.pearldrum.com/2002_techspeak/tuning.asp

I reckon it won't take more than a few hours to setup the whole kit. The heads should season and break in over the next few days you play. Then adjust again.

Be prepared though, it is a lot of trial and error; one can never stop learning how to get the best sound out of any drumset.

Anyway, this is my just my personal approach. I'm sure there'll be others to share their tips as well.

 

[joshie]

yea you can use song ring-o's or moongels. stuffing with pillows into the bass drum helps to. well basically you just tune it, oil it whatever go lick it if you want to. and make sure you're comfortable. definitely more than a day thats for sure, possibly up to a few days if you want it in tiptop condition. dont rush stuff or you can settle with thrash cans

 

[HappySoul]

Yups, I am unsure how it should sound, espacially the toms. This drumset is shared by a few of us and we do have different "tastes", some of us wanted a third a thrid while others wanted a third a fourth.

Btw if I were to put a cloth between the toms and a pillow in the bass drum, how should I do it, I would be unable to pitch it correctly if there were a piece of cloth in between.

 

[HappySoul]

Where do I get moongel?

 

[joshie]

drums resources at peninsula plaza. should be 12 dollars for 4 pieces.

 

[Frummer]

IMHO, schools bands shouldnt muffle their drums too much because they usually play outdoor and unmiced. With a muffled set, the resonance of the drumset would probably be drowned out by the band. Just a bit should do.

Let the drums sing

Oh ya a change in the heads from stock 1s would be good too!

 

[joshie]

agreed! instead you should be getting mics for the drums, no mufling at all only maybe for the bass drum la

 

[HappySoul]

We are a concert band, so play indoors. Maybe I go get moongel so when dunwan muffling can remove fast. Thinking of putting a soft toy in the bass drum, hows that cute idea. Lols

 

[joshie]

dude how're you gonna mic outdoors? im talking about indoor. if its a relatively big hall, trust me you wont be able to hear the drums clearly at all even if it wasnt muffled.

 

[Frummer]

thing is joshie, school bands dont mic up their kits.or at least i havnt seen 1 that was...haha

 

[BebopIggy]

Hi HappySoul,

The first time I saw it it was already set up, but I am unsure if it is ready for playing as the toms sound a little off. I do not have any idea what has been already done to it.

Most probably the drumset is not tuned yet. Most drumsets are not tuned properly when they are shipped out of the factory. Thus the tom sounds a little off to you.

Do I need to take out the tension rods and oil them then tune them? Do I still need to "seat" the drum and "press" it to make the crackling sounds?

Since this is a new set, you don't need to oil the tension rods.You may "seat" the drum heads to stretch it a bit to "season" it. If not it will go out of tune very soon. Please take note that if the drums are played very week, you may wish to re-tune it maybe every 3 months.

The toms from the other drumsets in my band are muffled by a piece of cloth over the shell but I some videos I have seen tell me it is no good as it is "uneven" between the "clothed" part and the rest of the drum.

In my opinion, never muffle a drum. Why would you tune a drum and then muffle it? You are just destoying the sound. You might as well don't tune the drum in the beginning. Except for my bass drum which had a small piece of felt on the bass drum batter, about 5 cm from the edge, no muffling device is used at all.

As for the bass drum, what should I stuff in to muffle the sound? I am thinking of a pillow, does it work? The other bass drums have pillow and flour in them.

You can use a pillow to muffle the bass drum or a flet cloth across the batter head.

How long would it take if I were to re-tune it, muffle it and do all the other neccessary stuffs before it is ready for playing?

Depending on your experience, it may take you 30mins to 2hrs to tune it.

Hope it helps.... cheers...

 

[JiveB]

dude how're you gonna mic outdoors? im talking about indoor. if its a relatively big hall, trust me you wont be able to hear the drums clearly at all even if it wasnt muffled.

if it's outdoors, all the more you need it mic'ed, that's why people use PA systems with big moniter speakers that project the sound to the public.. even amps that can be cranked need to be mic'ed, much less acoustic drums.

as far as i know, the acoustics for locations that concert bands normally play in are pretty damn good, thus volume shouldn't be much of a problem, and in some concert band productions i've attended there are condenser mics hanging down all over the stage to capture the entire band sound and amplify it. so there goes.

 

[joshie]

usually drums dont need to be mic'd outdoors. but anyways thats what im saying, you should be mic'g instead of muffling

 

[Frummer]

From my 6 years of Concert Band-ing...

the only 2 purposes of mics are:

Projecting the sound from the stage ( outdoor situation ... mic'ed in different areas of the band...not instrumentally )

Recording purposes...example...once in awhile u get bands who wanna record themselves in concert...thus the hanging condensers and other mics.Most common indoors.

So yeah...i dont think u will see a concert band mic up a drumset alone anytime soon...perhaps...as a section...or...just 1 hanging mic for the drumset....

 

[JiveB]

usually drums dont need to be mic'd outdoors. but anyways thats what im saying, you should be mic'g instead of muffling

drums don't need to mic'ed outdoors? i take it that you don't hear a lot of drums at the concerts you go to? the outdoor ones that is. how is it possible i wonder, for say, linkin park tohold a concert at the padang without mic'ing the drums and amps up?

*sorry for the example, its late and i can't really think. another example would be rock on singapore, the stuff at youth park, all that.

 

[joshie]

yea of course if its large scale then you have to mic la. obviously anything that involves a whole dealof a thousand people requires mic'g no matter indoors or outdoors. if its just a small event theres nothing to constraint the drum sounds.

 

[andreww]

may i ask, how do you tune a bass drum?im using an evans g2ply batter head, but it doesnt really give me tt big and deep sound that i want? wad you guys suggest? cheers-

 

[HappySoul]

Yay! Its done. Not by me, by some other guy my conductor got. One pillow stuffed in, no tom muffling.. and yups, school bands don't really place mikes around the kit only, usually we do it for concerts and recording, where the microphones are placed everywhere, there is a certain order I guess, but I don't know what it is.

Thanks guys!