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Thread: drum tuning...

  1. #1

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    hey im havin trouble tuning my drums to sound good in unison. i can tune them to where the drums by themselves sound good, but when it comes to playing any fills or playing them together they just seem to clash with each other...will getting better drum heads maybe make it a bit easier? im sure alot of it is just having to screw around with it untill i find what sounds right...

  2. #2

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    dmac, instead of just tuning the toms to their best individual sounds, you might try tuning them in 3rds, or 4ths to each other. I tune mine in 4ths by humming the first 2 notes of "Here comes the bride..." I forget the songs that will help with tuning in 3rds, but I am sure others can help with that.
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  3. #3

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    awesome thanks for the advice.. i have just been screwing around with them trying to get them all in sync and i find i will only use one or two of the toms because they will clash haha...im tryin to get them all good so i can use the,m all together and not be limited in my fills as to what sounds good....thanks!!

  4. #4

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    I took out the bottom heads of my toms and tuned them seriously low. So far I've been doing pretty good.
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  5. #5

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    Quote Originally Posted by dmac52187 View Post
    hey im havin trouble tuning my drums to sound good in unison. i can tune them to where the drums by themselves sound good, but when it comes to playing any fills or playing them together they just seem to clash with each other...will getting better drum heads maybe make it a bit easier? im sure alot of it is just having to screw around with it untill i find what sounds right...
    As mentioned already, you could try tuning them in 3rds, 4ths, 5ths, or whatever interval you like best. OR, you could keep messing with each drum, trying new tuning strategies. Eventually, you will find the method that allows each drum to open up to its max potential, and it will sound fantastic.
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  6. #6

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    As I use 4 toms I tune to a triad, usually C, sometimes D. Gives me a great sound to my toms.

    The only two constants I have are DW and Zildjian.

  7. #7

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    i tune the batters low and the resos high
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  8. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by Nechre View Post
    As I use 4 toms I tune to a triad, usually C, sometimes D. Gives me a great sound to my toms.
    ok, whats a triad?
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  9. #9

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    As an example, In the diatonic scale of C major the triad would be
    C, E, G

    I have a 10, 12, 14 and 16, so I'd tune them like this:
    10 - C
    12 - G
    14 - E
    16 - C

    You'd tend to tune your drums to the key of the song you're playing, or to a tuning that harmonizes well with the key the song is in. This is a trick I picked up from reading some articles on Danny Carey. It's worked very well for me thus far.

    The only two constants I have are DW and Zildjian.

  10. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by Nechre View Post
    You'd tend to tune your drums to the key of the song you're playing, or to a tuning that harmonizes well with the key the song is in. This is a trick I picked up from reading some articles on Danny Carey. It's worked very well for me thus far.
    I don't have that much patience, plus I play so many different songs in so many keys, it would be crazy difficult to pull off.

  11. #11

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    You obviously wouldn't do that live.

    The only two constants I have are DW and Zildjian.

  12. #12

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    But even in a studio, it would be time consuming and tedious. Unless you are afforded the luxury of time...

  13. #13

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    yeah that tuning to the key of the song sounds pretty intense haha!!!... i have trouble trying to get them to a particular pitch...i just kind of tune them untill they sound ok, and its usually different every time...

  14. #14

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    also, i dont really do much with the bottom drum head...im not really sure how that effects it as far as sound or pitch wise, or if it is more effecting the sustain of the drum???

  15. #15

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    It affects a bit of both dmac. I like to tune the resonant head of my toms the same as my batter heads. When I find the right note on the toms (remember, I like to tune my toms in intervals of a 4th), I don't want the resonant head to change the sound.

    Tightening the resonant head will decrease the sustain somewhat, but unless you are tightening a lot, it probably won't be too noticeable. I would suggest to you that you take a tom off the kit and put it on the floor reso side down. Tune the batter head to the sound you want, then tune the reso head 1/4 turn higher, lower, and then the same, to get a feel for what each will do to the overall sound of the tom.
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  16. #16

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    Due to the nature of my head setup (Emperor Clear Batter, Ambassador Clear Resonant) I let my resonant heads end up being higher pitched than my batter heads. I try to keep them similar pitched, but I don't sweat it as long as it's close. A little bit of pitch difference can let the drum sing, a lot of difference can cause your drum to 'growl,' which is not, generally, a good sound.

    The only two constants I have are DW and Zildjian.

  17. #17

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    i think some drummers think too much about tuning. just sit down with the drum ,and mess around with it ,,, learn what happens to a drum when you tune the batter higher than the reso ,, then tune the reso higher than the batter , then tune them the same , LEARN YOUR DRUMS !!!!!!!!!! when you listen to other people about tuning,all your getting is their opinion,,, your not learning about YOUR DRUMS ...what would you do if there was NO INTERNET? you would learn how us older guys learned,,, by messing with your drums ,,, its the only way.... nobody is going to tell you a MAGIC way to tune drums ,,,there isnt any!!!!!!! there is no magic,, just a drum shell,drum head and a drum key ,, learn how all 3 of those things work , and you'll learn how to tune drums ... its the only way .
    Tamaholic

  18. #18

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    Quote Originally Posted by atomcorr2 View Post
    i think some drummers think too much about tuning. just sit down with the drum ,and mess around with it ,,, learn what happens to a drum when you tune the batter higher than the reso ,, then tune the reso higher than the batter , then tune them the same , LEARN YOUR DRUMS !!!!!!!!!! when you listen to other people about tuning,all your getting is their opinion,,, your not learning about YOUR DRUMS ...what would you do if there was NO INTERNET? you would learn how us older guys learned,,, by messing with your drums ,,, its the only way.... nobody is going to tell you a MAGIC way to tune drums ,,,there isnt any!!!!!!! there is no magic,, just a drum shell,drum head and a drum key ,, learn how all 3 of those things work , and you'll learn how to tune drums ... its the only way .
    LOL! This is classic! .... but, I'm with you Atom...point well taken, bro :-)

  19. #19
    Larrysperf Guest

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    Quote Originally Posted by atomcorr2 View Post
    i think some drummers think too much about tuning. just sit down with the drum ,and mess around with it ,,, learn what happens to a drum when you tune the batter higher than the reso ,, then tune the reso higher than the batter , then tune them the same , LEARN YOUR DRUMS !!!!!!!!!! when you listen to other people about tuning,all your getting is their opinion,,, your not learning about YOUR DRUMS ...what would you do if there was NO INTERNET? you would learn how us older guys learned,,, by messing with your drums ,,, its the only way.... nobody is going to tell you a MAGIC way to tune drums ,,,there isnt any!!!!!!! there is no magic,, just a drum shell,drum head and a drum key ,, learn how all 3 of those things work , and you'll learn how to tune drums ... its the only way .
    Well said. A good teacher will not let you play till you can tune your instrument. Practice is the best way

  20. #20

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    Quote Originally Posted by atomcorr2 View Post
    ...what would you do if there was NO INTERNET? you would learn how us older guys learned,,,
    Maybe that's why drums sounded so bad in the 70's...

  21. #21

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    How do you learn if you don't ask? Just because in the stone age you had to fly by the seat of your pants doesn't mean you have to now. If he wants some input on how to tune a drum, let him ask.

    He clearly wants an opinion, this post wouldn't have started if he didn't want advice. Does he have to follow it? No, of course not, but share the experience you gain, don't horde it and claim that you should figure it out all by yourself.

    Do you have to fiddle around yourself? Yeah. We're all miles away, we can't tune his drums for him. But we can give him some ideas to try out.

    The only two constants I have are DW and Zildjian.

  22. #22

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    well maybe im from the stoneage ,but i dont need triads and all that ,just to tune drums . what im trying to tell him is get to know your drums , its the best way to learn what you want your drums to sound like . i think there is some bad info in some of the above posts , info that makes it harder to tune than it should be, how does he want his drums to sound ? deep? high pitched? we dont know that.... so the best way to experiment with the drum is to just sitdown with it and learn about his drums,, not everybody elses, maybe im a caveman in your eyes ,but in my 42 years of playing drums,i took the time to learn how to make the drums sound how i want them to sound , so that i know what happens to a drum when you tighten or loosen a head . the only way to really learn how to tune is to get in there with a drum key and start to experiment !!!!!
    Tamaholic

  23. #23
    Larrysperf Guest

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    Quote Originally Posted by atomcorr2 View Post
    well maybe im from the stoneage ,but i dont need triads and all that ,just to tune drums . what im trying to tell him is get to know your drums , its the best way to learn what you want your drums to sound like . i think there is some bad info in some of the above posts , info that makes it harder to tune than it should be, how does he want his drums to sound ? deep? high pitched? we dont know that.... so the best way to experiment with the drum is to just sitdown with it and learn about his drums,, not everybody elses, maybe im a caveman in your eyes ,but in my 42 years of playing drums,i took the time to learn how to make the drums sound how i want them to sound , so that i know what happens to a drum when you tighten or loosen a head . the only way to really learn how to tune is to get in there with a drum key and start to experiment !!!!!
    Ditto

  24. #24

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    Quote Originally Posted by atomcorr2 View Post
    well maybe im from the stoneage ,but i dont need triads and all that ,just to tune drums . what im trying to tell him is get to know your drums , its the best way to learn what you want your drums to sound like . i think there is some bad info in some of the above posts , info that makes it harder to tune than it should be, how does he want his drums to sound ? deep? high pitched? we dont know that.... so the best way to experiment with the drum is to just sitdown with it and learn about his drums,, not everybody elses, maybe im a caveman in your eyes ,but in my 42 years of playing drums,i took the time to learn how to make the drums sound how i want them to sound , so that i know what happens to a drum when you tighten or loosen a head . the only way to really learn how to tune is to get in there with a drum key and start to experiment !!!!!
    Your right on!

  25. #25

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    Quote Originally Posted by atomcorr2 View Post
    i think some drummers think too much about tuning. just sit down with the drum ,and mess around with it ,,, learn what happens to a drum when you tune the batter higher than the reso ,, then tune the reso higher than the batter , then tune them the same , LEARN YOUR DRUMS !!!!!!!!!! when you listen to other people about tuning,all your getting is their opinion,,, your not learning about YOUR DRUMS ...what would you do if there was NO INTERNET? you would learn how us older guys learned,,, by messing with your drums ,,, its the only way.... nobody is going to tell you a MAGIC way to tune drums ,,,there isnt any!!!!!!! there is no magic,, just a drum shell,drum head and a drum key ,, learn how all 3 of those things work , and you'll learn how to tune drums ... its the only way .

    right on man.. thats mainly what i do is just screws with them untill they sound ok... i just wanted some input on some different ways of going about it

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