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Thread: tuning key

  1. #1

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    Default tuning key

    my tuning key doesn't fit snug on my lugs, i mean i can tune the drums and all with it, but its a bit loose when i stick the key in the lug. this gives me trouble with tuning because i cant align the key with lug at a 90 decgree angle, which gives me all sorts of different tensions on each lug. anyways, is this normal for a key not to fit very snug?

  2. #2

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    yah because the lug heads arent all made exactly the same size

    edit

    evans makes a magnetic drum key
    you might want to give that a try

  3. #3

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    hmm interesting, what would be the purpose of the magnetism??

  4. #4

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    I have the Evans Torque key, and it is magnetic. I like it, because it helps me achieve even tuning. The stated purpose of the megnetism is that it could be left on a lug while you play if you need to keep checking the tuning. I would find that distracting, but if you broke a head during a gig, and you needed to keep checking the tuning between songs, I guess it could be a good thing.
    Quoting gonefishin: Just have some bacon with ya when you go pick her up..........youre an instant chick magnet.





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  5. #5

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    how does the evans torgue key word? you ajust what tension you want on the drum to the key and then it stops turning the lug at the specifide tension?

  6. #6

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    work*

  7. #7

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    You've pretty much got it Lafirin. It works like a one of those torque wrenches that clicks and "breaks" when it gets to the correct tension. You dial in the tension that you want and the key "breaks" when it reaches the tension level that you dialed in so that you don't go past the tension.

    The problem that i see with the torque key is that it makes the assumption that none of the tension rods "stick." That's why I lubricated all my tension rods when I set up the drums. I use the torque key to get close to what I want, then I use the old tried and true tapping the head in front of each lug (with a finger on the center of the head), and turn each lug until I have even tone all the way around.
    Quoting gonefishin: Just have some bacon with ya when you go pick her up..........youre an instant chick magnet.





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  8. #8

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    thats the exact reason why i was worried about getting a torque key, or a drum dail. cuz it would "break" or measure the jamming of the lug, therefor making the tuning all wrong. but the DW40 will fix that.

    i got a problem with tapping each lug, i wonder if you got the same thing.

    when i tune, i make sure the lugs are pretty close together in tension. so when i go to tap they sound almost the same. and when i go to tap this happens, ill give you an example.

    say you tap one lug and it goes "ding" and then you tap the one across from it goes "dong" if i hit the lug that made the "dong" sound it will make a "ding" sound, and i go in a circle, the sounds all seem the same and i can change what they sound like in my mind, its really weird. sorry thats the best i could explain this.

  9. #9

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    Ding Dong.......who's a ding dong? Ok this is my bad joke allowance for the night. Blessings........

  10. #10

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    Just purchase a quality drum key form one of the higher end manufactures and you should be fine. If it is an inexpensive key made overseas, they are cast and sometimes really sloppy in the way they fit. I have a DW large type key that sits in a plastic holder clipped to my high hat. It fits my tuning rods perfectly.

  11. #11

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    Quote Originally Posted by Lafirin View Post
    say you tap one lug and it goes "ding" and then you tap the one across from it goes "dong" if i hit the lug that made the "dong" sound it will make a "ding" sound, and i go in a circle, the sounds all seem the same and i can change what they sound like in my mind, its really weird. sorry thats the best i could explain this.
    Lafirin, I understand what you're saying. The mind can play tricks on you after a while, and you end up gettin' crazy just trying to tune a drum! When that starts to happen, get up and walk away. Go do something else for about 5-10 minutes and then go back. I would also suggest that when you tap the head, try to hum the tone that you hear before you go to the next position. It might take you a while to learn how to do it if you're having trouble with pitch, but it is good ear training, and when you start getting it you'll be able to hold the pitch in your head better as you go to the next lugs.

    Hope this helps some.
    Quoting gonefishin: Just have some bacon with ya when you go pick her up..........youre an instant chick magnet.





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  12. #12

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    nice! someone else has this anyoing problem too. Ill try the humming and walking away thing. Im not tone deff or anything, so I know thats not the problem. Im gonna buy myself one of those drum dials too, so that should help me out.

  13. #13

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    what i do is use a stick
    and i tap very lightly

    keep in mind that snares are the hardest drum to tune because of the extra variables

  14. #14

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    Cool tuning key

    Laf, if you have a cheap tuning key, it's possible you've stripped the lugs on the key (like what happens when you get a cheap wrench and mess it up on a tough nut). Get a good tuning key so you don't mess up the lugs on your drums...unfortunately, dude, tuning keys are often made as cheap as possible, but the damage they can do with your lugs can cost you mucho dinero...
    keep the beat goin' ... Don't keep it to yourself!

    Charlie

    "If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away." --Henry David Thoreau, "Walden," 1854

    "There's a lot to be said for Time Honored tradition and value." --In memory of Frank "fiacovaz" Iacovazzi

    "Maybe your drums can be beat, but you can't."--Jack Keck

  15. #15

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    thanks guys, so much!

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