tom frustrations

[Russ]

man i cant stand it anymore. i just got done trying to tune a top and bottom head of a 16 inch rack/floor tom the same but after about 3 hours spent on just this one drum im beginning to want to give up. i tried tuning by ear, the x method, and tuning to a keyboard, but for some reason, i cant get both sides to go to the same pitch so the drum will resonate as one sound. should i cheat and buy some gimmick like the DTS or drumdial to evenly tune it? the head setup for the tom is a coated g2 on top with a clear single ply uk remo on the bottom. ive taken off the plastic spacers that came on the rods so i could reach more of the tuning range, but that didnt do much either. after all this time of tapping the head in front of each lug while twisting to get the head in tune with itself on top and on bottom, as well as the other methods, im worn out and i dont know what else to do. should i get some kind of tuning tool or seek professional help?

[Larrysperf]

Remove both heads. Clean bearing edge and check for dings. Now do reso first, make sure head is even all the way around finger tighten hoop
now go 1/2 turn on each criss cross now tap to tune at each lug, just to get tone. Now do batter same way. Now tune up to sound you want or the sweet spot from tom. Hope this helps. Also place hand in middle of drum and apply presure to seat drum and retune, cracking sound is normal so dont worry. Also this is how I do it and am not saying you dont know how to tune. Also put the plastic spacers back on as they help keep it in tune

[Russ]

i was doing those things today, maybe ill just put the spacers back on and see how it goes. another thought had occured to me, and i should have edited this in my original post but didnt remember at the time- is it the sound/tuning properties of a single ply and double ply head that makes them way too different to get a same pitch with? i mean it seems like the single ply head(my reso) cant go anywhere near as my double ply head can, perhaps its cause of the dampening properties of a double ply that makes it start lower or something i thought. maybe i should start using single ply over single ply instead of fighting to make two different people live in the same neighborhood. agh, drumdial please

[fumbled time]

tuning drums gets frustrating, I have tried to get a good bounce not to stiff not to flat and then try to match the lugs. Its a fine line bettween lose and tight. also try to tune it on a stand instead of the hold method, It produces a different result. IMHO.

[Greenmonster206]

The DTS isn't a gimmick...it really works. You will just have to turn a deaf ear (yes...pun intended) to the tuning 'purists' that will try to discourage you. You will cut tuning down from three hours to three minutes. Your drums will sound great and you will have more time to play, which is what its all about right? Good luck.

[Tazmania]

I have used a torque key and that works good but I have read a that the DTS is better.

[Northern Redneck]

First buy new heads Russ. You told me last night the heads were two years old.

[fiacovaz]

YThere have been many, many threads and posts about the problems we drummers face with tuning our drums. One thing I noticed lacking in most of these is to what Standard are some of us trying to tune to? Russ claims that he can't tune to specific pitch. OK, to what pitch is he referring to? Is it something he heard from a recording or a live session involving another drummer or is it a pitch we might hear within our minds? The age and condition of drum heads will impact tuning just as the size, shape and weight of the sticks we use will. Also, the width and dept of the drums will have an impact as will the thickness of the heads we choose to install. Add to this the tightness we may use with the basket clamp of the snare stand or wheter we are suspending toms or using floor legs. There are so many, many factors involved that it's little wonder we can go crazy. Oh, and don't forget to include the surroundings where we practice and/or perform: high ceiling, low ceiling, bare floors, carpeted floors, bare walls, curtained walls, large rooms, small room, and what about the ambient temperature...warm, cold, humid or dry? And yet, we continue to practice and play our drums. Doesn't it seem a bit odd that we overlook all these things at the moment we begin to play on stage? My point is, I guess, why worry about so many details when it is impossible to attend to every single one of them? Oh, did I mention that metal drums will sound all together than wood shells? And, speaking of wood shells, all the varieties available will affect the sound and pitch as well. AAarrrrrghhhhhhh!! I can't stand it any longer...I have to go downstairs and bang on my drums just to make sure I can still play the darn things.

[SonorDrummer]

YThere have been many, many threads and posts about the problems we drummers face with tuning our drums. One thing I noticed lacking in most of these is to what Standard are some of us trying to tune to? Russ claims that he can't tune to specific pitch. OK, to what pitch is he referring to? Is it something he heard from a recording or a live session involving another drummer or is it a pitch we might hear within our minds? The age and condition of drum heads will impact tuning just as the size, shape and weight of the sticks we use will. Also, the width and dept of the drums will have an impact as will the thickness of the heads we choose to install. Add to this the tightness we may use with the basket clamp of the snare stand or wheter we are suspending toms or using floor legs. There are so many, many factors involved that it's little wonder we can go crazy. Oh, and don't forget to include the surroundings where we practice and/or perform: high ceiling, low ceiling, bare floors, carpeted floors, bare walls, curtained walls, large rooms, small room, and what about the ambient temperature...warm, cold, humid or dry? And yet, we continue to practice and play our drums. Doesn't it seem a bit odd that we overlook all these things at the moment we begin to play on stage? My point is, I guess, why worry about so many details when it is impossible to attend to every single one of them? Oh, did I mention that metal drums will sound all together than wood shells? And, speaking of wood shells, all the varieties available will affect the sound and pitch as well. AAarrrrrghhhhhhh!! I can't stand it any longer...I have to go downstairs and bang on my drums just to make sure I can still play the darn things.

HEHE, dont forget the # of plys in your shells may vary. the fact is some drumms can't hit certain octives. And, yes, the heads will change your range. I would worry more about tuning them to the same key even if they're in a different octive.

[drummer]

Whew! I thought you had some frustrations with me or somethin'. LOL

[Russ]

having a bad day frank?

[xweasel]

I know how you feel. It gets so bloody frustrating I end up throwing my sticks at the walls.

I just cannot get my toms to sound right! Every time I try making them sound better, they end up sounding worse. My toms currently sound so bad I can't really stand hitting them.

[Russ]

i think it went a lil better today, my 12 inch tom and snare are perfect, now just gotta do the other ones similarly and all's well. copied down the drum tuning bible onto my desktop for some easy reference too, so that should help some

[nucjd]

Hey guys new to the forum. THought I wold throw in a couple of ideas. If the shell is out of round it will never tune correctly.it should not have more than 1/16th if an inch variation. Also pull your hoops off and lay them on a flat surface and make sure it is laying flat and does not have high or low spots, finally check your bearing edge. Lay the tom down with the bearing edge on a smooth surface with the hoops off. The bearing edge should be flat against the hard surface with no variation. All of of the above are key IMHO to getting and keeping the drum in tune.