Ringggggggggggg.....i stink at tuning drums

[tarheeldrummer13]

All of my drums on my drumset just ring and ring when I hit them. Does any1 know how to dampen them?

[hellsbells58]

Your drums are meant to resonate, but if you dont have any dampening they will ring too much.

Have a look at getting some Remo O-rings, they're the best dampening. They're pretty cheap too.

HB58

[djsdrumrgrl]

i have those evans rings. they are awesome.

[hellsbells58]

Yeah, I have the Remo O-rings for all my toms, they make them sound awesome.

HB58

[djsdrumrgrl]

i did use these foam rings, called overtone rings. and didn't like them cuz they made my drums dull and thud sounding. but i use them on my snare on the bottom to reduce the vibrateing or whatever you call it sound. and they work great on my snare.

[drummer]

Take small strips of duct tape about 1" by 3" and put them near the edge of the drum. Use just one or two at first and see how you like the tone as you go. This should help.

You may also want to consider replacing the existing top heads with Remo Emperors or Pinstripes.

[Metal-head]

sometimes repositioning them helps with that just a bit, bot to noticable of a difference so its really not worth. Just thought id give something that i do sometimes for that problem

[oz25227]

Also, try moon gel. Excellent dampener!

[Daemon]

i find i only need to dampen my snare, so i throw my bank card on it and tadaa!

[funkymcstain]

in loud stuations ring is your friend.

[tarheeldrummer13]

Thanks It will help alot

[michiganice91]

i have aquarian studio rings..those are a good thing to add. I would try just buying a new set of remo pinstripes...or evans hydraulic heads, those will dampen u right up.


By the way...where do u live..i am in cary nc

[32ndHeartBeat]

I have a similar question, but not involving tuning...
Everytime I turn my snare on it affects my toms horribly. I use the snare off more than on because I enjoy the tribal tone it creates, but when I do have it on all of my toms make the wire underneath vibrate and they sound like snares themselves practically. I've tried tightening the wire as much as possible and re-tuning the bottom head, but nothing seems to calm it.

-32

btw
i've got the Remo O-Rings as well, great stuff

[michiganice91]

i had that problem as well when i had single ply clear tom heads 32...but ever since i switch to emporor coated heads the ringing is gone.

[Pdplayer]

tarheeldrummer13

Before you go spending money on something you may or may not need, let me ask you this.

What heads are you using? More importantly how are you tuning your drums? Both of these can cause excessive ringing, if the heads suck or the tuning is not right, this can have a dramatic effect on the sound of your drums.

[Stevo42w]

Do you people use uniform skins on tops and bottoms or do you just keep something cheap on the bottom and quality on the top?

[Pdplayer]

Do you people use uniform skins on tops and bottoms or do you just keep something cheap on the bottom and quality on the top?

I keep the the heads that came with the kit on the bottom, and Evans G2's on the batter or top, I would also really recommend the Evans torque key, it works like a champ, I suck at tuning and this took care of that flawlessly.

[Stevo42w]

Im all for torque keys. I know they work best :> what torques do people use?
Stickey tape and tissues in small 1" to 3" squares on the understide of your cymbols or tops of your skins works to deaden them. Much like those clamp on dampeners you can get.

[pastor_bob]

I have a similar question, but not involving tuning...
Everytime I turn my snare on it affects my toms horribly. I use the snare off more than on because I enjoy the tribal tone it creates, but when I do have it on all of my toms make the wire underneath vibrate and they sound like snares themselves practically. I've tried tightening the wire as much as possible and re-tuning the bottom head, but nothing seems to calm it.

-32

btw
i've got the Remo O-Rings as well, great stuff

There might be one other issue here. It is possible that you have the toms harmonically in tune with your snare, so that they will resonate together. If nothing else works, try tuning your toms slightly off of where they are (either up or down) might break the harmonic resonance.

[Pdplayer]

Im all for torque keys. I know they work best :> what torques do people use?
Stickey tape and tissues in small 1" to 3" squares on the understide of your cymbols or tops of your skins works to deaden them. Much like those clamp on dampeners you can get.

Seriously you need to just play around with the key, but mine are all set pretty low, except the snare.

Yea but that is just being lazy and it makes the drums and cymbals look like butt.

[lildrummerboi]

There might be one other issue here. It is possible that you have the toms harmonically in tune with your snare, so that they will resonate together. If nothing else works, try tuning your toms slightly off of where they are (either up or down) might break the harmonic resonance.

yea i had the same prob and i tried this, and it cleared up--it was always my floor toms that gave the most problems, and after i figured out they were tuned together it was like "ooooooooooh" hehe

o and remos all the way, i have remo emperors they rock

[rush_fan]

you know, one thing you could do that MIGHT (i said might) fix your problem, would have nothing to do with dampening or the type of head. the toms might just be tuned a bit too high. try tuning them down a bit (not too low but not too high. depending on the size of the high tom, guessing a 12", tune it near middle C) and they might not sound to ringy and a bit more rocky. of course, this all depends on your style of music.

[jim miller]

I know this will date me,but...gene krupa would tune his drums on site to the base player,"thats string base".or if there were horns in the group he would tune the drums to the reeds.Hey!these guys were pioneers and you young people owe a lot to them.....

[quikstang2]

All of my drums on my drumset just ring and ring when I hit them. Does any1 know how to dampen them?

There's tons of ways to dampen drums. I feel most people are very uncreative when doing so. RemOs, moon gel, tape... BORING!!! I prefer to have hot babes in bikinis place their finger tips lightly on the edge of the heads to dampen them. It's very beneficial to have a large drum kit when using this method.

Short of that, head selection and tuning will get rid of any unwanted overtones or ringing. Don't waste your money on extra stuff. You've already gotta buy expensive heads. Just buy the ones that get the sound you want and tune them. I don't mean to sound like a jerk, but it's fairly easy to do and saves you money in the end. Heck, if you get good at it you might even get paid (or get a free lunch) to tune your friends' drums.

[livewire80]

Tuning is an art and comes down to personal preference that takes time to master. Firstly, what sound you want needs to be determined, and that changes as your tastes change.