Question about Toms

[Crateis]

Hey everyone my name's Victor...I'm fresh to the world of drums (not to mention DC). So my dilemma goes like this: I got my first drum set 4 days ago (it's a Mapex, forgot which series though), I was pretty excited and just started to hit stuff...after a while I realized that the toms don't sound as they do in recordings, live albums or stuff. They have like a lasting sound once you hit them, and it sounds weird in the throne (to me at least). So a couple days passed of me practicing and I took a recording of myself just jamming, come to find out the toms don't sound like that in the video, they sound less....lasting if that makes sense. I started a couple covers and they didn't sound like the song at all...until I reviewed the video, in which the toms sounded way better.

In conclusion, my main question is if I can make it sound less...lasting? I wanted to ask a bunch of experienced drummers before I made any steps. I considered buying one of those drummer headphones, but I dunno...hence me asking here, thanks in advance for any help.

[pastor_bob]

Welcome to Drum Chat Crateis! Nice to have another Tennessean in here.

The first question I would have for you is what do you know about tuning your kit? It sounds like you might be having trouble with overtones. Good tuning can help you, and then there are several dampening things that you can use to help with those overtones. Also, what heads are on your kit, because the right heads can also be important in giving you the sound that you want.

Again, welcome!

[xweasel]

Hey everyone my name's Victor...I'm fresh to the world of drums (not to mention DC). So my dilemma goes like this: I got my first drum set 4 days ago (it's a Mapex, forgot which series though), I was pretty excited and just started to hit stuff...after a while I realized that the toms don't sound as they do in recordings, live albums or stuff. They have like a lasting sound once you hit them, and it sounds weird in the throne (to me at least). So a couple days passed of me practicing and I took a recording of myself just jamming, come to find out the toms don't sound like that in the video, they sound less....lasting if that makes sense. I started a couple covers and they didn't sound like the song at all...until I reviewed the video, in which the toms sounded way better.

In conclusion, my main question is if I can make it sound less...lasting? I wanted to ask a bunch of experienced drummers before I made any steps. I considered buying one of those drummer headphones, but I dunno...hence me asking here, thanks in advance for any help.

That "lasting" sound is called sustain. If you want less sustain, muffle the drums by putting a little duct tape on the head, or tuning them looser. Generally it's very hard if not impossible to replicate sounds you hear on studio albums because the drums have been mixed.

Also, if you muffle the head to give it less sustain, if will probably have even less sustain on recording. It really depends on what sound you're going for. Experiment around with tuning and muffling and find the sound you like.

[Crateis]

Welcome to Drum Chat Crateis! Nice to have another Tennessean in here.

The first question I would have for you is what do you know about tuning your kit? It sounds like you might be having trouble with overtones. Good tuning can help you, and then there are several dampening things that you can use to help with those overtones. Also, what heads are on your kit, because the right heads can also be important in giving you the sound that you want.

Again, welcome!

Thanks, and I don't know much about tuning my drum instructor tuned it for me when I bought it, and the heads are Remo UX's.

That "lasting" sound is called sustain. If you want less sustain, muffle the drums by putting a little duct tape on the head, or tuning them looser. Generally it's very hard if not impossible to replicate sounds you hear on studio albums because the drums have been mixed.

Also, if you muffle the head to give it less sustain, if will probably have even less sustain on recording. It really depends on what sound you're going for. Experiment around with tuning and muffling and find the sound you like.

I honestly doubt I'll be recording anything for a while, so I'm not worried about that. As for the duct tape, I'll definetely have to try that, and if that doesn't work I'll loosen it a bit.


Thanks for the help

[pastor_bob]

Crateis, there is a great resource for learning how to tune your drums. It's called Professor Sound's Drum Tuning Bible. It will give you a lot of information, and might even give you more than you can completely understand in the beginning, but if you read through it, you will understand things more and more as you learn your kit. There are a lot of good resources like this by going to the navigation bar at the top of the page, and clicking on "Drum Links." In the drop down box, click on "Drum Lessons," and then find "Tuning," or any of the other subjects.

All the best with your drumming, and don't hesitate to ask any questions. The people here are great about offering thoughts that can help you in your drumming journey.

[yohin]

First things first...replace the stock heads (the heads that came with the drums). Get some Evans G2's and stick 'em on and they'll sound much better. The heads you have now are single ply heads, which means they're only made of one layer of mylar. Heads like Evans G2 (or Remo Emperor) have two layers, which gives you more durability and less sustain. But like Xweasel said, most of the time it's pretty much impossible to replicate drum sounds on studio albums.

[ratmycue]

In regards to your post I would firstly like to say welcome newbie drummer,
I would also like to say ....yeh get those cans on your head or some sort of protection for your ears, constant whistling between ya lugs aint fun .

Once you have the [mufflin] on your ears all the overtones on the kit will seriously dissipate. as for tuning the kit if you have a seasoned teacher I'm sure he will give ya lots of tips down the road, and if not sticking around here will seriously benefit you, enjoy it man.

[Larrysperf]

Yes first and most important is hearing protection. Later on you will know why if you dont use it. Rat keeps answering the phone ring and noone is there lol. Just a little drummer humour

[Fades Away]

Hey everyone my name's Victor...I'm fresh to the world of drums (not to mention DC). So my dilemma goes like this: I got my first drum set 4 days ago (it's a Mapex, forgot which series though), I was pretty excited and just started to hit stuff...after a while I realized that the toms don't sound as they do in recordings, live albums or stuff. They have like a lasting sound once you hit them, and it sounds weird in the throne (to me at least). So a couple days passed of me practicing and I took a recording of myself just jamming, come to find out the toms don't sound like that in the video, they sound less....lasting if that makes sense. I started a couple covers and they didn't sound like the song at all...until I reviewed the video, in which the toms sounded way better.

In conclusion, my main question is if I can make it sound less...lasting? I wanted to ask a bunch of experienced drummers before I made any steps. I considered buying one of those drummer headphones, but I dunno...hence me asking here, thanks in advance for any help.

Hey Welcome to DC! Well i'll try my best to explain. First, like pb and others said tuning is HUGE! It's kind of a pain to learn but trust me it's well worth the time. Second i wanted to kind of explain recording for you a bit more since i've had quite a bit of time in the studio. You're not going to here the "true" sounds of the drums in a recording. Very very slim are you going to here a "real" kit. The reason for this is because it gets too messy in the mix (Meaning all of the other tracks, instruments, vocals etc.) so they often times use what's called a gate. A gate is basically an electronic way of letting some of the sound of your drum go through the mic but not the rest. Basically cutting out the sustain. I'll try to explain
This is a simulation of a tom being hit with out a gate, 1 being the hit and the following numbers meaning the sustain...

1....2...345.....5......6........6.......6....
So as i tried to illustrate is the 1 being loud is the initial hit of the head, the numbers following, decreasing in size, represent the sustain getting quieter and quieter
What a Gate does is basically cut off anything below a certain volume, let's say the didn't like the noise after 4 it would look like this...
1....2...34
Doing this really cleans up the sound and can often times mis lead you to a "muffled" sound. Hope this makes sense!

[El-kevo the drumtech]

if you like the sound on your recordings but not from the throne, wear ear plugs...if you like the live sound but not the recordings, not worry. alot gets lost in the mix but a good sound guy will pull it out. go with what your happy with.

[Crateis]

Yeah Fades I understand what you're talking about..as for the ear protection I'll probably get that and learn how to tune drums, I imagine it as a pain :\ but ah well what can ya do.

I'll probably change the heads a bit down the road though, I wanna at least get used to the kit before I make any changes to it...thanks for all the help guys!

[Ruz4life]

Seriously get the ear protection first or down the road that resonance won't matter cause ya won't hear it anyway! lol but really I think you'll find your drums sound will sound better if you don't try to kill the sustain as they will end up just sounding dead. I like Evans EC2 SSTs Clear on the top of my toms with some Evans G1 clears on the bottom or evans resonants. You can get a good sound with that combo and a lot of others as well.

You have to find the sound that you like and as Bob Gatzen says, "If it sounds good to you, it sounds good."

[yohin]

Seriously get the ear protection first or down the road that resonance won't matter cause ya won't hear it anyway! lol but really I think you'll find your drums sound will sound better if you don't try to kill the sustain as they will end up just sounding dead. I like Evans EC2 SSTs Clear on the top of my toms with some Evans G1 clears on the bottom or evans resonants. You can get a good sound with that combo and a lot of others as well.

You have to find the sound that you like and as Bob Gatzen says, "If it sounds good to you, it sounds good."

[Ruz4life]

I think I worded it awkwardly and possibly wrong, I was in a hurry earlier and didn't put enough thought into what I was trying to say.

[gonefishin]

Crateis, I cant add any more to what has already been said but will say congrats on getting your first set and welcome to the board.

[late8]

Welcome to DC.