Tuning.

[Aaaidn]

I tuned my kit for the first time ever yesterday - got a lovely crack from my snare, to die for and my 8" tom WOW! but everything else I get an awful ringing noise that I can't seem to change, no matter how I tune them - retune them or anything.

And the tone just seems so awful, no attack to them just a fading Booomf noise, like the escape of air.
Anyone else had this problem? Or anyone that could help? Maybe a soundboard link as to how they should sound?

[jordison515]

Try tuning your resos lower, that should help quite a bit. I used to like my toms low with attack but now I like them high and resonant. It might take a while since it's your first time tuning but experiment with different tunings to find what you like best.

[mayanrelic]

...what kind of drums are talking?

[Aaaidn]

It's a 6 piece with an 8" tom, not so much bothered about the 8" because I need to learn to use everything else before I implement that into everything - but honestly any tips? I've watched bob gatzens video's and now everything sounds a bit worse, can't afford £39.00 for the local shop to come around and set it up.

[marko138]

Start with every lug (on both sides) finger tight. Then go 1/4 of a full turn at a time on each lug until you get a tone you like.

Have both heads the exact same tension. If you went 2 full turns above finger tight on the top head go 2 full turns on the bottom. If you like that sound then good. From there you can go higher on the reso head or lower and find a sound you like.

[Aaaidn]

What do you mean by 'finger tight' tighten with just my fingers?
I'm actually so frustrated. I played for about 5 minutes today, tried tuning, played for about 3 minutes more and got fed up of my drums sounding like a toy.

[marko138]

What do you mean by 'finger tight' tighten with just my fingers?
I'm actually so frustrated. I played for about 5 minutes today, tried tuning, played for about 3 minutes more and got fed up of my drums sounding like a toy.

Yep, back off the tension on the lug completely then tighten with just your fingers. Go 1/4 turns at a time, making sure each lug sounds the same. I generally tune about 1 full turn to maybe 1 and 1/4 above finger tight. With my reso head being about 1/4 turn higher than the batter.

[Aaaidn]

And same on snare? I can't seem to get it right.

[marko138]

And same on snare? I can't seem to get it right.

The snare I tune much higher. My top head is cranked down significantly. It's very tight. My bottom head is tight...but not as tight as the top. With the snare wires pulled pretty tight as well.

I like a nice crack from the snare.

[marko138]

What kind of drums and what kind of heads are you using?

[Aaaidn]

I have a Mapex Horizon HZB and stock Remo heads.

[marko138]

If you're getting weird over tones try using a piece of moongel or remo or evans rings on the drums.

I use 1 piece of moongel on the snare and 1 on the floor. My 12" tom is wide open.

[Aaaidn]

I'll try everything you've said tomorrow straight after school, hope I don't have to call in the music shop would be gutted spending nearly £40 on tuning.

[tadly]

What's the brand & line of your drums? What heads do you have on them? What kind of sound are you trying to get--do you like 'em low & fat or high & tight? I tend to have some trouble with 16" & 18" floor toms...it just takes playin' around with them. I also went through several different types of head on my last kit--a Ludwig Accent Elite (birch)--before I found something I liked.

It could be the room, too...some rooms just aren't conducive to a good drum sound. I've tuned drums so they sound great in one room & had to retune them at a gig...

[Aaaidn]

I'm currently using a 6 Piece Mapex Horizon HZB, with stock Remo's - and I'd like them fat. All I can get is rubbish.

I'm going to try anything that gets said in here because my drums just sound awful, so feel free if you've got something to say.

[slinglander]

My two cents here for simple tuning:
Try tuning all res heads to equal the sound of the batter heads OFF THE MOUNTS! Tune the heads until all wrinkles are gone first. Some lugs will need more tension than others to produce the sound you want. That's OK. Just get both res and batters the same for each drum. Now tune the batters a little tighter-everybody talks about 1/4 turns- you/we need that as a reference(it's not magic). With drums on their sides, Hit the heads moderately with a stick until you like the sounds.You will have some "boing" resonance the more you tighten the res vs batter. Eventually it will diminish as you tune the batter head in SMALL INCREMENTS. Move on to the next drum and repeat. The bigger the drum the bigger/deeper the "boing" will be. The drums sounds should go hi to lo as you tap each small to large tom. That figures, right?
Now mount them and notice the difference. In a small room you will get more"boing." Add some small gels to each batter head-window gels work for a $1 you get 20.
The ring will still be there(the "boing" but diminished.)Try this- take one outside, hold it and hit it. Notice the sound change? Now you're getting a chance to commune with your drums!
Anyway tweaking comes next....choice of different heads, blah, blah. You just don't want your drums to sound like so many round, cardboard boxes!

[tadly]

First, read this. I printed this off years ago and keep it in a binder. Exhaustive and invaluable.

http://home.earthlink.net/~prof.sound/

Second, if you're looking for a fat sound, you need either Evans EC2 or Remo Pinstripe heads. What you have is probably single ply, and, while you should be able to get them to sound good, it may not be what you're looking for. I know replacing heads is expensive, but...if you've tuned and retuned them, it's the next logical step, I guess. You might try just one new head to see if you like it...

[DrummerD]

Have you watched any of Bob Gatzen drum tuning videos on YouTube? His techniques are outstanding!

I tried inserting a link and a video of Gatzen, but for some reason, I haven't been able to do so for a couple weeks now. If interested, just go to YouTube and do a search for him. You'll find it.

[steveplaysyamaha]

there's a few great tuning videos on some popular drum head manufacturers websites that will pretty much reiterate what some of these gents have said.

Sometimes seeing someone do it (ie: video) is worth a thousand words.

[66musicmaster]

Be patient. Learning drum tuning is not a quick thing. IT takes time. I've been looking for "perfect" tone for two years now. Still haven't got exactly what I want but am getting close. Experiment with different settings. Tune floor tom first. Work with and learn how tuning the top vs bottom affects the sound. SOunds like a quality kit with usable heads. 8 minutes of playing is not enough time to get a feel for what the drums are really doing and what you want to change.

Keep at it. Short of breaking a head, the worst thing that can happen is you lossen them all up and start over.

Randy

[9digits]

First, read this. I printed this off years ago and keep it in a binder. Exhaustive and invaluable.

http://home.earthlink.net/~prof.sound/

Second, if you're looking for a fat sound, you need either Evans EC2 or Remo Pinstripe heads. What you have is probably single ply, and, while you should be able to get them to sound good, it may not be what you're looking for. I know replacing heads is expensive, but...if you've tuned and retuned them, it's the next logical step, I guess. You might try just one new head to see if you like it...

Thanks for a great link. It has really educated me on much I did not know, and I found this part to be so true!

"8 The sound heard from a CD at home is not what a drum really sounds like but on few occasions. What you hear is usually an altered version recorded according to what the producer and the artist want it to sound like through electronic alterations and is designed to fit the recording. An electronic device called a “compressor” used on a drum can accentuate the attack of the stick or kick drum beater giving it that un-natural edge.
....For this reason, sometimes you just cannot duplicate your “drum god’s” sound without the knowledge and use of electronics."
Imagine going through many various heads and getting it to sound like what you want only to have it be off when playing live or recording. Good stuff to know for newbs like me.

[rabidpenguin45]

As some have said, learning how to tune successfully takes longer than an afternoon. The drum tuning bible is a great start, but ultimately it is up to you to execute. An easy way to help yourself is to use a chromatic tuner, and check the pitch at each lug on the drum. For the toms it is pretty easy, get the reso side tuned evenly and just match that pitch with the batter. The tom will sympathize very well and you will get a very natural, full sounding drum.

[Derbis]

I tuned my kit for the first time ever yesterday - got a lovely crack from my snare, to die for and my 8" tom WOW! but everything else I get an awful ringing noise that I can't seem to change, no matter how I tune them - retune them or anything.

And the tone just seems so awful, no attack to them just a fading Booomf noise, like the escape of air.
Anyone else had this problem? Or anyone that could help? Maybe a soundboard link as to how they should sound?

what kinda heads are you using?

[Aaaidn]

what kinda heads are you using?

They are the mass produced very badly talked of Remo UX series, I now know why people talk badly of them.

[jafo]

I think for the most part, drum sounds are kind of akin to cymbal sounds. What sounds ok to others may not sound ok to you. I think it's alright to pursue one sound you like whether you can duplicate it or not, it's that sound you come by accidently on that journey that counts. You can get close to some recording sounds, but not exact.

I use Remo Pinstripes on the batter, and Remo Emporer's for the reso. I have Gretsch Catalina Maples. I have mine tuned kinda loose on the reso and just alittle tighter on the batter. It produces a nice tone and not much reso, but for me just the right ammount. The bigger the drum size goes on my toms, the more reso it seems to produce with these heads. So I adjust accordingly. I have found that maybe unlike other heads, if tuning lugs are not equal in tension, you get some very weird "out of tune" sounding overtones. As soon as I equal up the tension on the tuning lugs, it goes away and I get a nice level sounding tone. I try to tune them to get the pitch to lower as the reso fades. In other words, on the initial strike to the batter, the pitch will be at it's highest, and as the reso goes on the pitch lowers until silent. But if the tuning lugs are not equally tensioned, it all wierd overtones you hear.

I play enough I have to constaly tune my toms, usually my 10" tom is the one that seems to go out of tune the most. I can hear it right off. An 100% of the time, I find one or two tuning lugs loose. Then I retune the whole tom.