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Thread: be careful, tune properly

  1. #1

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    Default be careful, tune properly

    so i see alot of questions about how tune and everyone will tell you that even tensioning is the key. and that's the truth. it is how ever important to remember to seat and stretch the heads properly. putting a new head on should not be a plug and play operation. if you happen to break a head in the middle of a set and need to put a new one on quickly, then you have to do what you have to do. but a better result is gained by putting the head on properly and tightening to full tension and then wait. no, no, don't touch it. give it at least a few hours to acclimate to the bearing edge and the room temp and stetch. you can even press into the center once in a while to help.
    after at least a couple hours you can back the tension off to nothing and begin the tune. first to finger tight and then tune as you wish, maintaining even tension around the drum.
    i bring this up because i just bought a used kit from a teenager and as i am re-heading the kit i am seeing scary things. when i put the toms on my work table i can see a visable wave in the rim from where one area is cranked all the way down and the next few inches the rod is tight but the rim is up higher. meaning there was definatley not care take to get the tension even in the lugs. the second as the pictures show, the heads were not seated properly to the drum. in this case these are pictures from the snare drum. the snare side head was not seated properly and moved and rubbed along the bearing edge causing some slight damage. the saw dust is the eveidence. in this case the damage was not bad and is an easy fix (some fine sandpaper cleaned up the edge), but it can be much worse and you can easily damage your edge or more easily the heads. Which, when doing a whole kit as i am, is not cheap.


  2. #2

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    Default Re: be careful, tune properly

    Sorry but I have never climatized my new heads like you mention. To break in a new head I usualy place it on the drum and with both hands on top of one another and using the palm push down on the head to stretch it a bit then I will place the hoop on and finger tight and start the tuning process and this works well for me as I can play for quite awhile before thightening the head down more. I do this with all my new heads and have had a long life span with my heads. Everyone is different and I say what works for you may not work for someone else. I am not saying that you are wrong but I am sure that there are many who do it your way and some mine.

  3. #3

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    I don't think I would tighten the heads to full tension right off the bat. I have been told you can ruin them doing that.
    Put them on and get the wrinkles out then press on the head with the palm of your hands then tension them up accordingly to normal tuneing for the size drum. It leaves room to tighten them up as you break them in.

  4. #4

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    I've never climatised a head either. Never really thought of it. I could see this being useful if the heads were really cold for some reason. They would be less apt to stretch properly. say in the winter if they were left outside in the car in the extreme cold or something. You would want to let them warm abit before installing.

    I have always finger tightened, put an 1/8 turn on each lug and then press my wieght in the middle of the head to help seat the head to the bearing edges. Then work on the tuning after that.

    I can see a method behind both techniques though.

    The thing is, installing new heads should never be a rush job, at least for me.

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  5. #5

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    seat and tune, walk away for half hour, come back and fine tune.
    what use to take hours now takes me 15 mins.

  6. #6

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    Default Re: be careful, tune properly

    A quick search for 'Drum Tuning Bible' brings up what I consider to be the best (perhaps not the only...) way to tune up. I've been doing things this way for years, and has never failed. I've never busted a head; I think you'd be extremely unlucky to have one unable to withstand this (standard...) treatment.
    Just my tuppence worth; hope this helps.
    (I would have posted the link, but it may not be approved, despite not being at all commercial...)
    Have a nice day.
    Dad3353 (Douglas...)

  7. #7

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    Another assembly/tuning method maybe not so obvious to some yet to be mentioned while you got it apart, don't forget to give the drum a thorough inspection...inside and out...take a real good look. Might as well explore the stands and/or mounting hardware, too. Upon completing those steps... turn lugs finger tight, press down firmly in middle with finger tips of one hand turning wrist slightly with each press. Then use drum key and 1/4 turn lugs in proper sequence repeating finger press stategy, but with slightly more downward pressure. On the 3rd or 4th cycle place drum on a padded but stable flat surface at a height where you can now use the palm of your hand ( much like that position used in CPR ) and once again, in the middle focus now on pushing firmly on the heal of your hand. ( This will actually bring most of the pressure closer to the lugs as opposed to the fingertip technique ) Rotate drum so heal of hand is pointed in the direction of each lug just before each press. After one firm press directed at each lug, tune accordingly. No more pressing. You will need to tune again and probably again, but just use the lugs. P.S. I never " press in " my bottom heads except just enough to be sure they are seated properly on the bearing edge. Remember to remind yourself all the while you are doing these steps how nice it's going to be when all done !
    Most definitely. As a matter of fact, there will be "NO LIMIT"... just an unending quagmire of musical genius.

  8. #8
    Larrysperf Guest

    Default Re: be careful, tune properly

    All I will say is ok nuff said

  9. #9

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    I don't "seat" my heads. According to bob gatzen, seating drum heads creates permanent damage and makes it harder for the head to stay in tune for as long. Being as I play evans drumheads, I see no reason not to listen to him.
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  10. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by rabidpenguin45 View Post
    I don't "seat" my heads. According to bob gatzen, seating drum heads creates permanent damage and makes it harder for the head to stay in tune for as long. Being as I play evans drumheads, I see no reason not to listen to him.
    Actually he does say to seat the heads. He just doesnt want you to crank them down, but to tune them more naturally or to your preferred tention.
    If you tune it to your liking from the start, it will drop in pitch naturally, then you bring it back up again, play it and just keep tuning it as often as you need to keep it at your desired pitch.
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  11. #11

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    By reading all the above post I guess it is up to the drummer to break or seat the heads the way he wants. Experimenting and reading suggestions from others is the only way to learn what is right or wrong way of breaking heads in. Good luck.

  12. #12

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    I dont "seat" my heads either. Just tune them up and play.

  13. #13

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    Quote Originally Posted by Pearl MCX Man View Post
    By reading all the above post I guess it is up to the drummer to break or seat the heads the way he wants. Experimenting and reading suggestions from others is the only way to learn what is right or wrong way of breaking heads in. Good luck.
    I agree with this 100%.

  14. #14

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    Maybe it's because I'm pregnant, I dunno but I got really upset when I saw that damaged shell - AAAAARRGHHH!!!!!!!!!! How could that guy (teenager!) allow that to happen?!

    Seriously... People new to drumming should look up how things are done, either by going online or visiting the library, but more importantly speaking to a professional drummer.

    I mean, buying drum equipment is extremely expensive and nobody can afford to damage their equipment just because they were too young or stupid or didn't care.
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  15. #15

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    Quote Originally Posted by Homeularis View Post
    Actually he does say to seat the heads. He just doesnt want you to crank them down, but to tune them more naturally or to your preferred tention.
    If you tune it to your liking from the start, it will drop in pitch naturally, then you bring it back up again, play it and just keep tuning it as often as you need to keep it at your desired pitch.
    That is the point that I was trying to make. Thanks for the clarification.

    I guess I interpreted "seating" heads as cranking them down and then tuning them to the desired note after awhile, as mentioned in the drum tuning bible.
    Gretsch - Tama - Pearl - Sabian - Zildjian - Stagg - Evans - Vater - Gibraltar

  16. #16

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    It is very important to seat a drumhead. Giving it the proper amount of time to shape and form to the shell has several advantages. The head will stay in tune longer, sound better, tune up faster, and you will avoid damaging it faster. All good things come to those who wait, so I would put new heads on after you're done with a session and let them stay on there till the next time you play. Do not overtighten them, if you never plan on using your heads up to this tension it will only lead to problems with wrinkles if you leave them here. You should only seat them with the max tension you would normally use the drum at. You might be pleasantly surprised in the long run, if you let them get ready for you.
    Last edited by Russ; 06-28-2011 at 05:29 PM.
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  17. #17

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    Never really had an issue. Put the head on and crank er down!

    all the best...

  18. #18

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    ok so work has kept me away from my fun time for a while now but i finally have some free time.
    let me clarify a few questions that were raised about my post.
    i would never recomend simply tightening the head to blast and leaving it. i just meant to tighten to a point where there is a full even amount of tenision on the head - think no wrinkles. i tune fairly low so this is actually right around my natural tuning.
    i know alot of people don't seat their heads to the drum before tuning and playing. i am not a subscirber to this method. i always seat the heads. especially since i have owned a number of used kits in my life that were in varying stated of "roundness". seating the head gives it a chance to conform to the shell and gives you a better chance at a good tune - imo. if you are playing on a brand spanking new high dollar kit or are the original owner of your kit and have always treated it well, yes, you probobly don't need to.
    and the last thing is letting them adjust to temperature. depending on where you live and what time of year it is and where the kit is going - it can help. trust me. when i lived in south florida buying heads, tuning and transporting drums and drumheads was a nightmare. when i worked at gc i have split a few drum heads that came straight of a hot truck into the back of the store and taken them straight on to the cold sales floor and put them on a drum and had problems. moving drums from the cold ac of the house to hot car that gets cold on the way to the gig and then into the club that is cold because no one is there will play hell with the tuning as well. i bring the drums in first open the cases take the dums out and let them sit in the room while i bring in and set up everything else. then set up and tune. i know tuning is obviously the last thing everyone does, but bringing the the drums in first and letting them sit in the room as long as you can will make the tuning easier and you should only have to do it once.
    disclaimer: again these are just personal experiences. yours may be different, i have been playing since i was a teenager and never had a lot of cash to waste on mistakes and these methods have always served me well so i stick by them.

  19. #19

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    I was taught to seat heads by pushing down on the middle once you have a medium amount of tension. This was also the late 70's, early 80's. My understanding is that with modern materials and manufacturing it's really not that necessary anymore to "stretch" the head by pushing down on it.

    I think the general idea in anything with drum equipment is be patient and careful.
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  20. #20

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    Quote Originally Posted by kaosotis View Post
    I was taught to seat heads by pushing down on the middle once you have a medium amount of tension. This was also the late 70's, early 80's. My understanding is that with modern materials and manufacturing it's really not that necessary anymore to "stretch" the head by pushing down on it.

    I think the general idea in anything with drum equipment is be patient and careful.
    amen on the patient and careful

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