Tuning/Seating/Cracking the Head

[Jerzey Street Band (JSB)]

I have just been reading up on different ways to tune, seat and 'crack' drum heads as I really want to get the best out of my Black Panther snare and wondered how many of you do this?
What I mean is when you put a new head on a drum (snare, tom or kick) do you get the lugs finger tight (or maybe a 1/4 turn or two) and then put your hands in the middle of the drum and apply pressure to the head so that you hear the cracking sound?

I have read that this should certainly be done on the snare batter but not on the head of the snare side, others do it on all heads and all drums, some have stated that there is no need to do this with Aquarian heads but it should be done with Evans and Remo.

So the question is this, do you apply pressure to the drum when you are changing heads, if yes, then what drums do you do it to and which heads (batter/reso or both)? and, what heads do you use (evans/remo/aquarian/other)? and if you don't do this when changing heads, why not?

Thanks for any help.

[Dad3353]

Good evening, JSB...
There are several schools of thought here; you'll just have to decide yourself which you will adhere to.
For my part, I follow the method explained very clearly in the Drum Tuning Bible (look it up, if you haven't already seen it...). I've used the same method for years for all my drums, using either Remo Ambassadors or Evans G1/G2, Genera Dry/Haze 300 for the snares.It works a treat for me, and I'm not looking to change.
Others will have different opinions; ultimately it's your call.
Hope this helps...

[pastor_bob]

+1 I have followed the Drum Tuning Bible procedure since I began drumming, so I "seat" all heads before tuning.

[Linchpin]

I've never done the seating the head thing, I've always put the new head on, tuned, play for a bit and tweak the tuning again. I've never had a problem so I doubt I'll change anytime soon.

[slinglander]

tune-play/wait a day/adjust-tune-play/adjust-tune works too.

[itchie]

Iv been forcing all the loose "cracking" parts out

[Bish]

tune-play/wait a day/adjust-tune-play/adjust-tune works too.

+1

[dave0549jv]

tune-play/wait a day/adjust-tune-play/adjust-tune works too.

+2

[Pearl MCX Man]

I agree with all the above and tried them all over the years and I say whatever works for you.

[kaosotis]

I was taught to seat heads so I've done most of my drumming career. But I seem to recall or hearing that with modern heads it's not actually necessary. Between different glues and different manufacturing methods it's unnecessary.

However, I don't have a link to anything to prove it either way.

[Ernesto Pediangco]

The Big picture of drum head seating...is knowing the heritage from calf skin heads to plastic & identifying the differences which have created a need to standardize head sizes to fit standardized drum shells. But...on a simpler level, the sound edge dictates how easily a plastic head may or may not mold to the drums sound edge. Calf skin heads actually shrink wrapped & molded to the drums sound edge. Plastic will not initially but many methods were created to achieve a proper fit of head to drum shell. First ~ notice that many vintage drum edges were rounded ( bearing edges ) to allow the head to seat easily & to allow tuning range w/ reduced binding. Modern sound edges are sometimes very sharp edges which are not anything like the preformed shape of molded plastic heads. This makes tuning range near impossible since only when the head is very tight, enough to become flat & even across the drum head, it will then mold to the sharp head but be limited in tuning range. De tuning creates dead spots as the sharp molded edges moves off the sound edge rather than just flowing across a rounded bearing edge & maintaining a flush fit. For this reason...I do not use sharp sound edges on timbales because it limits the optimum tuning range & I like an edge that is friendly to calf skin heads as well as plastic. In the case of sharp edges on snare drums for example, I tune the drum slowly & evenly ( alternating patterns like when installing a wheel on cars Axel hub ) and bring the drum to the note or relative mid range I will like the drum to be. Then I place a piece of card board cut to the inner circle of the head so I can stand on the head...forcing the plastic to mold to the edge. Different head manufacturers have different skin wires & glued channels are the least strong & can experience pull out. I like Aquarian, Ludwig & Slingerland heads for having a secure skinwire that locks the plastic into the skin wire rather than just into a glue channel like Remo & Evans. But...Remo & Evans has a wider variety of head types to offer more options for what ever drum you apply them to. Many drums now made in Asia use a cheap thin Mylar w/ weaker skin wires. Most drum shops change out these heads to improve the sound of the drum in order to sell the drums ! Timbales are a major example of mediocre heads applied to both entry level & pro level drums alike. This low grade Mylar is not as uniform as major brand heads & some times is the reason for ugly overtones on metal shells that are bright to begin with. Single headed drums like timbales & concert toms require more attention to head selection & tuning in order to seat the head properly & focus the tuning. The cheap or thin heads tend to stretch out in the impact area and create dead zones where the head will loose much of its original sound quality. Ever see a loosened head w/ a bowl shaped distortion ? This is a dead head...replace it. Many drummers actually use a hair dryer to apply heat to the drum head edges to soften the plastic & as it cools, it shrink wraps to the sound edge shape. This is a touchy procedure since to much heat or uneven heat will change the uniformity of the plastic. Some drummers will place weight on a mounted drum head to assist the plastic to mold to the sound edge. Lower tuned floor toms are the most difficult to seat to the sound edge. The rounded factory shape of the head will simply float over the sound edge & have many dead spots where the head is not flush to the sound edge. This creates odd over tones & make focusing the tone very difficult. Simply by having a rounded edge helps the head fit better and allow tuning range while always being flush ti the edge. These issues sometimes cause me to avoid changing a well fitted but old head since a new head can sound worse than an old head that has already seated. The so called crackling sound of new heads is partly from friction to a sound edge that does not use paraffin wax as a lubricant to ease the plastic as it is tensioned & from the glue channel skin wire flexing. I have seen glue channel pull out a few times & luckily my local drum / music stores are cool enough to replace those heads ( U may not be so lucky ).

[Jerzey Street Band (JSB)]

Hey guys, I am finally back on DC after a very busy few weeks at work. Just wanted to say thanks for all the info and thanks for the lesson Ernesto, some great, valuable information there so thank you all.

[Russ]

I always seat them. But when it comes time for new heads, I tune them a bit higher to get the wrinkles out. I'll wait a few hours to a full day, and then play them. They've always seemed to sound pretty good to me.

[Larrysperf]

Todays modern heads dont really need to be cracked, lol only drum I aply hand pressure to while tunining is my bass heads, But thats just me. In tuning if it works for you then why change