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Thread: Tom Tuning Preferences - Using Tunebot

  1. #1

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    Default Tom Tuning Preferences - Using Tunebot

    Hey guys! I am a relatively new drummer (2 years playing off and on) and now I am gigging with a local cover band. I play Mapex saturns and I have picked up a tunebot. So far I love the tunebot and it 'gets me there' for my limited tuning experience.

    I know most people will say "you need to learn by ear, or experience is the only way" and I believe this to be true. I am still pretty new tuning this kit so I am looking for 'general suggestions' regarding the 3 concepts:

    1. Batter/Reso head the same pitch/tunebot settings
    2. Batter is higher than Reso head
    3. Reso is higher than Batter head

    Right now I tried some settings with the reso head lower than the batter head to get that 'pitch bend' bowwwww sound. I really think I dig that type of sound. Also, I have the saturns tuned pretty low - they are very deep and very boomy.

    I guess I am just looking for general tips or suggestions on how you guys configure your own kit; a discussion will surely only help me move forward and try new things! Just a quick clip of me playing (so you can hear the drum sounds)


  2. #2

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    Default Re: Tom Tuning Preferences - Using Tunebot

    I can only comment on a few things regarding tuning. Most of the drummers here can write a book about tuning because there is a lot of information and no one way is better than the other. Yes, tuning is a skill that has to be developed over time just like playing. There are a couple fundamentals when tuning that every drummer who has been playing a while knows. But to answer one of your questions directly, I like to tune my reso higher than my batter.
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  3. #3

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    Default Re: Tom Tuning Preferences - Using Tunebot

    First of all, Welcome to DC xmacvicar! Glad to have you here!

    Quote Originally Posted by drumsetsnide View Post
    I can only comment on a few things regarding tuning. Most of the drummers here can write a book about tuning because there is a lot of information and no one way is better than the other. Yes, tuning is a skill that has to be developed over time just like playing. There are a couple fundamentals when tuning that every drummer who has been playing a while knows. But to answer one of your questions directly, I like to tune my reso higher than my batter.
    ^^^This^^^

    I also like my reso heads tuned higher than the batter to get the pitch bend. However, everyone has there own personal tastes. If it sounds good to you and it's the way you like it, then rock on brother!
    I listened to your video post and the toms sounded pretty good to me. I also own and use the tunebot myself and absolutely love it. You will get those who will not agree with using a device like the tunebot, but to each his own. It took me a very long time to tune by ear and I think that I can do a decent job with this method. However, having and using a tool like the Tunebot can help in learning the "tune by ear" process immensely in my opinion. It also saves so much time by being able to dial a drum right back into where you like it. Even after changing out all of the heads, you can get them dialed right back to your liking in no time.

    Feel free to drop me a PM if you want to discuss tuning with the Tunebot. Again, welcome to DC!
    "it is what it is"

    "Dont rent anything you cant afford to burn in the backyard while drunk." - ThePloughman

  4. #4

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    Default Re: Tom Tuning Preferences - Using Tunebot

    I read some forum posts on here about the Tunebot and it seems that most people are against it...

    For me as a new drummer, its hard to tune by ear because im not sure exactly what to look/listen for! Right now I have been using the tuning calculator from TuneBot directly and setting my drums based on those settings.

    I am setting my reso heads 'lower' than the batter head to get that pitch bend effect (based on suggestions on a previous post) but I gather that if you reversed this tuning method (so that reso head was higher) you would still get a simliar pitch bend?

    For me one of the challenging things about tuning my Saturns (mostly toms and floor tom) is how low or high should they be tuned. You read lots on forums that Saturns love 'lower tunings' because they are so deep,etc. Right now my drums are tuned pretty low - i often wonder if they are too low for that sweet spot....I will admit - using the Tunebot hasn't allowed me to manually find that sweet spot myself - I am not sure if I would find it if doing it manually.

  5. #5

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    Default Re: Tom Tuning Preferences - Using Tunebot

    Quote Originally Posted by xmacvicar View Post
    I read some forum posts on here about the Tunebot and it seems that most people are against it....

    Yes, it seems to be that way, but there are some of us who do use it here on DC. In my honest opinion, it's an extremely helpful tool for the novice and veteran drummer. One can choose whether or not to utilize a tool like the Tunebot or have the opinion that it's a waste of time and money. There's no "right or wrong" here, it's all matter of personal preference. Do a search on general drum tuning here on DC or any other drum forum. You'll find different opinions all over the map regarding this subject.
    Quote Originally Posted by xmacvicar View Post
    For me as a new drummer, its hard to tune by ear because im not sure exactly what to look/listen for!

    Welcome to the drumming tuning world my friend! Myself and probably 99.9% of everyone else here in DC use to be at and/or are where you're at currently one point and time in their drumming journey. No worries! What I would do (IMO) is keep using your Tunebot as you have been doing. However, when you get some free time, remove one of your toms (12” is good) and take it to another room that preferably has decent acoustics. Grab your key and do some trial and error tuning. It’s all good; you have your Tunebot to get you back to where you started. I was going to try and explain my method, but I decided to not reinvent the wheel and just give you a link to the “Tuning Bible”. Right or wrong, Prof. Sound does a decent job explaining the tuning process. There is a ton of information on this site. Go to the section, “Tuning and Seating the Heads, All Drums”. PLEASE NOTE: This article states to use your drum key to tap on your head while tuning. I highly disagree with this method! Why take a chance on possibly creating dings on a bearing edge when you’re tapping 1” away from the rim? One little slip and DOH! Regardless, in this article on tuning, they talk about zones and phases. Pay particular attention to this while you’re experimenting. In short, every drum has a range where it will sound good. Some drums have a wider range than others due to many variables such as construction, materials used, etc. There are also multiple phases within a range that the drum will sound good once you reach certain tension levels on the head (resonates/opens up). What those tension levels are, nobody can tell you exactly. Again, every drum is different. This is the nature of drum tuning and why it’s very challenging for most of us at first. I’m no expert at tuning by any stretch of the imagination; I’m just trying to provide you with some information that will hopefully help you to gain a better understanding and what to listen for.
    Here’s the Drum Bible link: http://eric.frap.net/sa/bible/profsound.shtml#ref11
    Go to section, “Tuning and Seating the Heads, All Drums
    Quote Originally Posted by xmacvicar View Post
    I am setting my reso heads 'lower' than the batter head to get that pitch bend effect (based on suggestions on a previous post) but I gather that if you reversed this tuning method (so that reso head was higher) you would still get a simliar pitch bend?

    Yes, you will get a pitch bend either way. Again, there is no right or wrong here. If you like the pitch bend sound of the reso head tuned lower than the batter, go for it. You can always experiment and do the opposite (Reso higher than batter) and see how you like it. If you don’t like it, go back to what you had or try something else. That’s the beauty of drum tuning. You can try a lot of different tunings along with different heads to create your own sound that you prefer. It’s all personal preference.
    Quote Originally Posted by xmacvicar View Post
    For me one of the challenging things about tuning my Saturns (mostly toms and floor tom) is how low or high should they be tuned. You read lots on forums that Saturns love 'lower tunings' because they are so deep, etc. Right now my drums are tuned pretty low - i often wonder if they are too low for that sweet spot....I will admit - using the Tunebot hasn't allowed me to manually find that sweet spot myself - I am not sure if I would find it if doing it manually - thats why the Tunebot offers some reliable consistency for me.

    To gain a better understanding of shells and how the depth affects sound, go to the Drum Bible link and read the section, “Shell Depth versus Diameter”. How low or how high they should be tuned depends on your personal liking. In regards to the “sweet spot”, you will find that there are more than just one. This goes back to the “zones and phases” topic along with the relationship between the top and bottom heads.

    I hope that this info helps you in one way or another. Again, I’m no expert and never claimed to be one. However, I’ve been there and know exactly what you’re going through as many of us here have. I spent a lot of time researching this subject and experimented quite a bit. In fact, I’m still learning about tuning and probably always will. All I can say is take time to experiment. It’s the most crucial part in learning how to tune.
    "it is what it is"

    "Dont rent anything you cant afford to burn in the backyard while drunk." - ThePloughman

  6. #6

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    Default Re: Tom Tuning Preferences - Using Tunebot

    In the end who really cares how your drums get tuned? If you need assistance in the beginning then use what tools you have available.

    To NOT tune them or make a valid attempt is the only regret you should ever have.

    Enjoy your drums and if along the way you learn to tune by ear, more power to you!
    Signature here

  7. #7

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    Default Re: Tom Tuning Preferences - Using Tunebot

    I say whatever works for you Tune Bot, DDial, TTW, i drum tech tuner, ears etc

  8. #8

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    From being a "Tune-Bot" owner as well - I can give you some thoughts on it - First off - its a "Tool" - and it works well - But, what their suggested Tuning guide numbers are and what your "ears" like may be different - in this case, go with your Ears~!

    To get the most "resonance" from your Toms = tune the Batter head "Higher in Pitch" than the Resonant heads - The toms will be a bit "louder as well". I use this when Im playing a larger Venue when Im not mic'ing the kit - .

    To get a "Medium Resonance" from your Toms = Tune the Batter and the Resonant heads the same pitch - some drummers prefer this - personally I dont.

    To get the "Lowest amount of Resonance" from your Toms= Tune the Reso higher in pitch than the Batter head. This is the tuning I personally prefer when playing the medium to smaller venues - -And when "Mic'ing my Kit~!

    Use the Tuning Guide provided with the Tune-Bot - if you lost it etc - you can download it off their internet site - YouTube has a number of Videos on using a Tune-Bot - - . Personally, I dont tune my kit quite as high in frequency as they do but thats just my preference...and once I got my kit tuned to the sound "I like" I rechecked the numbers and noticed that my numbers were not quite as high in frequency as theirs was ( And I wrote mine down for future reference )...but their guide is only meant to get you in the "neighborhood" .

    From listening to your Video - - - If it was me - I would tune the Rack tom somewhat higher in pitch - and tune for maximum resonance - so the toms wont be smothered in the mix between the guitar and the bass - . With One Up and One Down - I want a good seperation of tone between the two toms - when I run down from Snare to Rack to Floor I want to hear each drum singing~!
    Just my personal preference.
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  9. #9

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    Wow everyone, thanks for the insightful and solid replies! Looks like DrumChat is gonna be an awesome place to learn and grow as a drummer

  10. #10

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    I tune the reso heads lower than the batter heads. The "power" toms on my Premier set are very deep and I like a lot of stick rebound, so I tune the batter heads pretty tight. That makes it pretty hard to tune the reso heads even tighter and still get a good sound from with sounding choked.
    -Brian

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    Play the SONG......not the DRUMS!!!

    "I think that feeling is a lot more important than technique. It's all very well doing a triple paradiddle - but who's going to know you've done it? If you play technically you sound like everybody else. It's being original that counts." ~ John Bonham

  11. #11

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    Quote Originally Posted by bish View Post
    in the end who really cares how your drums get tuned? If you need assistance in the beginning then use what tools you have available.

    To not tune them or make a valid attempt is the only regret you should ever have.

    Enjoy your drums and if along the way you learn to tune by ear, more power to you!
    Amen!
    "it is what it is"

    "Dont rent anything you cant afford to burn in the backyard while drunk." - ThePloughman

  12. #12

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    I was finally able to listen to the video...
    Nice job playing! Thats my kind of music! The audio is not very good using my iPhone, but I would also agree that it sounds like I would put a little more pitch seperation between the toms. I would also try to get a little more resonance...especially if you don't mic them. That would just be my personal opinion. It really depends on what YOU want in terms of sound.
    It's pretty hard to tell from these type of recordings and using an iPhone. It may sound really nice in person.
    -Brian

    "Too many crappy used drum stuff to list"

    Play the SONG......not the DRUMS!!!

    "I think that feeling is a lot more important than technique. It's all very well doing a triple paradiddle - but who's going to know you've done it? If you play technically you sound like everybody else. It's being original that counts." ~ John Bonham

  13. #13

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    I tune my resos A LOT higher than the batters. I always start with my biggest tom(16") and work my way up. I tune the reso first and generally I go for 150 Hz or so at the reso lugs. I then flip the drum over and tune the batter to 110 Hz range at the lugs. Sometimes I end up a couple Hz higher or lower but I always have found this gives me the sweet floor tom sound I like. I tune my 12" reso to about 210 Hz and 10" to about 250 Hz or so. I simply just keep building the batters up until they sound good. In general that tends to be about 50 Hz lower than the reso but I don't follow that very strictly. I used to tune top and bottom to the same but after some experimenting, as well as seeing Jeff Ocheltree explain that Bonham's resos were tuned a lot higher, I found I love the sound of tight resos. Once you tune them past a certain point, the pitch bend dissipates and it creates a clean, projecting tone. Much of the sound is being produced by the batter. From a physics point of view the looser batter has less resistance and moves easier than the tight reso. Therefore, I find that the drum is transferring most of the energy into the batters.
    For an extreme example of this sort of tuning check out Rich Redmond's settings on the Tunebot site. He really cranks his resos! For example he tunes his 16" batter lugs to 105 but his reso lugs are 178!!! That's quite a contrast.
    Last edited by mkennedy; 05-14-2014 at 05:12 PM.
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  14. #14

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    i think your toms sound fine .dont sweat it . and i think for only playing a couple of years , you sound very good ,, just keep playing everything will fall into place in its own time ...
    Tamaholic

  15. #15

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    Quote Originally Posted by Bish View Post
    In the end who really cares how your drums get tuned? If you need assistance in the beginning then use what tools you have available.

    To NOT tune them or make a valid attempt is the only regret you should ever have.

    Enjoy your drums and if along the way you learn to tune by ear, more power to you!
    Yup. I too thought your drums sounded good. Was there something different you wanted out of them?
    Jesse

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  16. #16

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    Nice sounding kit. Mapex Saturns are an impressive sounding drum set. Walnut and Maple? Anyway i did a little research on this Tunebot and it essentially does the John Good method of tuning. First establishing the fundamental note of the shell then tuning the heads appropriately. I use this method myself. To an old dog who had to learn all of this on my own it feels a little like cheating but thats progress.

    "you can't stop whats coming, it ain't all waiting on you. That's vanity." - No Country For Old Men

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  17. #17

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    I, too, thought your kit sounded great.

    I might tune the rack tom up a bit just to differentiate it more from the floor tom.
    DW drums and Paiste cymbals.

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