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Thread: Struggling to stay in tune

  1. #1

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    Default Struggling to stay in tune

    I know I don't have a high dollar set playing a Mapex Horizon, but I'm needing some tips until I can upgrade my kit.

    I have my snare where I want it, it's the toms I'm having issue with. First, I have an 8 inch, 10 inch, 12 inch, and 16 inch floor for toms. I like a deeper tone out of my toms, especially my floor tom. My heads are Evans EC2's over Evans G1's. I do have an Evans torque key. I have the EMAD system on my kick drum, and could probably use some pointers on it as well.

    While I like the deeper tone, I'm not opposed to a different sound either. I know I should start with the resonate heads, but I'm just frustrated and lost right now.
    Six Piece Mapex Saturn V, Five Piece DW Performance Series, NOS Slingerland Snares, Centent Ardor and Emperor Cymbals


  2. #2

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    Default Re: Struggling to stay in tune

    I started to type instructions on tuning, however realized I didn't need to reinvent the wheel. There are tons of YT tutorials on tuning toms and kick drums. The Evans Drumheads channel has some tutorials by Bob Gatzen that are invaluable. You don't need a high dollar kit to sound good. Good bearing edges will go along way in tuning your kit.

  3. #3

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    Default Re: Struggling to stay in tune

    I think I found something that will work for me. I've still got some touching up to do, but they're already sounding better
    Six Piece Mapex Saturn V, Five Piece DW Performance Series, NOS Slingerland Snares, Centent Ardor and Emperor Cymbals


  4. #4

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    Default Re: Struggling to stay in tune

    I use Clear EC2's on all my toms over EC resos. My batter are 1 turn over finger tight and my resos are 1/2 turn tighter . They sound pretty boom. Maybe try that combination and see what happens.

  5. #5

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    Default Re: Struggling to stay in tune

    If you prefer a lower tone from your toms - have you considered buying a 13" and removing the 8". Not trying to be facetious here but trying to get a small diameter tom to produce a low note is going to be a challenge.

    The good news is 13" toms are frequently sold on eBay and if you play the waiting game you should be able to find a matching horizon tom pretty cheap.

  6. #6

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    Default Re: Struggling to stay in tune

    Quote Originally Posted by crispycritters View Post
    If you prefer a lower tone from your toms - have you considered buying a 13" and removing the 8". Not trying to be facetious here but trying to get a small diameter tom to produce a low note is going to be a challenge.

    The good news is 13" toms are frequently sold on eBay and if you play the waiting game you should be able to find a matching horizon tom pretty cheap.
    I have thought about that for sure. I know my 10 and 12 sound pretty good, but the 8 is the tough one.
    Six Piece Mapex Saturn V, Five Piece DW Performance Series, NOS Slingerland Snares, Centent Ardor and Emperor Cymbals


  7. #7

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    Default Re: Struggling to stay in tune

    You would be best served by putting the 8 inch tom on the shelf and buying a matching 14 inch floor tom. The next item that may help with tuning is to upgrade the hoops to 2.3mm.
    You can find these brand new at drumfactorydirect for a reasonable price. With these two changes, you may hear quite an improvement.
    Sonor drums
    Mapex hardware
    Paiste cymbals
    Meinl percussion
    Remo drumheads
    Vic Firth drumsticks

  8. #8

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    Default Re: Struggling to stay in tune

    Quote Originally Posted by DrumWhipper View Post
    I know I don't have a high dollar set playing a Mapex Horizon, but I'm needing some tips until I can upgrade my kit.

    I have my snare where I want it, it's the toms I'm having issue with. First, I have an 8 inch, 10 inch, 12 inch, and 16 inch floor for toms. I like a deeper tone out of my toms, especially my floor tom. My heads are Evans EC2's over Evans G1's. I do have an Evans torque key. I have the EMAD system on my kick drum, and could probably use some pointers on it as well.

    While I like the deeper tone, I'm not opposed to a different sound either. I know I should start with the resonate heads, but I'm just frustrated and lost right now.
    I know there are many die-hard drummers out there who scoff at the notion of using a DrumDial or a Tunebot for help; I was one of them. Having said that, I invested in the Tunebot studio after using a DrumDial for a few years and I’m blown away at how much better my drums sound.

    CBC5A50E-BB13-4AD0-A4B0-D783593E0A74.jpg

    There were frequencies that my ear couldn’t distinguished between different intervals and it frustrated me to no end when I heard my drum tracks played back in the studio. It was the best $99.00 I’ve ever spent.

    My toms are 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and the kick is 18x22, snare is a Yamaha 7x14 Oak Custom with a Remo coated Ambassador over Remo Snareside Emp. The toms are tuned in major 3rds and I achieved it by reading the Tunebot recommendations and following the tuning guide that I downloaded from their website.

    86AE1A3A-8E6C-447B-8C8A-1954D8945317.jpg

    Batter heads are 2ply Aquarian coated StudioX over Aquarian 1 ply Classic Clears.
    Last edited by late8; 08-08-2020 at 02:58 PM.

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