I think the ability to tune a given drum (12x8, 13x9, 14x10) comes rather quickly. The problem, to me, is getting a nice balance between up tom and floor tom, and then on to the BD.
When I was a young kid ( is there any other kind of kid?) my 1st set of drums was a set of Kent drums. A 14x5 wood snare, 12x8 up tom, a 16x16 floor tom, and a 20x14 BD. I could never get the crisp sound from the wood snare that I like. That's the reason I use nothing but metal snares.
I hated the "jump" from 12x8 to 16x16. If I got the 12x8 where I wanted it, I had to tune the 16x16 up higher than I wanted it. That was where my problem was back then. Now I have 6 toms and have had as many as 9 (soon to be 10) but I can tune them in 30-45 minutes.
I stopped looking for that "perfect" sound going from venue to venue, and just tried to keep a consistent sound.
vlopez, work more on getting a nice balance on your drums rather than looking for that "perfect" sound because even if you find it, as soon as you move your drums, it will be gone.
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