DRUMMER CAFE

Here's the skinny. Brand new kit (and as soon as my hardware comes I'll post lots of pics... but not a minute before!), and I'm already having some tuning issues. This is my first all-maple kit, and I'm being really picky.

First off, gear. These are keller tom shells - 10x8.5, 12x9, and 16x13 toms. Toms are the only thing I'm having a problem with. Heads are Aquarian double-thins as batters, and classic clears as resonants. I own and use a Drum-Dial, so you can use that to your advice-dispensing.

My big problem is coming from the 16x13. I'm looking for a low, deep "doooooooooom" sound - typical big tom sound. When I tune it low (around 70 on the resonant, on the drum dial), it sounds papery and... well, bad. I try to tune it higher, but it loses it's great floor-tom sound them. Is it my choice of heads? Should I go with something meatier? I thought the double-thins would be able to handle it.

My tuning procedure is this: finger-tighten resonant lugs. Give each lug a little twist with the drum key to get it seated. Use the drum-dial to get all of the lugs around the same number with each other. Then I go through and check and adjust all the lugs by ear, tuning to the highest lug. I then tighten all the lugs just a little bit more, another 2 or 3 clicks on the drum dial. So I'm getting it just a teency bit above the lowest, meatiest note I can find. Then I flip over to the batter and do the same thing, except without the little boost at the end - so my resonant is a little bit higher than my batter.

I heard this would give me more "punch" in my floor tom, and it seems to have worked - it's punchy alright, but it's crappy at the same time. I like the punch, but I want the tone! Is it better to tune the resonant a little higher or a little lower than the batter to get the sound I'm looking for? I like my floor tom to have a little punch (and I use it for a lot of beats), but still lots of low end. I think maybe any useful information on the function of the resonant head versus batter head would be helpful in helping me figure out what I'm looking to do. Like higher resonant = higher pitch, more punch, etc. etc.

I like to tune from lowest to highest, so this inability to tune up my 16" gives way to a crappy sounding 12" tom. Overall, I can get a good sound out of the 12", but not in relation to the 16".

I'm exagerrating all of this, to be honest. These drums sound much better than anything I've ever played (and especially owned), I'm just being picky.... and hey, I deserve to be picky! I worked for a year to afford these things.

Thanks for the help, and for your patience with this huge post.

It seems to me that tightening the resonant head more than your batter deadens the sound. That's what I've done for years to get more attack and louder volumes.

I would try and tune both heads to the same tension and pitch to get a more "doooooooom" sound like you discribed.

Somtimes it's hard to get a full tone at a low pitch when you're tuning from zero tension. Try this:

Release all the tension from the bottom head, so that the tension rods are only finger tight. Then, tighten each rod 2 full turns, working your way around the drum, starting at 12 o'clock, then 6, then 3, then 9. Then get the lugs in between, in a similar order. See if the head has a decent tone, but one that's higher than what you want. If not, repeat the process, tuning the head fairly tight. Using your ears or your drum-dial thingie, get the head in tune with itself at a fairly high pitch.

Then sit on the head (or at the very least, press down really hard with both hands). The head will stretch, and the pitch will lower. Get the head back in tune with itself, and keep pressing. Once you get it in tune with itself, start backing off the tension, making sure to do it equally on each rod. Keep stretching the head using hands or butt pressure, and gradually work your way down to a pitch you like.

For some reason it's usually easier to approach the pitch you want from above, not below. Work your way down until you have a low, fat, full tone. You  want your resonant head to really sing, but it also has a huge effect on the drum's overall pitch, so it's important to spend some time getting a tone that's both full and low-pitched.

Then, flip the drum over and do the same to the top head. I usually end up with my top head looser than my bottom - the pitch difference is usually about a minor third. But thats my drums, my sizes, and my heads - you need to find the best pitch combo for yours. But try it by lowering down to pitch you want, rather than tuning up towards it. Don't know why that works, but it works for me - hope it will for you, too!

get rid of the dbl thin or dampen it with something

try a heavier two ply and swap out the stocker reso.

I would add try a Remo Pinstripe as your batter on that drum. I've had really good results on my kit with them. My sixteen sounds like a kick drum if I mic it with a D-112! With a SM57 I still get plenty of punch and the "dooom" sound you describe. I tune with a Tama tension watch so my numbers won't match.  

As Acrolitious has said, stretch those heads. (Was I the only one that found it funny to picture him squatting on his floor tom?)

I usually use the heel of my palm. butt hey! Whatever works.  

[Sorry for the dumb humor.]

Here's something else that may help in your tuning adventures. Get a permanent marker, a thin Sharpie works the best, and number the lugs on your heads with very small numbers. You can use these to assist you when tuning to stay in sequence.

(Six, eight and ten lug drums.)



Some people just go around the drum when tuning, I think you get better results by following the above.

Okay, I think I've got it figured out.

It's a combination of things. First of all, I'm tuning it too low - Nick H is right - the Drum Dial is suggested I tune it much, much higher than I currently am. That's because that's where it resonates - the Dial chart is right - that's where it sound best. But it isn't super-low, like I was expecting to hear.

Mr. A's tip helped , and I'll use that to get it pretty low. Paiste's right though - I'm going to have to get used to not getting that super-glossy recording-studio sound.

I'm going to get some new heads to help me get a little bit lower. Should I go with Response 2's, or StudioX's with dots? The rationale behind both is this: Response 2's will allow me to tune lower (being thicker 2-ply), but the StudioX's are muffled to sound better, and being single ply, will resonate more (giving my weak, piddly "thud" more of a low ring). Which do you think? Coated or no?

Sorry for all these silly questions. Getting a new drumkit and thinking you're crappy at tuning is humbling.

Have you thought of using the Response II in conjunction with some Aquarian Studio Rings ( http://www.aquariandrumheads.com/products/display.asp?id=24 )

I have used them for years, even when I was using Pinstripes, that way you should be able to get the low sound you want with the muffling you require without choking the drum…

Cheers  

N

Subsequently, I'm not a big fan of studio rings on toms.  They usually have that "buzzing" to them that drives me up the wall.  Snare drums don't seem to have the problem as bad.