Drum Tuning

UpSideDown

Sonor Force 1005 5-Piece kit (http://www.activemusician.com/item--EM.FSH1255CBB)
22" x 16" bass drum (no port or pillow)
12" x 10", 13" x 11" rack toms
16" x 16" floor tom
5-1/2" x 14" wood snare drum
Remo clear drumheads (not sure exactly what model, they came standard with the kit)
Using Paiste PST3 cymbal set

I am looking for some general tuning advice/tips from the experienced drummers.....please start with the basics...I have only been playing for about two years, but never had any lessons or anything of that sort. I recently bought a DrumDial to help with the tuning, and it sounds a lot better now, but I am still having trouble getting the exact sound that I am looking for. I'll try to describe what my goal is: deeper & cleaner sound (especially on the toms/kick) and with less overtones/vibrations overall.......anyone want to drop some knowledge on me?

Fight to get it back again

Hard to get both a deeper and cleaner sound to an extent. If you're trying to get less vibration, you have to tighten the head. The more you tighten the head, the higher the sound. A few things you can try are buying different heads, tightening and loosening the heads (remember tighten one screw and then the one across the head and not all the way right away) and, my personal ghetto and classic trick, a couple of folded up paper towels duct taped to the head.

Good luck!

UpSideDown

I can get the toms to sound clean, but then they end up being so high in pitch that it sounds like I'm playing Latino drums........

Surely you guys with ur $5,000 kits have to have some advice.......

Well then again, a $5,000 kit better sound damn good no matter what.....

CJMST3K

I've been playing for a few decades, but I suck at tuning well.

However, I JUST got this kick-drum head and LOVE it. If you have a pillow of blanket in your bass drum, chuck it. Put this on the batter-side of your kick drum and put it on just barely tight enough that the wrinkles go away. Also loosen the head on the opposite side too.

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Evans-EMAD2 ... 1140175.gc

It has two dampening rings so you loose the crazy long resonance without deadening the volume. It's like $50 but totally worth it!

PatrickBateman

CJMST3K wrote:

I've been playing for a few decades, but I suck at tuning well.

However, I JUST got this kick-drum head and LOVE it. If you have a pillow of blanket in your bass drum, chuck it. Put this on the batter-side of your kick drum and put it on just barely tight enough that the wrinkles go away. Also loosen the head on the opposite side too.

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Evans-EMAD2 ... 1140175.gc

It has two dampening rings so you loose the crazy long resonance without deadening the volume. It's like $50 but totally worth it!

This.

I have been using it for a couple years with nothing stuffed inside and told a buddy to get it for his old beat up set and he was amazed with his "new slammin bass drum". best thing is that you can change the sound in three different ways in under a minute.

Also, their EC2 heads for batter and maybe g1's for reso make tuning a little easier.

12345AGNST1

I've given up on drum tuning.

Pearl Drummer

i just got a new kick drum head as well. as much as i like the evans emad bass drum head i really love the aquarian super kick II bass drum head. it has a damping ring like the emad but its on the inside of the head instead of the outside. as for the tom heads i recommend getting red of the stock heads and either try some evans coated G2s really cant go wrong with remos either. But anyway about the tuning i suck at it but i hope this video will help you!! This is how i learned!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1W7QMibXzlM

PatrickBateman

then there is always the "bible"
http://home.earthlink.net/~prof.sound/