SNARE TUNING

[Elvis]

srry, no ftp site was taken down. I will see if I can delete it....
???
I'm sorry but that doesn't make sense.
I just clicked on the link and the site is still there.
You didn't neccessarily have to delete it, I was just saying....but, ok, whatever.
Uh....thanks?



Elvis

[dwsabianguy]

I used to tune my snare high, but I've learned that snares sound better at medium. A much more full sound, a more pleasant sound, and a better sustain. I use a 6.5x13" Yamaha Brass Nouveau with my band, and I get a more satisfying sound, with great crack as well, about medium-high at the very highest.

[LeeLovesSabian]

What are the tuning rudiments for Lars' snare on the black album?
I think he used ambassadors.

[joshisaces]

If you want to learn how to eliminate snare buzz, go here:
part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcHAFgafPkE
part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNNGBVA66Hk

This drummer, Bob Gatzen teaches you some ways to eliminate snare buzz.
watch part one and two.

[RichieQ]

Ok Everyone.....I'm brand new and took a look at a couple of posts about Snare Buzz when you strike the other drums....specifically the first Tom which is close to the snare. I read some posts saying there is nothing to be done except for tape which means you can't turn the snare off easily.

There is an easy solution!!!! On Sam Ash .com I purchased these clips that have a small arm and felt pad attached. They install by clipping to the rim (I put them on the bottom side ) and you can actually adjust the felt pad for how firm you want it to touch the head. They install in about 5 seconds and you can't even notice them.

They make the Toms sound like you're in a studio without muffling the drum and killing the sound. And for the snare.....all you need to do is have the felt pad SLIGHTLY touch the snare wires and.....EUREKA......NO BUZZ AT ALL!!! To turn off the snares.....simply reach under and slide the felt pad away. It doesn't even effect the snare sound at all, just eliminates the buzz.

Anyway....Sam Ash.....small rim clips with Felt Pad attached......worth gold!!!

RichieQ

[RichieQ]

Honestly I am not getting any fun out of tuning my drums. I just dont want to go through that pain. Even if I tune them right, they will be bad after my kind of play. So... I know it is a crime but...... what I have found out that if I put a thin towel on my drums, I get the heavy fat sound that I want.

DUDE....THROW IN THE TOWELS!!!! Besides compromising the look of your drums.....mods like that aren't needed anymore. Read the Richie Q post response to snare tuning buzz. It Works!!!!

[Elvis]

RitchieQ,

Not putting down your post(s) but actually, clip-on drum mufflers have been around for a very long time.
Mostly seen on the BD in "the old days" (the big round pad. Check some old pics), they fell out of favour in the 60's because as the "Rock Drummer" came into being, they were found to be ineffective against the more aggresive way those drummers play.
They came back in the 80's, for snares and toms, and are still available.
Basically an internal drum muffler assembly, with a clip.
There are many different variations around these days.
I've seen guys do that with the snares before. It does work, but you really have to dial it in.
There's a fine line between buzz and the snare sounding like a tom, when trying to use that method.
I think Gretsch still offers the internal muffler for their BD's (the twin square pads, not the felt strip style).
I've been thinking about mounting a couple on my little Ludwig BD.
It was good of you to mention it though. Thanks.



Elvis

[RichieQ]

Oh Yeah Elvis.....they have been around for a while. My first set....an old Slingerland, actually had them mounted internally, with external wingnuts to tighten them or have them off the head completely. And oh yeah.....it is a fine line between making the drum dead, and getting great sound...there is a bit of tweaking to do.

Maybe you can help me. In tuning my toms, what happens, and what kind of sound and head response do you get by removing the bottom head completely? My old Slingerlands had no bottoms, but I now have Tama Imperialstars. I bought the tama's because I am just getting back into drumming. I wont end up in a band or anything, just having fun trying to recapture some of my youth. Now as a "grown up"....I have a nice house with basement privacy and I really enjoy it. anyway, should I remove the bottoms....or tune them better? I like the "studio sound" but want a lively responsive batter head.

Thanks

Richie Q

[Elvis]

Hey Rich,

Yeah, that's always a tough question to answer, but the reality is, how do you want your drums to sound?
Removing the resonant side heads will dry out the sound of the drums and make them a bit "thinner" sounding as well.
Should you do that?
Again, that's up to you. My best advice is to simply try it and see what you think....you can always put those resonant side heads back on if you don't like the "concert tom" sound.

BTW, are those Imperialstar drums new, or the ones they made back in the 70's and 80's?



Elvis

[RichieQ]

Elvis,

Haven't been here in a while. Anyway, the Tama's are new. They do sound good, and without the bottom head, they sound loud, but dead......no carry at all. Actually, I tuned the bottoms and batter heads and just kept tweaking them. Now, they sound great. The afforementioned mufflers are still there, but just barely touching the bottom head if at all. Seems like I just needed a bit more time to experiment. A little tighter on the batter, and looser on the bottom....made all the difference in the world.

Oh, I did replace the standard Meinl cymbals that came with the set with Zildjians. I had Zildjians way back when and they seem to sound even better today.

Richie Q

[Elvis]

RichieQ,

Glad you were able to dial in your drums.
Sounds like you've got a nice little kit now.
BTW, in case you were wondering, the reason I asked which Imperialstar you have is because the new ones are a completely different drum than the old ones.
Enjoy!



Elvis

[RichieQ]

Thanks....and Yes....I really love this set....they look and sound great. What were the old Imperialstars like? This is the first time I owned Tama drums.

Richie Q

[Strangelove]

Does anybody else around here find themselves tuning their snares to eliminate sympathetic Tom buzz? Right now, my snare is tuned tighter than Buddy Rich's probably ever was, because my 10" Tom was starting to sound like a snare drum itself with lower tunings on my snare.

[Elvis]

Thanks....and Yes....I really love this set....they look and sound great. What were the old Imperialstars like? This is the first time I owned Tama drums.

Richie Q
Fat and kinda warm, but with presence and a bright quality.
The old Imperialstars were a Birch/Mahogany composite (IIRC) and the top Tama drum until the debut of the Artstar series, about 6 or 7 years later.
Considering that new Imperialstars are a beginner / student line kit, I suspect they're made from whatever it is that Tama can get for the cheapest price...and that most likely changes by the batch.


Elvis

[tard]

hope this helps

http://www.aquariandrumheads.com/download/tuning_sheets/!aquaria1.pdf

[elliotdrummer7227]

you could always tape the snare wire, but then it would be a pain if you wanted to turn the snare off.

i tried this on my old kit and it defiantly worked but have not yet to trie it out on my new premier!!and i rarely turn the snare off so that wouldn't affect anything

[EAMES DRUMS]

Check out EVANS drum heads webb page they have a great section on snare tuning.

[Sprock]

today i purchased powerstroke 3 head for my snare and was trying to tune it in but didnt come close to tuning.. now i've been wondering for a while about my snare.

I can tune my toms in fine but since i got my saturn kit the saturn snare never really tuned.

Also i noticed when un-tightening my bolts one lug doesnt loosen directly up it goes into the rim same as re-tightening it.. could this stop the snare from being tuned? if so does anyone know how to fix it? do i need a new hoop?

[Elvis]

Sounds like a bad one got through the line at the Mapex factory.
If the kit's new, take the snare drum back and exchange it for something else (don't forget to take the receit with you, too).
If the nazi behind the counter refuses to work with you, ask to speak to a manager.
If the nazi behind the counter refuses to grant your meeting with the manager (will probably use the old "I-am-the-manager" con), go home, get on your computer, find the website for the store you bought that POS snare drum from and e-mail your complaint to the manager, and name the nazi you dealt with.
You should receive a prompt reply from the manager and if you don't (be fair - give 'em a week to respond), then write to Mapex and explain your problem and mention how poorly you treated by that fascist regime of a store and the nazi's who work there.
If a company receives enough complaints about one of its dealers, they WILL pull the dealership.

Alternate scenario:
If the manager doesn't respond to your e-mail, and the fascist regime of a store is actually part of a chain of Nationalist Socialist Republictarians, then write the Furher of that company and tell them about that Fascist Regime of a store.
...and if you don't hear back from them, THEN write to Mapex.


...but start by taking the snare drum back to the store, first.

Just be a "human being" and explain to the guy what's going on.
There is such a thing as a "return" at a music store, too, ya know.



Elvis

[[Neverender]]

Help!
Im having problems with my snare. It sounds great and all, but everytime i hit my 12" or 13" toms, they get that nasty rattling sound from the damn thing. how do i get rid of this? I have a pear forum kit, it is about a year old. everything is in tune but the snare is pissing me off. i use dampner rings to eliminate most of this but its still there. I use evans g2 heads with the tiny holes around the oustide (if that matters). Its tuned pretty high, but if i tune it lower, it makes it worse and it wont go any higher, and i dont want it to.
any suggestions?

[Elvis]

Your problem is that the 12, the 13 and the snare are all tuned to complimentary notes, so when one is struck, it makes the others "sing", because they're all harmonizing.
You can do one of three things...

1) Retune at least one of those drums so that the phenomena stops.
An old roadie's trick is to slightly loosen the 4 tension rods on the bottom of the snare drum, that are immediately next to each end of the wires.

...or...

2) Change the tension of the snare wires. This might stop the problem, but its easy to over-do and you can easily end up with a boxy and unsensitive snare drum.
What I suggest doing is hitting whichever tom seems to cause the problem more, repeatedly (just hard enough to get the problem to happen), while slowly tightening on the snare wires.
If you run out of adjustment on the strainer, then retune the snare drum and readjust the snare wire tension.


...or...

3) Don't worry about it. Drums vibrate. It happens and you're probably the only one or two people who even notice it.

When you're playing in a band, it all blends together and the audience won't even pick up on the snare buzz.
If you're in a recording situation and need a temporary fix, on the spot, you can tape the snares to the head while the snares are turned on (that is, if you don't have to turn the snares off during the song). Run a couple of strips of electrical tape across the snares about half way between the edge and the center of the head.
After the session's over, or if there's enough time between takes, pull the tape and work on retuning the heads.

DON'T CHEAT AND JUST TAPE THE WIRES. DO IT RIGHT AND WORK ON RETUNING AT LEAST ONE OF THOSE DRUMS.
One of these days you'll thank me, and yourself, for figuring out how to do it right.




Elvis

[[Neverender]]

I tried re-tuning my snare and now it gggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg rattles whenever i hit any of my toms as well as my kick. Now im just pissed off, because i put it back to how it was and the whole thing has gone to shit. I cant seem to figure out any way to make it stop buzzing. ive been trying to fix this for two days. Ive tried all kinds of tunings on the batter top and the bottom skin and nothing. it has nothing to do with the tension of the snare wires either. i cant get a good sound out of it all of the sudden. i tried the rodie trick, the tape.. nothing. ohh yeah, im also broke so spending money is a no.

has this happened to anyone else? if so id like to hear from them.
but thank you anyways Elvis for your advice

EDIT: okay i got it in tune and everything, BUT the damn thing buzzes still, and it didnt two days ago. wtf? I am using a 13" Tom and a 16" floor tom and a 22' kick. They ALL make the snare buzz now and it is very stressfull. It needs to be fixed by this weekend for sure, but the sooner the better, because id like to use this week for practice and warm up. I am clueless.......... :(

[Elvis]

Neverender,

Forgive me, for I just realized I may have overlooked something when I read about your dilemma.

Try placing your hand, flat, against the bottom head of the snare drum so that you're holding the wires, too.
Now try hitting the other drums and tell me if you still hear the buzzing noise.


Elvis

[[Neverender]]

When i put my hand on the bottom, only my first (13") tom makes it buzz.

[Elvis]

Yeah, kinda figured.
It could be loose hardware, too.
Way back when, the springs inside the lugs used to rattle and buzz sometimes.
Drove some drummers nuts trying to figure out where the noise was coming from.
The old solution is to take cotton balls and stuff them inside the lugs.
Check to see if all the scews are tight first.
Sometimes its washers rattling against loose screw heads.

...or are you absolutely sure the buzz is coming from the snare wires.
If so, retune your 13. Seems to be the biggest offender.



Elvis

[ak0uz]

Hi! i have a mapex q series drumset (its cheap, but i really like the sound) which came with a 14'' wood snare. the thing is, i want it to sound really tight, but at the same time being able to make multibounce strokes without them sounding too detailed. what i mean by this is, if i don't tighten my snare drum and tighten the "snare hairs" (i dont know the english word for that part of the snare) i get this buzzy sound which i don't like after every stroke i make, but at the same time when i do a multibounce roll or a doble stroke before a single stroke fill, the multibouncxe roll sound too tight and, ironically as this might sound, i like the buzzy sound created by a multibounce roll or a doble strokes before a single stroke fill (instead of L-R-L-R, i make a double stroke before the fill so i goes rr-L-R-L-R)

Hope someone understood me...

Thx!

[jomster]

hey guys,

I am fairly new at this so pls take it easy on me. I own a yamaha stage custom all-birch kit and i really love it. However, for the snare, I've been trying to get this sound like tony royster, carter beauford or buddy rich's snare. I went to a music store and the guy said was the closest i can get to it is to buy evans drumhead genera dry and puresound equalizer snare wires.... which i did, but still no luck for me, i always get that vibrating/buzzing sound. Any suggestions? Or is it just my tuning?

[Elvis]

Hi! i have a mapex q series drumset (its cheap, but i really like the sound) which came with a 14'' wood snare. the thing is, i want it to sound really tight, but at the same time being able to make multibounce strokes without them sounding too detailed. what i mean by this is, if i don't tighten my snare drum and tighten the "snare hairs" (i dont know the english word for that part of the snare) i get this buzzy sound which i don't like after every stroke i make, but at the same time when i do a multibounce roll or a doble stroke before a single stroke fill, the multibouncxe roll sound too tight and, ironically as this might sound, i like the buzzy sound created by a multibounce roll or a doble strokes before a single stroke fill (instead of L-R-L-R, i make a double stroke before the fill so i goes rr-L-R-L-R)

Hope someone understood me...

Thx!
The figure you're talking about is (was?) called "lesson 25". Its a rudiment. Its the figure used in the song "The Little Drummer Boy".
Its basically a ruff followed by a single stroke roll.
As for your snare drum, check the placement of the snare wires.
Flip the drum over and loosen the "clamps" which hold the straps to the drum.
Allow the snare (what you call "snare hairs") to lay flat against the head, and make sure its situated in the middle of the head and also that it runs straight across the middle of the head.
Make sure the strainer is turned "off" and re-attach the straps to the "clamps" on the drum.
Then, flip it over and see how it plays.
If there's still too much sustain, you might need to muffle the batter head a little. Try placing a piece of duct tape across it, at the half way point between the middle and the edge of the head.
...you could also lay your wallet on it, biased to one side so its out of the way).
That should give you the sound you're looking for.
If the snare won't lay flat on the head, then it may be bent (or "warped") and you'd probably do best to get a new one (they're cheap. Just get a "snappy" snare. Its basically the same thing you have on there now).

Hope that helped.



Elvis

[Elvis]

hey guys,

I am fairly new at this so pls take it easy on me. I own a yamaha stage custom all-birch kit and i really love it. However, for the snare, I've been trying to get this sound like tony royster, carter beauford or buddy rich's snare. I went to a music store and the guy said was the closest i can get to it is to buy evans drumhead genera dry and puresound equalizer snare wires.... which i did, but still no luck for me, i always get that vibrating/buzzing sound. Any suggestions? Or is it just my tuning?
WHY YOU LITTLE!....(just kidding).
It is important to remember that what you hear on a lot of recordings is not the "natural" sound of the drums, as they were being recorded.
Chances are very good that the drums being recorded probably sounded more like the boxes they came in, as opposed to the sound you heard on the finished product.
It sounds to me like you're looking for a very crisp and dry sound out of your snare drum.
To that end, make sure your snare is laying flat against the head and is centered, as I told "ak0uz", and try placing something on the batter head.
Then hit the center of the batter head with the stick. Use light-moderate force and pull the stick off the head as soon as you hit it.
Don't "pound" the snare drum.
That sound can be as much about technique as it is about setting the up the drum.
BTW, you can augment laying something on the batter head, by utilizing a pre-muffled batter head, such as an Aquarian Studio-X or a Remo PS3.
If the tone of the drum still doesn't agree with you, chances are pretty good then, that part of the sound you're looking for is inherit in the drum itself.
This means you may have to get another snare drum, or at least, change out the shell.
I'm fairly certain all 3 people you mentioned tend to prefer a certain type of metal shelled snare drum.
Hope that helps.


Elvis

[Elvis]

...btw, ak0uz and jomster, you guys might also find this site to be of help - http://home.earthlink.net/~prof.sound/index.html


Elvis

[PeterPF13]

after 3 days of tuning my snare i finally got a sound i want from it :) 2 1/2's turns on batter and 1 turn on the resonant side. how tight/loose do u guys tune in turns? dont tell me in tama tension watch please lol dont have that anymore. used to have that couple years ago when i first started waste of money. in turns please :)

[Elvis]

PeterPF13,

I used to do that.
That's a LOT of tension for a non-marching type snare drum.
Don't be surprised if you end up stripping a rod or breaking a lug, especially if you're using a generic drum.
Back in my day, Remo CS black dots were all the rage (no ps3 back then).
I'd crank 'em up to around 2-2.5 turns.
On the snare, I'd generally use a coated Ambassador, because I did occassionally sit down and put some time in with brushes.
I loved the feel! The sound was resonant but bright with a pronounced attack.
20+ (+++) years later, I see now that I was putting a lot of undue stress on my drums and that a slightly looser tension actually makes for a more pleasant sound.
These days, I like coated single ply, non-dotted, heads on all of my drums and I pull them to about 1.5 turns, then I tune out any distortion that may be present.
At this point in time, all of my tuning is based on that 1.5 turn starting point, then I augment from there, to better suit that particular drum.
The BD is a little looser, the snare drum is a little tighter.
Works for me.



Elvis

[PeterPF13]

ok ill try playing with a little less on the batter maybe down to 2 turns, its not really that tight on my drum. i got remo weatherking coated amassador on batter and ambassador snare on reso
EDIT. so pretty much i took off from the batter and put it into reso side from 2.5 batter and 1 reso to 1.75 batter and 1.5 reso

[Elvis]

Peter,

Glad I could be of help.
So how do you like the change?
If there's sustain issues, place your wallet on the batter head, resting against the hoop.
Does a nice job of drying out a snare drum.


Elvis

[Reindeer]

Ok boys, First of all I'm new here, but not new to drumming so we'll see how this goes.

So my snare's been acting up lately, I have a mapex mars series snare with a remo ebony pinstripe batter head (brand spankin new ;) ), and a stock remo reso head (couple bumps, scratches). My snare is a stock snare, plastic straps. I have my reso as tight as ever, and my batter head is just a little tighter.

But my snare sounds bad. Really bad. It has this high pitched ring whenever I hit it that lingers for a while after, and this tone makes my snare buzz instantly and then hiss for a couple seconds.

I've tried retuning it, but I can't seem to find that sweet spot. I've tried loosening and tightening everything. I might just have to find someone who can show me what I'm doing wrong. This drum has never given me trouble before, at least none that I couldn't fix, so I'm assuming that I'm missing some key step.

Thanks,
Anything helps.

[Elvis]

Have you tried adjusting the snare tension, along with the head tension?
Which head are you tightening and loosening, or do you mean you're doing that with both heads?
I'd say your answer lies in working with the snare side head and the snare tension / placement.

JMHO.



Elvis

[Dipschmidt]

Hey everyone, I'm new here and somewhat new to when it comes to tuning a snare drum. Right now I have a 14x5.5 snare drum (Ludwig) with a remo black x batter side and a reso head that came with it, I'm trying to get a loud, quick "crack!" sound out if, and get rid of all overtunes if possible. So basically what I'm asking is, how do you do it? Haha

[GRUNTERSDAD]

Hey everyone, I'm new here and somewhat new to when it comes to tuning a snare drum. Right now I have a 14x5.5 snare drum (Ludwig) with a remo black x batter side and a reso head that came with it, I'm trying to get a loud, quick "crack!" sound out if, and get rid of all overtunes if possible. So basically what I'm asking is, how do you do it? Haha

Google Drum tuning Bible

[Pocket-full-of-gold]

Hey everyone, I'm new here and somewhat new to when it comes to tuning a snare drum. Right now I have a 14x5.5 snare drum (Ludwig) with a remo black x batter side and a reso head that came with it, I'm trying to get a loud, quick "crack!" sound out if, and get rid of all overtunes if possible. So basically what I'm asking is, how do you do it? Haha

Definitely check out GD's suggestion. All you'll EVER need to know there.

Google Drum tuning Bible

Look at this one too.........http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qxm3QunDjUs

[Mikey Dangerous]

I'm trying to get a loud, quick "crack!" sound out if, and get rid of all overtunes if possible. So basically what I'm asking is, how do you do it? Haha

As a quick tip, get the thinnest snare-side resonant head possible to accomplish this. As far as I know the Remo Diplomat snare-side and Evans Hazy 200 are the thinnest available. I'm sure Aquarian and other head manufacturers make heads in this same weight but I'm not sure what they're called.

[Dipschmidt]

k, so everytime i hit my small rack tom, it makes the snare wires buzz. how do you tune the small rack tom, or snare, so that doesnt happen?

This happened to me a couple of times, but one thing that always fixed it was tightening the snare wires as much as possible.

[Pocket-full-of-gold]

This happened to me a couple of times, but one thing that always fixed it was tightening the snare wires as much as possible.

Careful not to choke the snare wires though. A better option is to ensure different tunings on each drum to avoid the sympathetic buzz. (It's in the tuning bible too Dips)

[Dipschmidt]

Careful not to choke the snare wires though. A better option is to ensure different tunings on each drum to avoid the sympathetic buzz. (It's in the tuning bible too Dips)

It's funny though because whenever I tuned the snare differently to get rid of that buzz, it would get rid of the buzzing sound, but the sound of the snare would be awful.

[Pocket-full-of-gold]

It's funny though because whenever I tuned the snare differently to get rid of that buzz, it would get rid of the buzzing sound, but the sound of the snare would be awful.

Just a tweak of either drum should be enough seperation to stop it. Do a search on "Snare Buzz".....there's some 'tuning masters' on these forums with some excellent ideas on this and just about every other tuning issue I've ever encountered. Wish this site existed years ago!!

Tuning in itself is an art form though, and one that takes many years to master I'd suggest. I know I'm not there yet....some drums still take me a while to get where I want them.

[Dipschmidt]

Tuning in itself is an art form though, and one that takes many years to master I'd suggest. I know I'm not there yet....some drums still take me a while to get where I want them.

You got that right, if I didn't have my DrumDial (best piece of equipment to have, an essential for a drummer) my toms would sound absolutely terrible.

[Elvis]

Dipschmidt,

You could also try loosening the 4 tuning rods that surround the snare itself.
Make up the tension by pulling the rest of the rods a little tighter.


Elvis

[Elvis]

Dipschmidt, and anyone else who's curious...

Call me "ol' Skool", but I really feel no one needs any kind of "device" to tune a head (aside from a tuning key).
All you need to do is to put in a little time and effort and you'll get it down.
To aid you in this quest of ridding yourself of the dreaded "Drum Dial Dependency", I offer this tutorial.
Nothing fancy, just how to change out a head, with some tuning advice thrown in.
Anyway, read through it and see if there isn't something in there that might help you.
Been workin' for me for almost 30 years now.

...ready? Here we go...

There's a few ways to "break in" a new head.
Over the years, I've tried various methods.
The way I'm about to describe has worked very well for me and is a much faster way of "breaking in" a head than most others:

1) Remove the old head.

2) Take a piece of cloth (old T-shirt works well) and give a quick wipe to the bearing edge, the underside of the collar and the glue ring of the new head and the underside of the hoop.

3) Place the new head on the drum and spin it on the shell.
Make sure it fits on and spins easily.
If not, return the head and get another.
If it does, continue...

4) Place the hoop on the head, insert the tension rods, tighten all rods finger tight (I like to use both hands, turning the 2 rods that are on the exact opposite sides of each other at the same time).

5) Take your tuning key and start applying tension to the head by turning the tension rods.
Use a STAR PATTERN to tension the head, so that it torques down evenly.
If you're drum is a 6 lug drum, look at the end of the drum you're working on and situate the lugs so that you have one lug looking right at you and the one opposite is looking straight away from you.
If you play "connect the dots" with the other 4 lugs, it should make a "box" shape.

6) Now imagine the face of a clock superimposed over the drum, with the number 12 being the lug looking away from you and the number 6 being the lug looking straight at you.
The rest of the numbers on the imaginary clock will be fairly close to the following lug positions;
The lug in the upper right hand side will be "2", the lug in the lower right hand side will be "4", the lug on the lower left hand side will be "8" and the lug on the upper left hand side will be "10".

7) Tighten the head down in 2 steps, or "patterns".
The first one will be:
12,6,2,8,4,10.
The second one will be:
6,12,4,10,2,8.
Repeat these patterns, in the order I just laid out, placing one complete 360 degree revolution on each rod (which I call "a turn") the first time around, then use 180 degree revolutions (which I call a "1/2 turn") there after, until you've put 3 turns on each of the tension rods.

8 ) At this point, the head is evenly tensioned and fairly taught.
You may have heard some cracking or "popping" at this point, and that's fine.
Place the drum on the floor with the head you're working on looking up.
Now, place the heel of one of your hands in the center of the head and give one very hard, sharp, quick push.
DON'T BE A WIMP HERE! PUT YOUR WEIGHT INTO IT!
You may have heard more cracking at this point or you may not hear more cracking at this point.
Either is fine.

9) Now pick the drum off the floor and place it on a soft surface with the end you're working on looking up.
That old T-shirt (folded) you used to wipe the drum off with in the beginning would work fine.
If your bed has a comforter on it, that would be perfect.
The soft surface will completely muffle the other head so that you only hear the head you are tuning, which brings us to...

10) Remove all of the tension from the head you're working on.
Use the star patterns I laid out in step #7, until you feel the tension on the rods get pretty slack.
By that time, you probably won't need to use the key anymore.
Keep loosening the tension until the rods are no longer tensioning the head (look for an obvious gap between the head of the rod and the hoop).

11) Start tightening down on the head again with the rods, using the star patterns I showed in step #7.
This time, you will tension the head to whatever setting gives you the sound you're looking for.
Once you start to feel a little tension on the head, start tapping it in the middle after completing each star pattern, to see if the head is tensioned where you want it.

12) Once you reach that point, stop tightening and tap on the head at each point that corressponds with a tension rod, about 1/4" in from the edge.
You can use a stick or your finger, it really doesn't matter.

13) Tap each point once and listen to the drum.

14) If you hear a nice, even sound that is the same pitch at all the points, you're finished tuning this head and you’ll need to flip the tom over and perform the same procedure on the other head (ONLY if you're changing that one, too. If you're not, don't worry about it). The head is now tuned to where you want it to be and it should hold that tuning for as long as you want it to. At this point, with each head sounding good on its own, you can skip to step #21.

15) IF you hear a "wobbly" or "uneven" sound coming from some of those points, then the head is not tensioned evenly.
The sound you're hearing is known as distortion and is caused by the head creating several dissonant frequencies at once, due to the fact that it's seeing different tension in different spots of the head.
Dissonant frequencies are ones that do not harmonize with each other, thus resulting in the distorted sound you hear.

16) At this point, you'll need to "fine tune" the head.

17) Check around the head and see if that distorted sound isn't more prevelent at certain points more than others.
If so, try correcting those first.

18) Correct by tightening that tension rod, slightly.
Tap on the head once, at that tension rod, and tighten the rod as the sound decays.
You shouldn't have to turn the rod more than 1/4 of turn at a time.
If you do, then stop and tap the head at the rod that is on the exact opposite side of the drum and see if you don't hear the distorted sound coming from that one.
If so, do the same thing until the sound "evens out".

19) Tap around the head again and see if the distortion is still heard.

20) If so, do the same procedure at each of those rods as well.

21) Once you have everything sounding nice and "even" pick the drum up and hold it in your hand BY THE TOM BRACKET. NEVER HOLD IT BY THE RIM (you can also cradle it in your hand, if there’s no bracket on the tom).
The combination of the weight of the drum, your grip and the thickness of the hoop may be enough to throw the head "out of tune" at this point, if the drum is held by its rim.

22) Hit the middle of the drum while holding it up.

23) If it sounds "good", you're done.
If you still get that distortion, set the drum back down on the soft surface it was on and tap around the head again to see if you didn't miss anything.

24) If it sounds good, flip the drum over and tap around the edge of the other head.
Chances are it may have been out of tune and you didn't realize it until now.

25) If the distortion is heard with either head, correct those problems and perform step #22 again.

26) If, when you hold up the drum, you STILL get that distorted sound, go back and perform steps 23-25 and check the heads again.
If everything sounds good on it's own, then your heads are "out of phase" with each other (i.e., each head is tuned to a frequency that is dissonant to the other).
At this point, you'll have to pick one of those heads and retune it to a different pitch that will put the heads back "into phase".
Remember, the batter head sets the tone of the drum, the resonant head sets the amount of resonance of the drum.
The change will most likely not have to be that drastic and the sound of your drum may not change all that much.

27) Make the correction, perform step # 22 and see how the drum sounds.


...If everything sounds good, NOW you're done!

Chances are very good that you will NOT have to perform all 27 steps.
I just wanted to cover some basic problems you might encounter while trying to tune up the drum.

One of the most important points in tuning a drum, that most drummers overlook, is the "cracking" procedure.
You MUST find a way to form that head to the bearing edge, and stress the glue that may be holding the head material to the glue ring, or else you will stand a very good chance of encountering (unneccessary) problems with getting the head tuned up.
You can crank up the tension and leave it sit for a week, or use a hair dryer on it, or simply push down on the center of the head (like I do!).
Any of these procedures will form the head to the bearing edge (leaving it sit for a week works the worst, trust me on this one!).

One thing you don't wanna do is to push in on the SNARE SIDE head (that's the clear one on the bottom of the snare drum). It's too thin and doing that will leave a large depression in the head (it won't sound good).
Those heads are so thin, that you can just slap them on and tension them to where ever you like.


Hope you found this helpful.



Elvis

[ShaunStruwig]

How do i get a nice cracking sound?

[key.hold]

Hi guys. Can you help me how to get a Steve Jordan snare sound? I really like the sound of his snare. tight, crack, beautiful rimshot. Any inputs? Thanks!

[Drums101]

You could tighten up the snares on the snare drum or muffle the snare with duct tape or something. My snare does that too, but I like the legato sound of my snare so i dont tighten it.

[Drums101]

Hi guys. Can you help me how to get a Steve Jordan snare sound? I really like the sound of his snare. tight, crack, beautiful rimshot. Any inputs? Thanks!

Tighten up the snare as much as you can would be the only way i think.

[zepplin92]

Hey, i am looking for the sound that questlove has on his snare, i have a 7x14 yamaha brass with a ambassador on the top and diplomat on the bottom. thanks for any help.

[Elvis]

zeppelin92,

Well, for starters, you could replace the Diplomat on the bottom of your snare drum, with an actual snare side head.
Otherwise, seems to me ?uestlove would be all about samples and electronics.
He's probably got a website. Have you tried writing him and asking?


Elvis

[drummerboy101]

hey
i have an emperor x snare head on a metal snare (14inches by 6inches)
with the stock reso head
im looking for a nice pop sound.....like a tight snare sound

i think i might be using the wrong heads
but if i am some tuning advice would be great

as an alternative though i might go and get a cs snare head.......but wat wuld be a good reso for the head remember im after a pop sound

thanks guys much apprecited////......

[dwsabianguy]

^ as far as snare-side heads go, I swear by the Remo Hazy Ambassador. It's perfect. Pop, crack, pitch, and sustain all come from the batter head and the drum itself, not so much the bottom head. It's there to rustle the snares.

I tune my snares about medium-high these days, I guess... I have a Pearl Dennis Chambers that's definitely medium-high and it sounds fantastic with the coated Ambassador batter. Otherwise, if anyone cares, check my youtube - www.youtube.com/dwsabianguy

[tlsole]

^ tighten the snare strands

So I have this problem that i posted in another thread, but i figured the topic belongs here.
I have a brass snare that im trying to tune low using a drum dial but there is this one lug that will not reach the low tension as the other 9 lugs without having to fully detach it from the hoops. For example, i'm trying to tune my snare batter to 85, but one lug will be at 87 (87 when its finger tight, barley on). In order for that lug to get down to 85, i would have to fully take it off. Does anyone know how to resolve this issue? Sorry if its confusing..

Thanks for any advice/info!

[Fusion]

Hey guys! :)

Can anyone explain to me what would a pop, or crack sound on a snare would actually sound like? I'm very bad at this sound characteristics thing. Like fat or thin, and such.

I would want a snare sound like Fede Rabaquino's snare. Absolutely amazing!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ys_vS5sOUfo

How do i get my snare to sound like that? It sounds tight, yet it doesnt sound snappy. I absolutely dislike snappy snares. Most snares sound like that when tuned tight, idk why. It sounds like a really thin sound, very snappy and high pitched.

[funkytomtom]

14x5.5 Yamaha copper Nouveau. Recently I've gravitated towards a different sound out of my kit and nowhere have I struggled more than with this single drum. It has a great hip-hopish high tuning sound, but I'm struggling to get a lower fat sound out of it. I've tried numerous different tunings. Batter low, reso lower, batter low, reso higher, batter medium, reso medium...if I tune up too much I'm right back into that high crack sound I want to avoid.

Would thicker heads help? I'm afraid you're going to tell me to go back to the drawing board with tuning so if you do; please give some specific advice.

I also tossed some puresound 20 strands on and I'm anything but sold. They rattle a ton when they're off and I play with my hands (sometimes playing with sticks too). This must have something to do with the wires connecting them to the throw-off, but I can't think of a solution. I also think they give an undesirably tinny/brassy sound to the snare. Anyone agree?

Thanks...funkytomtom

[braincramp]

I have always struggled trying to get a low fat sound out of a brass shell, to me and I could be all wrong here but brass is great for a higher tuned crack sound. I think the sound Fusion is looking for is a more focused sound that wood will give you preferably single ply or stave will give. It can also be achieved with some compression through micing. I mention this alot but I use a walnut stave shell in a free floater and I get a very focused low sound even with medium high tuning. It took alot of experimenting to get a sound I like but if you tune the reso head just above wrinkle and batter medium low you'll get the lowest possible sound with those heads will give, however watch that your snares aren't too tight or you'll blow the bottom head out.

[redsky20]

I just have a Mapex VXB snare drum and I just can't ever seem to get the sound i want from it. I tried tuning endlessly to get that POP sound I'm looking for but it always ends up sounding just either too fat or too ringy if tuned up high. Anyone got any ideas/solutions? Thank You.

[Shedboyxx]

14x5.5 Yamaha copper Nouveau. Recently I've gravitated towards a different sound out of my kit and nowhere have I struggled more than with this single drum. It has a great hip-hopish high tuning sound, but I'm struggling to get a lower fat sound out of it. I've tried numerous different tunings. Batter low, reso lower, batter low, reso higher, batter medium, reso medium...if I tune up too much I'm right back into that high crack sound I want to avoid.

Would thicker heads help? I'm afraid you're going to tell me to go back to the drawing board with tuning so if you do; please give some specific advice.

I also tossed some Puresound 20 strands on and I'm anything but sold. They rattle a ton when they're off and I play with my hands (sometimes playing with sticks too). This must have something to do with the wires connecting them to the throw-off, but I can't think of a solution. I also think they give an undesirably tinny/brassy sound to the snare. Anyone agree?

Thanks...funkytomtom

A few suggestions.

I'm assuming you are trying to hear the sound you want behind your kit and not by listening in front while someone else plays. That's OK but just be aware you hear more high end, snare buzz, and just a plain different sound behind the kit instead in front of it.

Also, I have to assume you are speaking about live playing and not recording. Recording uses all kinds of acoustic and electronic tricks to get that 'fat and low' sound. I've even gotten a (relatively) fat sound out of my 5x13 maple Pork Pie snare when recording

That Yamaha is a really nice drum but usually not chosen for a fat low end. Having said that, players have gotten sounds out of Black Beauty snares where they had to at least account for some of the attributes you are challenged with.

As far as the head is concerned, if you are looking to hear more low end and go for fat, get a good 2 ply coated head and match it with a new snare side head. You haven't mentioned what heads you were using and what condition they were in. That can make a real difference. If what you want to hear is a fat sound to your ears while playing in the practice room, get a really thick head like a Remo Emperor X, Aquarian Focus-X or Evans Hydraulic. That will get much closer to the sound you are looking for. However - once you do that - that's the sound you'll have. Easier to dampen and tune down a head with higher frequencies than to brighten or liven up a head which was made to eliminate high frequencies and ring.

You mention snare rattling while playing with hands and snares off. To me that sounds like the snare wires may be too tight so that they are very close to the bottom head even when turned off. . The fat sound usually includes relatively loose snare wires. Think about it this way: If you tune a snare side head loosely and have really tight snares, the snare wires will bring back some of the tension you try to lose.
Also, a low tuned drum has a more pronounced, low note fundamental (think tom sound as opposed to timbale). When you have looser snares, you let that note 'sing' more. less snare wires would also help. For instance, I have 12 strand Puresounds on my 6 x 14 Pork Pie ash snare. Great sound for organic, big back beats - but not for higher pitched David Garibaldi type snare sensitivity. A trade off but a good one as long as use the right approach. If I put 42 strand snare wires on it and tuned that snare up, I could get closer to DG and a tighter, funk sound. If the brass sound from the Puresound isn't working, try another manufacturer. My Mapex Phosphor Bronze snare didn't like Puresound 16 strand Customs although all my other wood and metal snares did. I put the stock Mapex snare wires back on and it sounded better. FWIW: the black Mapex snare wires look closer to an old, discontinued Puresound lower snare wires line. You could try either their Concert series or get some more standard Gibraltar snare wires and see if they work. If you have an old set of snare wires, try cutting off some of the wires to experiment with less strands. make sure you bend the clipped ends away from the snare head. I try to replace the plastic strands that come with Puresounds with some kind of fabric ribbon (Grosgrain is available at fabric stores). The only drum that still has the strands is my Acro. That's just because the old Luddie strainer only takes strands. That might be a reason to swap it out in the future.

Then finally, after tuning the drum so that it resonates purely at a lower tom tom like pitch, I'd start experimenting with dampening. bits of Moon Gel or gaffer tape - but not so much you lose that tone. Try different areas on the head with different sizes of dampening material.

All that being said, the drum does matter. If you get a walnut 8 x 14 snare (or something like that) you'll have an easier time with low end. I've gotten wonderful fatness out of my Ludwig Acro with a Remo Underside CS Dot head tuned down with 16 strand Puresounds on it. The Acro cost me less than $100 and Acros are all over eBay.


Good luck and HTH

Jim

[Isaac A]

How do i get a nice cracking sound?

i find if you tighten the top head as tight as possible until when you push on it it barely dints, you will get a sharp sound, then you have to adjust the snare strands tightly and tighten the bottom skin too, then adjust the screw on the snare lever to the sound you want, thats how ive always done it :)

[ulubatli]

Hi everybody,

I am not clear about tuning the resonant snare head. Some people here have suggested that it is better to leave the 4 lugs next to the snare bed looser than the rest of lugs.

How loose?

If you don't tighten those 4 lugs beyond finger tight wouldn't it create wrinkles on the head or make it hard to get an even tone from the reso?

[Elvis]

Ulubatli,

The detuning of the 4 lugs nearest the snare is an old trick that is accredited to the drum roadie for The Doobie Brothers rock band.
The idea was that by detuning those 4 lugs the snare buzz was kept to a minimum.
That's all it does. Control snare buzz.
For the most part, snare buzz is no big deal. As drummers, we're closest to the snare drum, so we pick up that buzz much more easily than anyone else in the band does (if they even notice in the first place), and certainly most of the auditence have never heard it.
However, when there's a lot of money on the line and you've got your equipment miked up and amplified by thousands of watts and speaker/horn systems that rival office buildings for acreage, then this trick is handy, as some of the buzz may be picked by the mikes.
These days, a lot engineers are fans of uni-directional mikes and not placing a second one under the snare drum.
For the most part, all heads are tuned in the same fashion. This includes the snare side head - you place the new head on the shell, set the ring on the head, install the tuning rods and start twistin'.
The only difference with a snare side head is you don't need to break one in. They're so thin they'll form to the edge when only a modicum of tension is applied.



Elvis

[jodgey4]

Modicum - great word! I'll defiantly use that this week.
For the reso side, if you are going to loosen them, I wouldn't go down so far as to have wrinkles appear. That's going to just take a lot of experimentation to get right. I wouldn't worry so much about snare buzz. Try tuning your whole snare higher or lower to get it out of the range of the toms. Also consider something like Puresound's Equalizer series of snare wires. Good luck.

[alexsewell]

Hey guys, I'm new to Drummerworld, so go easy on me ;)

Just bought batter snare head and reso earlier today and have fitted them. The thing is that I cannot seem to get the crack of the snare without moongel. The sound of the drum: - or what i have tuned it to - seems to be more audible than the crack of the drum. I have tried to tune the reso lower than the batter and vice versa, although I am not too good at tuning either.

Any advice you could give would be brilliant!

Alex

[Pkaneps]

I would loosen the wires on that one.

[Pocket-full-of-gold]

although I am not too good at tuning either.


Here lies your problem mate. Tuning is an art form and it ain't easy initially. Like every other aspect of your drumming it needs practice and repetition to develop an ear for it. Keep playing around with it....experiment with different head tensions (both batter and reso) and aim to develop a feel for it. It does take a while to become profficient with it, so don't be put off if you struggle to find that magical sound first time round........persistance and experience will pay off.

Have you checked these out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qxm3QunDjUs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ga8Q12mKYxI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJ9Unab1OzU

It's a tried and tested method employed by thousands of guys the world over. It's excellent for seeing the process first hand. The rest comes down to practice and feel.

Keep at it.

[alexsewell]

@ Pocket Full Of Gold,

Thanks a lot man, that's really helped :) got my snare drum sounding crisp now.

[sjczildjian]

This happened to me a couple of times, but one thing that always fixed it was tightening the snare wires as much as possible.

Its sympathetic snare buzz. You can't really get rid of it. Tightening up the snares as tight as you can? I would disagree strongly. Unless of course you like a choked sound, some people do...

[Bertram]

I had my instructor tune my snare yesterday. (as i really suck tuning)
He cranked the top and bottom head totally down. So it's very tight.
Make sure your wires are in the center of the drum. Make sure they tightened enough - NOT too much!
If you're tightened too much they buzz alot, if they're too loose they shake and tremble, making your toms sound like snares and snare sound like tom ^^
When all the wires are touching the head, then give it a little more. - Voila (usually)
It makes it very crispy and cracky with alot of attack and it makes your hear those BACKBEATS dude

Go help yourself! :)

Best, Bertram

[Cameo]

Bought a Ambassador snare side head today. It sounds awesome, but when I play the toms it buzzes as hell. Should I change the wires (it's some bad, cheap ones, would like a set of Puresounds on this steel piccolo)?

[Elvis]

Cameo,

You have your snare drum tuned to a similar (or harmonic, at least) note as one of your toms.
You need to re-tune one, or more, of your drums.
Either the snare drum, the tom that seems to be causing the problem, or both.
Probably only a small change is needed.

...either that, or you've got your snare wires set really super loose and your wacking the heck out of your toms.


Elvis

[Sjogras]

Hi

For some time, my snare has sounded really dead when I hit it dead center, the rimshots, on the other hand, sound fantastic, and around the sides the tone is nice. But what could be the problem here? Im using evans hazy 300 on the bottom and an evans ecs edge control for batter, which is a really muffled head, but why is it only dead in the center? I had the same issue with a coated emperor as well.

An idea I had was to try a caoted cs emeperor, since the extra ply in the middle might help with the resonance there, (since 2 ply heads are generally more resonant than 1 ply) or is the dot in the middle actually doing the opposite?
Thanks for any help!,

[Elvis]

Sjogras,

The phenomena you're noticing happens with all drums.
I don't know the exact mechanics of why it happens, but I do know that it is a factor of how the drum is tensioned.
The Emperor head with the Control Sound dot in the middle may help you in your quest (it will definately increase the presence of the attack), but you will probably want to augment that with a muffling ring at the outer edge of the head.
I suspect that will get you closer to the sound characteristic you're searching for.
Lastly, I should note that your comment concerning resonance is incorrect.
Resonance is a factor of the volume of a drum. It does not change because of which type of head you use, however certain factors of how the drum is coinstructed and set up can change your perception of that resonance.
I think you may have meant to use the word sustain, instead.



Elvis

[Sjogras]

Elvis, thanks for the reply.

I tried tuning the reso higher, which helped. It is actually higher than the batter now, I've never had the snare tuned this way but it sounds nice, and is very sensitive to ghost notes.

And yes, what I meant was sustain, but aren't those two rather related? Would you mind explaining the difference?

[Elvis]

Well, both words can be defined as being qualities of a drum vibrating.
However, "sustain" deals directly with a certain part (or aspect) of a drum, while "resonance" deals with the drum as a whole.
Hope that made sense.



Elvis

[AaronEdgarDrum]

Here's a video I did on how I tune my snare drum :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quC9qRAPw-0

There's TONS of conflicting views on how to do this. This is just what I do. Hopefully it can help some people :)

~Aaron

[80's Rocker]

When I tune my snare should the bottom and top heads both be tuned the same? Or should one be higher or lower than the other?

If it matters I like a really deep snare sound..just look at my name lol. I ask because I am not sure and just got done messing around with the tuning on my snare. It took forever to get it sounding good for me.

[Sjogras]

Try tuning a few different tunings, for instance having the batter head very low and the reso tight, or having both heads tuned quite low. Experiment with the snare wires too.

[scarlit]

If you want that deep 80's sound, keep that reso real low, thats what gives you that real fat "thud".

I've been experimenting with tuning the reso lower than the batter recently, I actually like it. I crank the batter medium tight-ish, and the reso a bit lower. Gives a nice crack, but also has a good amount of body and low end. I checked the drum dial, it averaged something like 87 over 83.

[wsabol]

If you want that deep 80's sound, keep that reso real low, thats what gives you that real fat "thud".

I've been experimenting with tuning the reso lower than the batter recently, I actually like it. I crank the batter medium tight-ish, and the reso a bit lower. Gives a nice crack, but also has a good amount of body and low end. I checked the drum dial, it averaged something like 87 over 83.

Unmiced I really like it as well.. but in a miced situation, in my experience, my snares have been ultra-tubby when tuned like this. So beware..

[80's Rocker]

Been a while since I have been on here lol.

I'll try tuning my reso head lower because right now I think I have it tuned high and tight and my batter head low. Only bad part about liking 80's drum sound tho is you can't really get it exact without gated reverb from the studio.

[moncholo]

I have a very basic question about general drum tuning (but it's something that happens more with my snare) and it's about harmonics. I tried using the search function, but didn't see this specific concern being adressed.

When hitting a drum when it's being tuned, you can hear lot's of notes (the harmonics). So the question is: Which of this harmonics should i consider as THE note?

Because sometimes i find that when hitting the snare near one lug and then hitting the snare near the opposite lug, they both have more than one harmonic, and maybe the lower harmonic on one lug is higher than the lower harmonic on the other lug, but the higher harmonic on the first lug is lower than the higher harmonic on the second lug, and in that situation i don't know what lug i should tune higher.

I hope i expressed my doubt well. I really hope someone can answer this and help me.

[MrPockets]

I have a very basic question about general drum tuning (but it's something that happens more with my snare) and it's about harmonics. I tried using the search function, but didn't see this specific concern being adressed.

When hitting a drum when it's being tuned, you can hear lot's of notes (the harmonics). So the question is: Which of this harmonics should i consider as THE note?

Because sometimes i find that when hitting the snare near one lug and then hitting the snare near the opposite lug, they both have more than one harmonic, and maybe the lower harmonic on one lug is higher than the lower harmonic on the other lug, but the higher harmonic on the first lug is lower than the higher harmonic on the second lug, and in that situation i don't know what lug i should tune higher.

I hope i expressed my doubt well. I really hope someone can answer this and help me.

Usually when you tune each lug separately, you already know the desired pitch you are looking to achieve. When you know that then tune each lug to that pitch.

[valkyrievf2x]

Hi!
i have an Acrolite, that I think is giving me a hard time when it comes to tuning. It is loud like a gunshot (lol), but then if I hit it off center, it leaves a really nasty ring/buzzy overtone. In the middle, it sounds pretty good, with shorter nasty overtones. Doesn't seem to be the the wires, though (brand new, and checked them for damage--look fine). Physical characteristics:
--tube lugs
--Evans coated G1 batter head (medium hi tuning? good stick bounce, but head gives when pushed with fingers).
--Evans Hazy 300 resonant (about the same as the batter)
--Puresound brass wires (was a 20 wire set, but removed 4...). I think they are relatively tight. But even when loser, I still get the weird after tones.
--checked the physical character of the drum: batter side bearing edge is perfectly in round, and no dents. Batter just has the indentation/bend for the snare wires
Drum has plenty of ring (which I don't mind--gives it character). But these overtones are annoying the crap out of me. Of course, this is my first real snare (let alone aluminum), so i don't know if this is just me sucking at tuning, or just something to be expected.

To give you a better idea, here is a quick vid (just a soundfile with a pic--didn't know how else to upload a sound file on here).
http://youtu.be/rbmB2vKYM5U
The first 3 hits are in the middle of the batter head. Relatively clean, but you hear a little of that overtone. Next three blows are towards the top of the head (around where it says "evans"). You can really hear that buzzing/weird overtone on those. After that, I do some much quieter hits, and you can still hear that tone.

As many tuning guides as I have read, I believe it is a tuning issue. However, everything seems to be tightened evenly (top and bottom), both heads are new, and I am kinda drawing a blank. For all I know, I might be choking the drum, but i have no clue what a choked drum sounds like, lol.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!

[GRUNTERSDAD]

Is this your first steel, metal snare. They do ring near the edges. Get an Evans Genera HD, or ST Dry head to tame it a little. But it doesn't sound bad to me

[valkyrievf2x]

Is this your first steel, metal snare. They do ring near the edges. Get an Evans Genera HD, or ST Dry head to tame it a little. But it doesn't sound bad to me

Well, aluminum, but yeah. Last snare was an old Pearl Forum, so difference of night and day. So, if I'm understanding correctly, some of those extra overtones towards the edge (almost buzzing like to me), are normal? Wow!

[Sjogras]

Well, aluminum, but yeah. Last snare was an old Pearl Forum, so difference of night and day. So, if I'm understanding correctly, some of those extra overtones towards the edge (almost buzzing like to me), are normal? Wow!

All drums have more overtones towards the edges, it's just how they work. When I hit near the edges the snares buzz like crazy and there are some very present overtones, but I don't hear them when I play anyway. I like to keep the snare wires pretty loose so there is a lot of sympathetic buzz caused by the toms, but to be honest, I don't quite understand how anyone could consider this a problem.

I use a piece of moongel-like product on the snare, about an inch from the edge. Maybe that could solve your problem? Good luck!

[Bull]

Try tuning your reso considerably higher than the batter. You might want to try a 2 ply coated batter.

[IdesOfMarch]

Hi guys. Can you help me how to get a Steve Jordan snare sound? I really like the sound of his snare. tight, crack, beautiful rimshot. Any inputs? Thanks!

Part of the reason he has such an awesome crack sound is because of his ridiculous technique! If you watch him, he has developed a way to hit a rimshot every time, but then just leave the stick on the head, preventing the stick from bouncing. If you really want to sound like him, don't only worry about the tuning of the snare, but how you hit the snare as well!

[valkyrievf2x]

This is more for intellectual curiosity than anything else, but what is considered TOO tight for a snare drum batter head? Let's use turns as a gauge, since "tight", "loose", "choked" or any of those other terms are rather subjective. So with that:
--Evans G1 batter head, coated
--standard length 1.5" tension rods
--Acrolite snare
Let's assume that initially, the rods were finger tightened to that then only rested on the drum hoop. So, no tension on the hoop or head from the rods. For my Acrolite, for example, I have it at around 2.5 full 360 degree turns. Head is tight, but there is still some give (push down on it with my finger). Stick has rather good bounce and response. Sounds good to my inexperience ears. I know the turns of a tension rod isn't the best way to describe it, but I find it easier to understand than the more nebulous terms usually used. If I were to use the more common terms, it is tuned "high", with a good "crack" , and a rather pleasant ring when hit. No weird overtones.

This whole tuning thing is an abstract art!! lol.

As an aside, are there more concrete ways to expressing drumming related terms? Like I said earlier, the current terms are kinda dependent on the person (one person's high tuned drum is another's medium). This can be confusing to a newbie who is unfamiliar to the field.

Thanks!

[Pocket-full-of-gold]

but what is considered TOO tight for a snare drum batter head?

Choked = too tight.
Flappy and no tone = too loose.
Anything in between is fair game.

No there really is no better way to describe "tight", "medium" or "loose".....even drum dial numbers are dependant on the type of head used. Tuning to specific notes is probably the most accurate description you're gonna get.....and even then, not everyone is up for it.

The key is to experiment with your drum through a range of tunings. Tune 'em where you like 'em and be content that what you play is far more important than describing the sound.

[valkyrievf2x]

Choked = too tight.
Flappy and no tone = too loose.
Anything in between is fair game.

No there really is no better way to describe "tight", "medium" or "loose".....even drum dial numbers are dependant on the type of head used. Tuning to specific notes is probably the most accurate description you're gonna get.....and even then, not everyone is up for it.

The key is to experiment with your drum through a range of tunings. Tune 'em where you like 'em and be content that what you play is far more important than describing the sound.

That's cool :o) Figure there is no harm in asking. Just thinking along the way that better to learn it right the first time, than to do it wrong for years then try and change your ways, lol.

[Andrew239]

I put new heads on my snare and got what i thought was a very nice sound. I then wanted to experimnent a little and being a newbie, can't get it sounding as good as it did. I know the answers to these questions are subjective and differ from drum to drum, but "ballpark" answers would be appreciated as a starting point.
In terms of drum key turns, what is the difference between low tuning and high tuning ? is it a full turn, 2 turns, half etc.
How far from finger tight is considered a low tuning on the snare ?
When i listen with my earmuffs on, everything sounds totally different, and honestly a ot better than without them. Is this normal ?
thanks for any help, it will save me some frustration.

[Dr. Pedal]

Hey Guys,

These Patented FLATHEADZ Visual Assist Tuning Hoops are now Available!!!

[GRUNTERSDAD]

What these? I don't see anything....

Well I did some snooping and found this;

http://www.eccentricsystems.com/eccentricsystems_005.htm

I would go blind trying to determine if all ten lugs were on the same line. Sorry but why can't people just learn to tune with their ears.
We are supposed to be musicians. With the subtle differences in mylar thickness these hoops may get you close but you still need your ears.
Just do it lads.

[Dr. Pedal]

What these? I don't see anything....

My Ignorance in adding pictures is the problem, and I'm trying to correct it...

[GRUNTERSDAD]

Let me help............................... as you can see the lines look to be about 1/16th inch or 1 mm apart. Much to smalll for these old eyes.

[Dr. Pedal]

Let me help............................... as you can see the lines look to be about 1/16th inch or 1 mm apart. Much to smalll for these old eyes.

Understandable, But aside from aid in tuning, you can use the lines to consistently tune to the same sweet spot after changing heads, and assist in "pitching" the top and bottom heads on toms to bend the notes... I like em...

[Dr. Pedal]

Let me help............................... as you can see the lines look to be about 1/16th inch or 1 mm apart. Much to smalll for these old eyes.

And THANK you so much for posting the picture!! unkind of me not to mention... Sorry..

[Tomate]

Hey guys!
Not sure if this is the right place to ask, but browsing through the thread i couldn't find anything that would answer my question..

I've got a Tama Starphonic steel snare drum, and it's beautiful! Knowing that steel snare drums produce a lot of overtones i slapped an Evans HD DRY on it to try and get rid of them, tuned it up and it was just perfect.
One day i decided to start messing with the tuning, got some great tone that i loved, then cranked it up a little more and i didn't dig the sound so much so i detuned completely and re-tuned the snare, but i'm getting -a lot- of overtones that i really want to get rid of without dampening.. Is there a specific tuning technique to get rid of overtones without dampening?

Thanks!

[Pocket-full-of-gold]

One day i decided to start messing with the tuning,

Keep playing around with it mate. You've had a good tone before, so you know it's acheivable. All you have to do is experiment and find it again. Remember, even tension at each lug and turn the key in small increments.

Follow this guys method and the rest comes down to practice. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qxm3QunDjUs

[Tomate]

Keep playing around with it mate. You've had a good tone before, so you know it's acheivable. All you have to do is experiment and find it again. Remember, even tension at each lug and turn the key in small increments.

Follow this guys method and the rest comes down to practice. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qxm3QunDjUs

That's my problem, i've got even tension on all lugs (or at least i assume so) and i went up to the tone y had in the first place (or very close to it), and it's very similiar, except i'm drowning in overtones :(

EDIT: (Sort of a question i never thought about before) Should i blame overtones on the batter, the reso head, or both?

[Dr. Pedal]

Hey guys!
Not sure if this is the right place to ask, but browsing through the thread i couldn't find anything that would answer my question..

I've got a Tama Starphonic steel snare drum, and it's beautiful! Knowing that steel snare drums produce a lot of overtones i slapped an Evans HD DRY on it to try and get rid of them, tuned it up and it was just perfect.
One day i decided to start messing with the tuning, got some great tone that i loved, then cranked it up a little more and i didn't dig the sound so much so i detuned completely and re-tuned the snare, but i'm getting -a lot- of overtones that i really want to get rid of without dampening.. Is there a specific tuning technique to get rid of overtones without dampening?

Thanks!

THE PHYSICS INVOLVED IN THE FRUSTRATION OF DRUM TUNING.


Tuning a drum is so difficult because you have in the case of a snare, 10 separate adjustment points stretching the same diaphragm (or head) ...

Keeping all the rods pulling THE HEAD equally will get the confusing due to some lugs being “tighter” than others, or how the head is seated, and how evenly you stretch the head up to “pitch”. In traditional head changing and tuning tradition, jumping from one side of the drum to the other, and turning each rod the same amount, you bring the drum up to pitch a little at a time at each lug around the head.

As some hand positions turn one lug a little farther, and a less comfortable hand positions turn a little less, some lugs tighten up and turn less, because you feel the pressure, while other lugs aren’t tight yet, so maybe you turn them a little farther. Now should something disturb you while your counting which lug your on, you may miss one, or two, so by now some lugs could be 2 turns above or 2 turns below the proper average. The head is now beginning to have pitch, so as you continue you begin tapping in front of the lugs to use your ear to try to match the pitch.

This is pretty much the dangerous part, because of the physics of sound waves. Music theory dictates that fifths and octaves have no “harmonic vibration”. This means that when played together, the blend has no vibration.

As the drum head is a diaphragm, it is very difficult to hear a difference if the change at a lug is close to either a fifth or octave, because the diaphragm will settle to this longer less volatile wave. The pitch produced at the lug may be only a third or less away from the average pitch, but the mass off the head will flex at the longest (or largest) wave while sending the remaining frequencies off as overtones.

As one who had the patience and training as a piano technician to understand this. I developed the FlatheadZ visual assist tuning hoops to give the player a visual reference at each lug which verifies the length of the tuning rods.

FlatheadZ use of graduated lines assures the head is being pulled equally at each lug making ear tuning much easier and eliminating overtones. Other advantages include simplifying the blending of the top and bottom head by having confirmation that the top head is pitched differently from the bottom by aligning the hoops to different lines on the patented FlatheadZ gauge. Your drums can be re-headed and brought back in tune at that exact “sweet spot” for that individual drum by simply remembering which line is used.

During set up and tear down, the FlatheadZ gauge can be used to quickly verify which if any lugs have backed off on both the top and bottom heads helping you to more easily keep your drums in tune.

I hope that helped..

[Tomate]

THE PHYSICS INVOLVED IN THE FRUSTRATION OF DRUM TUNING.


Tuning a drum is so difficult because you have in the case of a snare, 10 separate adjustment points stretching the same diaphragm (or head) ...

Keeping all the rods pulling THE HEAD equally will get the confusing due to some lugs being “tighter” than others, or how the head is seated, and how evenly you stretch the head up to “pitch”. In traditional head changing and tuning tradition, jumping from one side of the drum to the other, and turning each rod the same amount, you bring the drum up to pitch a little at a time at each lug around the head.

As some hand positions turn one lug a little farther, and a less comfortable hand positions turn a little less, some lugs tighten up and turn less, because you feel the pressure, while other lugs aren’t tight yet, so maybe you turn them a little farther. Now should something disturb you while your counting which lug your on, you may miss one, or two, so by now some lugs could be 2 turns above or 2 turns below the proper average. The head is now beginning to have pitch, so as you continue you begin tapping in front of the lugs to use your ear to try to match the pitch.

This is pretty much the dangerous part, because of the physics of sound waves. Music theory dictates that fifths and octaves have no “harmonic vibration”. This means that when played together, the blend has no vibration.

As the drum head is a diaphragm, it is very difficult to hear a difference if the change at a lug is close to either a fifth or octave, because the diaphragm will settle to this longer less volatile wave. The pitch produced at the lug may be only a third or less away from the average pitch, but the mass off the head will flex at the longest (or largest) wave while sending the remaining frequencies off as overtones.

As one who had the patience and training as a piano technician to understand this. I developed the FlatheadZ visual assist tuning hoops to give the player a visual reference at each lug which verifies the length of the tuning rods.

FlatheadZ use of graduated lines assures the head is being pulled equally at each lug making ear tuning much easier and eliminating overtones. Other advantages include simplifying the blending of the top and bottom head by having confirmation that the top head is pitched differently from the bottom by aligning the hoops to different lines on the patented FlatheadZ gauge. Your drums can be re-headed and brought back in tune at that exact “sweet spot” for that individual drum by simply remembering which line is used.

During set up and tear down, the FlatheadZ gauge can be used to quickly verify which if any lugs have backed off on both the top and bottom heads helping you to more easily keep your drums in tune.

I hope that helped..

Woah! Thanks!
That's really helpful and informative, i just don't think you ship "FlatheadZ" to Chile.. (or do you!?)

Haha, i'm in the middle of tuning as i'm typing, i'll post if i get results!

[Dr. Pedal]

We Export FlatheadZ Anywhere In The World! (But Buyer Pays Shipping {About $20.00 US})
http://www.eccentricsystems.com

[Tomate]

We Export FlatheadZ Anywhere In The World! (But Buyer Pays Shipping {About $20.00 US})
http://www.eccentricsystems.com

Hehe, even though i was just joking back there i might take it into consideration!
And as for tuning results.. nope, completely retuned the batter and reso heads again and i'm still getting the nasty overtones..

[Dr. Pedal]

Hehe, even though i was just joking back there i might take it into consideration!
And as for tuning results.. nope, completely retuned the batter and reso heads again and i'm still getting the nasty overtones..

Bottom Head Lower than Top Head, and you may need to check to see if the drum is still round... Or maybe a defective head... (that happens...) Good Luck!!! and be patient!!

[Tomate]

Bottom Head Lower than Top Head, and you may need to check to see if the drum is still round... Or maybe a defective head... (that happens...) Good Luck!!! and be patient!!

I checked everything again foe ven tension and as far as i could tell it was even, so i grabbed my drum and checked the edges, measured it around to see if it's round and it was pretty much perfect (plus it's only like a month old).
So i just gave in to the overtones, grabbed some moongels and slapped it into the case to bring it to the gig i had later that night.. Surprise surprise!

I took it out of the case, slapped it on the stand and gave it a few hits. -No overtones-

Could it have been that my snare is resonating with my tones and i was mistaking those with overtones? As soon as i get behind my own kit i'll try that out.. (But oh lord, that snare sounds orgasmic now!)

[JMalriat]

I want to finish the inside of my catalina club snare. I have some tung oil, but I'm hesitant because I've never done it before. Anyone know what difference it would make? Would it sound better with higher or lower tuning? should I finish the bearing edges too or leave them how they are?

I've played a lot of snares with a finished inside and liked them, but I've never done it myself. Let me know, I'm not sure what I'm getting myself into. thanks

[Dr. Pedal]

As to Your Tung Oil Question...

It's quite easy to do, and will make the grain of the wood stand out by absorbing oil into the grain and darkening it. The only problem you’ll run into is that you’ll need to let the oil dry and cure before you begin sanding…. Even when the oil seems dry, if you begin sanding before it is fully cured, the sanding “dust” will be absorbed and make the wood look “dirty” so PLEASE wait a day or two longer than you think before you begin to sand… As to sound, it may add a bit of punch at the attack, but sonically it really doesn’t do much, it’s mostly for looks, and not for sound…

Dr. Pedal

[Elvis]

Hey guys!
Not sure if this is the right place to ask, but browsing through the thread i couldn't find anything that would answer my question..

I've got a Tama Starphonic steel snare drum, and it's beautiful! Knowing that steel snare drums produce a lot of overtones i slapped an Evans HD DRY on it to try and get rid of them, tuned it up and it was just perfect.
One day i decided to start messing with the tuning, got some great tone that i loved, then cranked it up a little more and i didn't dig the sound so much so i detuned completely and re-tuned the snare, but i'm getting -a lot- of overtones that i really want to get rid of without dampening.. Is there a specific tuning technique to get rid of overtones without dampening?

Thanks!
Your drum is a Starphonic.
This means it is a metal shelled drum.
The "overtones" you're hearing may be the shell and not the head.

...Please, just humor me for a minute and try this...

Pull the snare drum away from the rest of the kit (its ok to leave it on the stand) and hit the center of the head.
Still hear the "overtones"?
Take your other hand and place your fingers on various spots on the shell, between the lugs.
Hit the center of the head again.
Notice a difference?
Does the drum sound better?
Try it a few times, with your fingers in various locations. You'll hit on a combination of spots on the shell that will quell the ringing sound.
Use small patches of tape (I used duct tape when I did it) that will cover that part of the shells, between the lugs. That will muffle the drum nicely.
Inside the shell or outside of the shell, whichever way works better for you.
...IF...(big "if" here)...
This test doesn't change anything, now you know its the head, but at least now, you know for sure.



Elvis

[Elvis]

I want to finish the inside of my catalina club snare. I have some tung oil, but I'm hesitant because I've never done it before. Anyone know what difference it would make? Would it sound better with higher or lower tuning? should I finish the bearing edges too or leave them how they are?

I've played a lot of snares with a finished inside and liked them, but I've never done it myself. Let me know, I'm not sure what I'm getting myself into. thanks
Take the drum apart and take the bare shell to either an auto body/paint shop, or a fiberglass boat manufacturer.



Auto body/paint Shop: Tell them you'd like to have the inside of the shell "clearcoated".
One, maybe two layers.

Fiberglass Boat Manufacturer: Ask if they can 'glass the inside of your shell.
One layer of roving should be more than enough.



Tell to make sure not to cover the edge (the auto body/paint shop will probably get some overspray onto the inside of the edge. This is ok, as long as it doesn't cover the whole edge).
...of course, you'll have to show them what you mean by "the edge" (so, up to the countercut on the inside).

You'll have to clean out the mounting holes after you get it home, and you may have to do a little sanding on the edge (fine grit paper and TAKE IT EASY, this wood sands incredibly easy), to clean it up.
Once you're done, it should sound fantastic, because it's just been (what used to be known as) "Vibrafibed ". =)


Elvis

[Dr. Pedal]

THE PHYSICS INVOLVED IN THE FRUSTRATION OF DRUM TUNING.


Tuning a drum is so difficult because you have in the case of a snare, 10 separate adjustment points stretching the same diaphragm (or head) ...

Keeping all the rods pulling THE HEA
D equally will get the confusing due to some lugs being “tighter tolerance” than others, or how the head is seated, and how evenly you stretch the head up to “pitch”. In traditional head changing and tuning one jumps from one side of the drum to the other, turning each rod the same amount.. You bring the drum up to pitch a little at a time at each lug around the head.

As some hand positions turn one lug a little farther, and a less comfortable hand positions turn a little less. Some lugs tighten up due to friction and are turned less because you feel the pressure. Other lugs aren’t tight yet, so maybe you turn them a little farther…. Now should something disturb you while your counting which lug you’re on…. You may miss count one, or two, so by now some lugs could be 2 turns above or 2 turns below the proper average! The head is now beginning to have pitch, so as you continue you begin tapping in front of the lugs to use your ear to try to match the pitch at each lug.

This is pretty much the dangerous part, because of the physics of sound waves. Music theory dictates that fifths and octaves have no “harmonic vibration”. This means that when played together, the blend has no vibration.

As the drum head is a single diaphragm, it is very difficult to hear a difference if the change at a lug is close to either a fifth or octave, because the diaphragm will settle it’s mass to this longer less volatile wave. The pitch produced at the lug may be only a third or less away from the average pitch, but the mass of the head will flex at the longest (or largest) wave while sending the remaining frequencies off as overtones.

As a drummer who has had the patience and training as a piano technician to understand this. I developed the FlatheadZ Visual Assist Tuning Hoops to give the player a visual reference at each lug which verifies the length of the tuning rods. FlatheadZ use of graduated lines assures the head is being pulled equally at each lug making ear tuning much easier by helping eliminating overtones.

Other advantages include simplifying the “blending” of the top and bottom head. FlatheadZ provide visual confirmation that the top head is pitched differently from the bottom by aligning the top and bottom hoops to different lines on the patented FlatheadZ gauge.

In future, your drums can be re-headed and brought back in tune at that exact “sweet spot” for that individual drum by simply remembering which line is used. During set up and tear down, the FlatheadZ gauge can be used to quickly verify which, if any, lugs have backed off on both the top or bottom heads helping you to more easily keep your drums in tune.

I hope that helped..
http://www.eccentricsystems.com/

[JMalriat]

Take the drum apart and take the bare shell to either an auto body/paint shop, or a fiberglass boat manufacturer.

Auto body/paint Shop: Tell them you'd like to have the inside of the shell "clearcoated".
One, maybe two layers.

Fiberglass Boat Manufacturer: Ask if they can 'glass the inside of your shell.
One layer of roving should be more than enough.

You'll have to clean out the mounting holes after you get it home, and you may have to do a little sanding on the edge (fine grit paper and TAKE IT EASY, this wood sands incredibly easy), to clean it up.

Elvis

That's nuts, I never would have thought to do that. They would do a great job on it for sure. I would have tried to do it myself with a spray can and screwed it up.

But I wonder if putting a coat of tung oil on first would mess up that process at all.. I'm assuming it wouldn't because that stuff is pretty durable. I'd like to try both (one after the other) and see which is better. I'm using this snare as an experiment before I try to build my own from a keller shell or something.

As to Your Tung Oil Question...

It's quite easy to do, and will make the grain of the wood stand out by absorbing oil into the grain and darkening it. The only problem you’ll run into is that you’ll need to let the oil dry and cure before you begin sanding…. Even when the oil seems dry, if you begin sanding before it is fully cured, the sanding “dust” will be absorbed and make the wood look “dirty” so PLEASE wait a day or two longer than you think before you begin to sand… As to sound, it may add a bit of punch at the attack, but sonically it really doesn’t do much, it’s mostly for looks, and not for sound…

Dr. Pedal

Thanks for the advice. My brother bought the tung oil for an unrelated project, so I'm not all that familiar with it. But yeah, I would have done exactly what you said not to do and sanded it right away. I'm probably going to strip it all down and do 2 or 3 coats. I'll see what happens after that

Thanks a lot guys. This might belong in the drum mod thread but you guys are helping me out a lot.

[Elvis]

That's nuts, I never would have thought to do that. They would do a great job on it for sure. I would have tried to do it myself with a spray can and screwed it up.

But I wonder if putting a coat of tung oil on first would mess up that process at all.. I'm assuming it wouldn't because that stuff is pretty durable. I'd like to try both (one after the other) and see which is better. I'm using this snare as an experiment before I try to build my own from a keller shell or something.
I would advise against treating the shell with anything, as it will most likely keep the coating from adhering to the shell.
The Tung Oil is just a wood preservative. It also happens to make the grain pop.
The coatings I suggested will accomplish the preserving feature by sealing the wood.
They also have an effect on the sound of the drum.
Tung Oil would not change the sound of your drum.

So your choices are; coat the shell, or treat the shell. Whichever you decide on, it won't be a wrong descision, because it'll be your descision.
Good luck.




Elvis

[TWerner]

As a neophyte drum tuner, I've been using my ear, a guitar, a guitar tuner, and a tune bot, to teach myself to tune my son's drums.

It's a very frustrating process, but I noticed something that I haven't seen mentioned here. If I get a head in tune, and then raise each lug 1/4 turn, it isn't in tune anymore. But if I leave it over night, it's pretty much in tune by morning. It's as if the head sticks a little, like guitar strings. I also think that since we can't tighten all the lugs at once, similar changes in hoop pressure still results in uneven head tension right after you make an adjustment. That gave me an idea.

I took a tuned drum and I tightened each lug in the correct order about 1/8 turn.
At this point the lugs were not even close to being in tune with each other. The drum had that wavering interference thing going on.
So I played the head as if it was a hand drum for 10 seconds or so, just slapping all over, right left top bottom middle ....

After that, it sounded even to me, and when I tested it with the tune bot all lugs were within .5 hz. Bongoing the drum let the head tension sort itself out after a change, and I don't think the sticking is due to bad edges. These are nice Tama drums with die cast hoops, and I polished all the edges lightly with 2000 grit paper and then waxed them before I put the heads on.

[Elvis]

Now, take the wax off and see if its any easier to tune.


Elvis

[Elvis]

Reposted because it deals with this thread...


There's a few ways to "break in" a new head.
Over the years, I've tried various methods.
The way I'm about to describe has worked very well for me and is a much faster way of "breaking in" a head than most others:

1) Remove the old head.

2) Take a piece of cloth (old T-shirt works well) and give a quick wipe to the bearing edge, the underside of the collar and the glue ring of the new head and the underside of the hoop.

3) Place the new head on the drum and spin it on the shell.
Make sure it fits on and spins easily.
If not, return the head and get another.
If it does, continue...

4) Place the hoop on the head, insert the tension rods, tighten all rods finger tight (I like to use both hands, turning the 2 rods that are on the exact opposite sides of each other at the same time).

5) Take your tuning key and start applying tension to the head by turning the tension rods.
Use a STAR PATTERN to tension the head, so that it torques down evenly.
If you're drum is a 6 lug drum, look at the end of the drum you're working on and situate the lugs so that you have one lug looking right at you and the one opposite is looking straight away from you.
If you play "connect the dots" with the other 4 lugs, it should make a "box" shape.

6) Now imagine the face of a clock superimposed over the drum, with the number 12 being the lug looking away from you and the number 6 being the lug looking straight at you.
The rest of the numbers on the imaginary clock will be fairly close to the following lug positions;
The lug in the upper right hand side will be "2", the lug in the lower right hand side will be "4", the lug on the lower left hand side will be "8" and the lug on the upper left hand side will be "10".

7) Tighten the head down in 2 steps, or "patterns".
The first one will be:
12,6,2,8,4,10.
The second one will be:
6,12,4,10,2,8.
Repeat these patterns, in the order I just laid out, placing one complete 360 degree revolution on each rod (which I call "a turn") the first time around, then use 180 degree revolutions (which I call a "1/2 turn") there after, until you've put 3 turns on each of the tension rods.

8 ) At this point, the head is evenly tensioned and fairly taught.
You may have heard some cracking or "popping" at this point, and that's fine.
Place the drum on the floor with the head you're working on looking up.
Now, place the heel of one of your hands in the center of the head and give one very hard, sharp, quick push.
DON'T BE A WIMP HERE! PUT YOUR WEIGHT INTO IT!
You may have heard more cracking at this point or you may not hear more cracking at this point.
Either is fine.

9) Now pick the drum off the floor and place it on a soft surface with the end you're working on looking up.
That old T-shirt (folded) you used to wipe the drum off with in the beginning would work fine.
If your bed has a comforter on it, that would be perfect.
The soft surface will completely muffle the other head so that you only hear the head you are tuning, which brings us to...

10) Remove all of the tension from the head you're working on.
Use the star patterns I laid out in step #7, until you feel the tension on the rods get pretty slack.
By that time, you probably won't need to use the key anymore.
Keep loosening the tension until the rods are no longer tensioning the head (look for an obvious gap between the head of the rod and the hoop).

11) Start tightening down on the head again with the rods, using the star patterns I showed in step #7.
This time, you will tension the head to whatever setting gives you the sound you're looking for.
Once you start to feel a little tension on the head, start tapping it in the middle after completing each star pattern, to see if the head is tensioned where you want it.

12) Once you reach that point, stop tightening and tap on the head at each point that corressponds with a tension rod, about 1/4" in from the edge.
You can use a stick or your finger, it really doesn't matter.

13) Tap each point once and listen to the drum.

14) If you hear a nice, even sound that is the same pitch at all the points, you're finished tuning this head and you’ll need to flip the tom over and perform the same procedure on the other head (ONLY if you're changing that one, too. If you're not, don't worry about it). The head is now tuned to where you want it to be and it should hold that tuning for as long as you want it to. At this point, with each head sounding good on its own, you can skip to step #21.

15) IF you hear a "wobbly" or "uneven" sound coming from some of those points, then the head is not tensioned evenly.
The sound you're hearing is known as distortion and is caused by the head creating several dissonant frequencies at once, due to the fact that it's seeing different tension in different spots of the head.
Dissonant frequencies are ones that do not harmonize with each other, thus resulting in the distorted sound you hear.

16) At this point, you'll need to "fine tune" the head.

17) Check around the head and see if that distorted sound isn't more prevelent at certain points more than others.
If so, try correcting those first.

18) Correct by tightening that tension rod, slightly.
Tap on the head once, at that tension rod, and tighten the rod as the sound decays.
You shouldn't have to turn the rod more than 1/4 of turn at a time.
If you do, then stop and tap the head at the rod that is on the exact opposite side of the drum and see if you don't hear the distorted sound coming from that one.
If so, do the same thing until the sound "evens out".

19) Tap around the head again and see if the distortion is still heard.

20) If so, do the same procedure at each of those rods as well.

21) Once you have everything sounding nice and "even" pick the drum up and hold it in your hand BY THE TOM BRACKET. NEVER HOLD IT BY THE RIM (you can also cradle it in your hand, if there’s no bracket on the tom).
The combination of the weight of the drum, your grip and the thickness of the hoop may be enough to throw the head "out of tune" at this point, if the drum is held by its rim.

22) Hit the middle of the drum while holding it up.

23) If it sounds "good", you're done.
If you still get that distortion, set the drum back down on the soft surface it was on and tap around the head again to see if you didn't miss anything.

24) If it sounds good, flip the drum over and tap around the edge of the other head.
Chances are it may have been out of tune and you didn't realize it until now.

25) If the distortion is heard with either head, correct those problems and perform step #22 again.

26) If, when you hold up the drum, you STILL get that distorted sound, go back and perform steps 23-25 and check the heads again.
If everything sounds good on it's own, then your heads are "out of phase" with each other (i.e., each head is tuned to a frequency that is dissonant to the other).
At this point, you'll have to pick one of those heads and retune it to a different pitch that will put the heads back "into phase".
Remember, the batter head sets the tone of the drum, the resonant head sets the amount of resonance of the drum.
The change will most likely not have to be that drastic and the sound of your drum may not change all that much.

27) Make the correction, perform step # 22 and see how the drum sounds.


...If everything sounds good, NOW you're done!

Chances are very good that you will NOT have to perform all 27 steps.
I just wanted to cover some basic problems you might encounter while trying to tune up the drum.

One of the most important points in tuning a drum, that most drummers overlook, is the "cracking" procedure.
You MUST find a way to form that head to the bearing edge, and stress the glue that may be holding the head material to the glue ring, or else you will stand a very good chance of encountering (unneccessary) problems with getting the head tuned up.
You can crank up the tension and leave it sit for a week, or use a hair dryer on it, or simply push down on the center of the head (like I do!).
Any of these procedures will form the head to the bearing edge (leaving it sit for a week works the worst, trust me on this one!).

One thing you don't wanna do is to push in on the SNARE SIDE head (that's the clear one on the bottom of the snare drum). It's too thin and doing that will leave a large depression in the head (it won't sound good).
Those heads are so thin, that you can just slap them on and tension them to where ever you like.


Hope you found this helpful.




Elvis

[TWerner]

Now, take the wax off and see if its any easier to tune.


Elvis

I can't take the wax off. It's was just hard bees wax and there's not enough there to take off. I ran the stick around the edge then buffed it with a microfiber cloth I had until there was nothing to feel.

Regarding your second post, it's a great tutorial. I have a pdf that lists all those steps except the spin the drum head idea. That still doesn't deal with the fact that there is friction at the edge no matter what you do. If you tighten a lug, it will pull the head tighter, but the head might still may move more if you leave it a while or hand drum it like I did. We're not talking about a lot of movement, but enough that I found it worth the few second it took me and thought I'd mention it. Maybe you should try it on one drum after you tune it, touch up the tuning after you hand drum it, and see if it stays in tune longer or requires less fine tuning later because of that.

[Elvis]

Sorry, I misinterpreted your other post.
You did it right.
Also, that tutorial wasn't neccessarily posted for your benefit alone.
I repost that every few pages here.
Thanks for the compliment, though. I appreciate it! =)
Just so I understand correctly, the sanding and wax application didn't change anything, right?
That is odd, how the head does that.
Are you forming the head to the edge?


Elvis

[TWerner]

I'm not sure what forming the head to the edge means. I did go though those steps (minus the spinning since I'd never heard of it). I also left the drums overnight the first time I tightened them up. I think the document I read said that if you are in a rush you can warm the head with a hair dryer, but that seemed risky, and I'm in no rush. Just learning this tuning thing since my son won't bother yet.

I don't know if the edge polishing made a difference. The drums tuned easily without the hand drumming after changes, but when I do that, they almost tune themselves. Maybe with the die cast hoops and the hand drumming, it releases any sticking at the edges. Don't know.

[markdrum]

You have to be careful with the "seating the head" thing. The common wisdom about applying pressure to the head until you hear a "crackling" sound applies to Remo and Evans heads. Aquarians are built differently and don't require this step. It's probably good to go to the website of the company who manufactured your drums and read what they have there. As a side note, not to be too familiar, but your son needs to learn this for himself. You don't learn the full musicality of the drums until you tune them several times. Without this he's missing half of the fun of playing. A drummer's tuning of their drums is a big part of their individual sound. I teach all of my students some of the many different ways to tune the same drum. It's a real "ear opener".

[Elvis]

Mark,

I agree with your comments about they guy's kid needing to learn to tune his own drum, but if you don't believe that my tutorial is valid, try it for yourself, and see if you don't end up with a tuned drum.


Elvis

[TWerner]

I also agree with him needing to learn to tune them himself. I have him sing the pitch of the lugs every once in a while. For now, I'm OK with letting him focus on playing while I act as his drum tech. He does seem to have a good ear, but I don't want to have to fix the tuning if he messes it up. It still takes me too long!

[RodneyZepa]

Hey guys!
Not sure if this is the right place to ask, but browsing through the thread i couldn't find anything that would answer my question..

I've got a Tama Starphonic steel snare drum, and it's beautiful! Knowing that steel snare drums produce a lot of overtones i slapped an Evans HD DRY on it to try and get rid of them, tuned it up and it was just perfect.
One day i decided to start messing with the tuning, got some great tone that i loved, then cranked it up a little more and i didn't dig the sound so much so i detuned completely and re-tuned the snare, but i'm getting -a lot- of overtones that i really want to get rid of without dampening.. Is there a specific tuning technique to get rid of overtones without dampening?

Thanks!

I was retuning my Starphonic Steel Snare and thought I'd go to Drummerworld as I remembered the Snare Tuning Thread...Somehow, your "Quote" came up...?...Yikes (Wind blowing in background, a wolf howls, a bolt of lightning cracks the sky...Is this real..?..Am I dreaming..?..Or, does my snare sound crappy the way it is...?...)...Couldn't resist the drama...I have Remo CS Emperor as Batter and Tama supplied resonant...I loosened the resonant about 1 1/2 turns below fairly tight batter (Not super tight) with snare wire about halfway tightened at both ends...Still bit of overtone so I have placed the smaller Tama ring on snare and it sounds great now...I'm assuming your Starphonic is 1 of 200 made available, is it..?...Thanks...

[Dignan]

My question is about the technique of de-tuning the snare side lugs on either side of the snares. I've seen this recommended more than once as a remedy for buzzing snares. I tried this and it does seem to control the buzzing quite a bit. My question is, does this increase the chance if warping the hoop or damaging the reso head? Could it damage anything?

I recently put new batter and reso heads on my snare and once again am having trouble eliminating a bad snare buzz so that's why i tried this. My snare is a 14 by 5.5 Ludwig Rocker Elite. Not great I know but with meticulous tuning I can usually get a good sound after putzing around with it for a while. For what it's worth there are no snare bed grooves on the drum edges.

[Sjogras]

I recently put new batter and reso heads on my snare and once again am having trouble eliminating a bad snare buzz so that's why i tried this. My snare is a 14 by 5.5 Ludwig Rocker Elite. Not great I know but with meticulous tuning I can usually get a good sound after putzing around with it for a while. For what it's worth there are no snare bed grooves on the drum edges.

You can't damage the hoop by detuning within a reasonable limit, I have had my "snare wire lugs" detuned 1-2 semitones occasionally but found that it mostly dires out the drum in general, rather than only reduce snare buzz. First thing would be to make sure that you don't have your snare and a tom tuned too close to each other, because we are talking snare buzz caused by a tom here, correct? Second thing would be to check the snare wires, are they worn out? All wires still even? Are you installing them nice and evenly? Thirdly, how are you tuning the reso head? I really agree with Bob Gatzen stating that the tuning range for a snare reso is between G and B. My 14x5.5 sonor 3007 (maple) actually sounds a bit boring at G and a bit choked at B, but perfect at an A.

[Flight Drummers]

I know this is kind of weird, but I used to put a 1-ply batter head on the reso side of the snare to get rid of that nasty sounding buzz noise. I know that in Benny Grebs DVD language of drumming he said that this was a method that one of his sound engineers introduced to him and he has been using this method on his toms as well.

Might be worth a try. I use black panther snares now and haven't had any issues with buzzing noises.

[Elvis]

That was a trick that metal drummers used to use back in the 80's.
It works REAL GOOD, but you've got to pound the drum into submission to get the snares to react.
I never liked the sound. Super choked.

As for Dignan's question, his problem is that his snare drum has no bed.
If he plans on keeping that snare drum for a while, and assuming its a wood shelled drum, it would be to his benefit to seek out a drumsmith and have those beds ground into the shell.

Re: Tomate & Rodney Zepa
There's a lot of reasons why any drum would seem to posess a lot of sustain, number one being that they're actually designed that way.
You could play a little softer, detune a few lugs on each side, blah, blah, blah, etc., etc., but in the end, it might help to realize that the drum was designed to have sustain and that you could use this to give the drum added dimension and versatility.
If you wanna play pop/rock, throw a ritchie ring on the batter head and pound away.
When you wanna play some Jazz, or any ballad that may require a softer, more full sound, leave the ring off.
You can substitue the ring for anything that'll add enough weight to the head to dampen it (I found a man's wallet works really good!).

...and if none of that satisfies you, then try the suggestions found here - http://www.menet.umn.edu/~kgeisler/Tuning.pdf


Elvis

[Dignan]

As for Dignan's question, his problem is that his snare drum has no bed.
If he plans on keeping that snare drum for a while, and assuming its a wood shelled drum, it would be to his benefit to seek out a drumsmith and have those beds ground into the shell.


Thanks for the suggestions guys. Yes, it is wood. I'll see about getting snare beds put in.

To Sjogras, the buzz is actually coming from both hits on the snare itself and the toms. I'll also try tuning to a B. The snare wires look ok when tensioned but one of the outside wires bows out just ever so slightly when they aren't under tension. Is that an indication that the wires are bad? It's also the stock/original snare wires that came with the drum. Maybe that's my problem.

Thanks again.

[Sjogras]

To Sjogras, the buzz is actually coming from both hits on the snare itself and the toms. I'll also try tuning to a B. The snare wires look ok when tensioned but one of the outside wires bows out just ever so slightly when they aren't under tension. Is that an indication that the wires are bad? It's also the stock/original snare wires that came with the drum. Maybe that's my problem.

Thanks again.

On the first sentence, that sounds to me like the reso head is tuned too low, been there myself. You can tighten the snare wires to lessen the sustain from them, but that dries the sound out and makes the drum less responsive. So tighten the reso head, and tighten the snare wires to match that tension, and the drum should sound nice and responsive without the excessive snare buzz.

If it's the outside wire you can remove it, but remember to remove the one on the other side as well. I have removed a couple of wires myself, currently 12 snare wires left since I like to pronounce the characteristics of the drum itself, lots or resonance and tone. With the snare wires in the off position I can see that one of the middle wires is a little unevenly aligned with the others, which is a sign of it starting to wear out I suppose, but the drum sounds great and I'm not changing it until it starts giving me problems.

[Dignan]

On the first sentence, that sounds to me like the reso head is tuned too low, been there myself. You can tighten the snare wires to lessen the sustain from them, but that dries the sound out and makes the drum less responsive. So tighten the reso head, and tighten the snare wires to match that tension, and the drum should sound nice and responsive without the excessive snare buzz.

If it's the outside wire you can remove it, but remember to remove the one on the other side as well. I have removed a couple of wires myself, currently 12 snare wires left since I like to pronounce the characteristics of the drum itself, lots or resonance and tone. With the snare wires in the off position I can see that one of the middle wires is a little unevenly aligned with the others, which is a sign of it starting to wear out I suppose, but the drum sounds great and I'm not changing it until it starts giving me problems.

I'll putz around with the tuning some more and maybe remove the outside two wires and see where I'm at. Thanks

[scottellis94]

I play twice a week at the church I go to. The kit is a Pearl forum series, and I don't like it at all. Anyone have any ideas who have played in that setting on ideas for tuning, heads, cymbals, snares, and anything else that might even help?

[Dr. Pedal]

I play twice a week at the church I go to. The kit is a Pearl forum series, and I don't like it at all. Anyone have any ideas who have played in that setting on ideas for tuning, heads, cymbals, snares, and anything else that might even help?

Scottie...

First off, I'd think it the wrong head for the kit, You'll need a thinner ply like an Ambassador also you could back the heads all the way off and start over in tuning, maybe the last guy was an idiot. I kind of know tuning and Patented this http://www.eccentricsystems.com

Hope it helps...

[scottellis94]

Scottie...

First off, I'd think it the wrong head for the kit, You'll need a thinner ply like an Ambassador also you could back the heads all the way off and start over in tuning, maybe the last guy was an idiot. I kind of know tuning and Patented this http://www.eccentricsystems.com

Hope it helps...

I have the dough to replace the heads. Do you have any recs on what to put on it? Batter and Resonant. 13/16/22/14x5.5

Also looking to replace heads and retune my personal kit. It's a pdp x7 8/10/12/14/16/22/14x5. On that I play a lot of jazz, alt rock, fusion, really anything!

[Dr. Pedal]

I have the dough to replace the heads. Do you have any recs on what to put on it? Batter and Resonant. 13/16/22/14x5.5

Also looking to replace heads and retune my personal kit. It's a pdp x7 8/10/12/14/16/22/14x5. On that I play a lot of jazz, alt rock, fusion, really anything!

Scott

Personally I like a single ply head like an ambassador on the tops of the toms with a clear single ply on the bottom... On your PDP's check at the store some toms that use single ply type against the "pen stripe" type (they have a second "ring" ply near the outside of the drum. These cut down on overtones but can sound a bit dull... The choice is more a personal taste thing, but start by tuning the bottom heads without having the top head on, this helps you to make sure the bottom head is in tune before you tackle the top one... Also after tuning push in the center of the drum with your fist to stretch out any loose spots around the lugs...

As to snares... Learn the sound difference between the various shell types, With wood snares thinner ply's tend to sustain longer than thicker ply's but the thicker will be a little warmer tone. Metal snares like steel brass and bronze have a crisper attack with a higher frequency tone center, but again your choice is in the tone you want.

Keep learning my friend... I'd love to say it gets easier, but I don't like to lie.... You'll find if you don't get frustrated, and take a break BEFORE you through it across the room, you'll get the hang of tuning...

See ya Dr. Pedal

[Elvis]

I play twice a week at the church I go to. The kit is a Pearl forum series, and I don't like it at all. Anyone have any ideas who have played in that setting on ideas for tuning, heads, cymbals, snares, and anything else that might even help?
Scott,

"I dont' like it at all. Anyone have any ideas..." is kind of ambiguous.
What is it about the kit that you don't like?
Is it the ergonomics of the kit?
The sound of the kit?
Both? Neither?
Some specifics would be nice.


Elvis

[scottellis94]

Sorry about that elvis. Well my snare is super buzzy and has a ton of overtone and I can't get it to sound crisp. My toms aren't packing the punch I need them to. Lots of resonance and overtone. Also my bass is kind of flat if you know what I mean. I can't get rebound I want out of the kick or toms. Does that help?

[Elvis]

Yes, that's much better.
Thanks.
I'm not going to say it's not your kit, because I don't know to what degree you want/need to hear these characteristics, so I'll leave the option of getting another kit open, but before you get on that track, take a read through THIS (http://www.menet.umn.edu/~kgeisler/Tuning.pdf) and see if head selection and/or tuning won't help.



Elvis

[scottellis94]

Thanks ton! Sorry I wasn't more specific the first time!

[Elvis]

See what happens when you play nice? ;-)
You're welcome, Glad you found that to be of help.


Elvis

[Beam Me Up Scotty]

Hey all,

I'll be honest, I don't know what the problem is, but I simply can NOT, for the life of me, get my snare to sound good right now.
It is a Tama SLP G-Bubinga, with Evans EC Reverse Dot Batter, and Hazy 300 reso.
The wires are Puresound Customs.
I just don't understand. In my almost 6 years of playing, I've never been unable to get a good sound from my snare, yet it seems that no matter what I do with the tuning right now, I get a "flappy" kind of sound from the snares. When I turn the nob even once to tighten the snares, they choke. I've tried every imaginable tuning combination for the heads, and done everything possible to the tension of the wires, but no matter what, the snares either choke, or are too loose. I genuinely have no idea what is going on, and would welcome recommendations of any sort.


I'd also like to pint out that for the past 4 months, I've used the same head/wire combination, with an absolutely perfect, crisp, sensitive response. I only just recently changed batter/reso heads and the wires to newer copies of the same.

Thanks,
Scott

[drumming sort of person]

Something must have changed then. Could it be you're just listening/playing in a different room?

[Beam Me Up Scotty]

Something must have changed then. Could it be you're just listening/playing in a different room?

No, I'm playing in the same room as always. I'm really quite vexed. I've inspected the shell thoroughly for any delamination or nicks in the bearing edge, but the shell is pristine. Still perfectly in round (as are the hoops), and when placed on a perfectly flat surface, there are no gaps between the shell and table (save where the snare beds are). I just don't get it :/

[Elvis]

Scott,

Could it be that its the combination of modifications you've made to that drum that is just not working for you?
Do you still have the stock heads and wires?
If so, then here's something for you to consider.
Tear it all down, back to completely stock and consider that "square one".
Now work through each mod, alone, one at a time, and see if you don't notice something unappealing to your ear with the particular mod (so you're listening for the change each mod makes to the sound of the drum).
If you do find something that doesn't sound good to you, by itself, then put the drum back to how it is now, except minus that mod that didn't sound good to you by itself, and see if you can't finally achieve the sound you're shooting for.
Make sense?
Anyway, its a means to an end.
Hope you found this helpful.


Elvis

[Beam Me Up Scotty]

I appreciate your taking the time to respond in such an insightful way. I don't have the stock wires anymore, and nor do I have the stock heads unfortunately. I think the issue may be a dead reso head, actually. I'm going out to my local music store in the next couple of days to get both a new head, and wires and see if I can't figure this puzzle out. I'll post back when I do!
Thanks again,
Scott

[Sjogras]

I don't have the stock wires anymore, and nor do I have the stock heads unfortunately.
Unfortunately? Not having them is a good thing!

Unlikely, but I must ask, did you install the snare wires upside down? ;)

[Beam Me Up Scotty]

Whoops, there I go forgetting about this thread; my bad.
I didn't install the snare wires upside down, it seems I simply got a bunch of dead heads. I don't even know what to say, 3 dead snare bottom heads in a row. The fourth one, I brought home, threw it on and tuned it up similarly to the other 3 and BAM, perfection. Just my luck, I suppose.