Thank you Drum Dial

[SLEEPY BRiGHT EYEZ]

I bought a Drum Dial last Friday. I wasn't sure if it would be worth it. I've read some people raving about it while others scoff at it. I have to say it was money well spent. I thought I was OK at evening out the pitch on my heads, but I was so wrong. The Drum Dial has helped me a great deal in getting real tone out of my drums. It has made experimenting with different tunings a lot easier because I can go back to 'settings' that I've recorded.

Now, this thing isn't going to tune your drums for you. I think in combination of an understanding of the Drum Tuning Bible, it is an incredible tool. I do fine tuning by ear, and knowledge of intervals helps in getting toms and batter/reso heads in good relation. I've been using a perfect fourth between my top and bottom heads, and between toms. My shallow 12" sounds so round and boomy now... the perfect tom sound. I need to drop my 10 back down to a similar roundness, and bring my 16 up a hair for the same effect.

I ditched the StudioXs and am using Coated Emperors on top with the stock Tama resos. Even if I change brands, I'm sticking with the 2ply coated. I love them. I'm willing to try something different with my 14" floor tom though. I have a Coated Ambassador for it, but maybe I should try a different head. I was wondering if they made a 2ply coated, with a dampening ring underneath like on the Powerstroke 3s. I think that may work great for the floor toms. Keep em real low and boomy.

[fijjibo]

As jason bittner has talked about:

The tension dial makes it easier for me or my tech to dial in the same tuning settings.

(from MD may issue)


It should be used to gain consistency, rather than to tune your drums for you.
It is, as you said, good for going back to settings you have recorded, so you could, say, go from a jazz sound to a rock sound without too much fumbling.

Good post btw.

[SLEEPY BRiGHT EYEZ]

Exactly! It is great for getting consistency, and a point of reference. When I was tuning before I felt like I was wandering around in the dark. Now I know where I am.

[ermghoti]

I've been using a perfect fourth between my top and bottom heads, and between toms.

Which head is higher? That seems like a lot of difference between heads to me. If I follow you, wouldn't the reso of one head end oup the same pitch as the batter on the next? If so, does that cause sympathetic resonance problems, or does that actually contribute to the sound you like? It seems if you hit a middle tom, you would be triggering resonance in both the lower and higher tom, as each would have a head tuned identically to the tom you hit.

I was wondering if they made a 2ply coated, with a dampening ring underneath like on the Powerstroke 3s. I think that may work great for the floor toms. Keep em real low and boomy.

Powerstroke 4, no?

[maddrummr]

I have always been a little skeptical about those things but i think its time i tried them out. Great another thing on my "to-buy" list.

good post : )

[mikei]

I love my drum dial.

I have tested so many settings now.

Now, I simply tune each drum to my "specs" and presto, tuning is done.

I changed all my batter heads minus the bass drums (7 of them) and had them tuned within an hour.

[MoeDrummer]

I also own a drum dial, and though it may not magically tune all my drums for me, it definitely makes the process a lot faster. It took me upwards of about 5-6 hrs to get a good sound out of a standard 5 piece kit before (part of that being that I suck at tuning, I'm a perfectionist, and my kit was a Pearl ELX, ha). Definitely a time saver in this little device. It now only takes me about 1-2 hrs to get a really nice sound out of my 5 piece Sonor 3005. :D

Moe

[d.c.drummer]

I was seriously just debating whether or not to pick up a drum dial or buy a guitar which i have been scratching up all the money i can for. Thanks for not complicating things in my indecisive life.

[parser]

Sleepy - I just went out a purchased a dial based solely on your testimony. I always thought these things were just a waste of money because I (thought) could tune by ear. I used it for the first time on my snare and what a world of difference. A big thanks for your review and this thread, I'm sold on this thing and can't wait to hit the whole kit with it. I wasn't even close by ear...