I want my toms to sound like...

[TamaDrummer101]

Ok, I know exactly what to do when tuning. Yeah yeah yeah, finger tight, turn key 1/2 turn each time yeah yeah yeah. Ok I know how to do that, but MY personal favorite of tom sound is like a DEEOOOOO. you know like a techno sound. where it starts out high then ends with a lower pitch. any ideas on how to fine tune the toms to do this?

[jj1281992]

I would try tuning the reso head then tune the batter head...Thats what I do for my toms and I'm pretty happy with the sound and in your case tune them a little bit tighter other than that just keep experimenting untill you find your sound.

[harryconway]

Buy an e-kit.............20

[TamaDrummer101]

um, whats an ekit............20?

[Muffled Tom]

um, whats an ekit............20?

He means e-kit as in an electric drumset. The ".........20" part is only to fill up the 20-character minimum for a post on these forums.

Anyway, I'd say the best way to achieve a sound like that would be to tune both the batter and reso heads way up, and then work your way from there, preferably tuning down your reso heads a bit at a time and seeing what happens. It's your preference, there's not much we can do other than tell you to try it out. For many drummers (who I know anyway), tuning is a trial-and-error process.

[TamaDrummer101]

Ok, so to achieve that sound, the reso has to be tuned lower?

[Tryitagain]

My suggestion: Bob Gatzen's DVD...

Drum Tuning...Sound and Design...Simplified

Everything you wanna know about drum tuning, including how to get pitch-bend (I think that's what you're refering to) if you want it, AND how to get rid of it if you don't!

Made me realize how little I DID know about drum construction and tuning!

[zzdrummer]

I think it would be to tune the reso head lower than the batter, becuase mine bend up slightly, and my reso's are higher. I think it will take a lot of expiramenting to get your sound...good luck

[Muffled Tom]

Ok, so to achieve that sound, the reso has to be tuned lower?

Yes, that's what makes sense.

[TamaDrummer101]

Alright, thanks guys for the advice.

[harryconway]

... MY personal favorite of tom sound is like a DEEOOOOO. you know like a techno sound. where it starts out high then ends with a lower pitch. any ideas on how to fine tune the toms to do this?

Basically, an 808/909 sound is what it's called, see here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roland_TR-808 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roland_TR-909 That's one of the reasons I own one of these: http://www.cykong.com/Synths/Tama%20TS-305/TamaTS305.htm

[Big_Philly]

You gotta tune the resonant head lower indeed. Or you have to tune the batter head below the point where it would sing evenly; I have found that batter heads will have a natural pitch bend as long as they are below a certain tension.

[PQleyR]

I thought that if you tuned the batter head lower than the resonant, then the air in the drum would hit the resonant head, causing it to ring, and then the batter head would ring after that. So the pitch drops after the attack. My experience suggests this is true...is it?

[andreas]

I thought that if you tuned the batter head lower than the resonant, then the air in the drum would hit the resonant head, causing it to ring, and then the batter head would ring after that. So the pitch drops after the attack. My experience suggests this is true...is it?

You're right. Then again if the resonant head is tighter the sound will bounce around in the drum for longer? I can't get rid of the annoying resonance of some of my toms. It's dead annoying.

Maybe you should go to a drum shop and ask for heads with a lot of resonance. Usually buying the right drum heads makes tunning it to that pitch perfect sounds 10x easier.

[PQleyR]

Actually in my experience, the tighter the reso head the less it moves, so the drier the sound is. Try it and see.