Is basswood hard to tune?

[Blake]

I have a Sonor 1007 kit that i replaced all the tom batters with Evans EC2's,my snare batter with an Evans Genera dry with the vent holes and my kick batter with the Evans Emad2.My drums have a totally new sound that to my ears sounds great except for my 12"x10" tom.It seems no matter how i try and tune it,it just doesn't sound right.It still sounds like it has these overtones that make it sound like crap.My wife said the same thing so i know it's just not just my ears.All of my other drums sound great even though i'm using stock resos which i know once i change the resos they will probably sound much better.I'm thinking of trying the Evans EC Resos and see what they do..

[Cymbalrider]

Crappy overtones go away with new Reso heads like G1s. I'm sure the EC ones are great too. I had Genera Resonant heads one time and these were the worst sounding things ever. Only afterward did I read the description on the Evans page that they were designed to generate bright overtones...well that they did, making my maple kit sound terrible and thin. I have EC2s over g1 clear now and they sound great. I don't know much in the way of Sonors but a few companies with their cheaper drums, occasionally feature weird sounding drums. I know Pearl, Tama, and Mapex are guilty of this with their basswood, poplar, and mahogany models. However, I have a Gretsch Catalina of mahogany as well and it's fine. Most likely though, this is just a result of the terrible bottom heads. Both kits I've had sounded terrible from the box. My Gretsch came with G1 coated batter heads but 'cheapo' bottoms. Once I replaced the bottoms they sounded like drums instead of Tupperware.

[prempex]

i have a 12" basswood mapex tom, and it too is very hard to tune,.i oculd get rid of the horrid overtones without making the drum sound horrible.

any tips?

[DamoSyzygy]

The problem is not that the 12x10 has too much overtone, its that youre other drums are lacking it - Probably due to tuning or head selection.

Open those babies up!

[Blake]

I opened them up,it's just my 12" tom that i'm having trouble with.My 13 and 16 sound great even with the stock resos.I'm going to either put G1's or the new Evans EC resos on and see what happens.

[Blake]

On advice from D.Shane from JustDrums,i'm gonna pull my EC2's and go with G2 coated over G1's and see how i like em.He said that basswood is a warm wood that doesn't have alot of projection,and EC2 heads are the same which is probably why i'm not satisfied with the sound.I need to go with a head that is the opposite of the wood to make my drums sound really good.If these don't work them i might try Aquarian heads..Wish me luck...

[Blake]

I know my 1007 isn't a delight,but my goal is to squeeze everything these drums have outta them before i move up to 2007's or 3007's.I'm already looking for what will be my next move,but i feel in learning the ins and outs starting now will make me a better drummer as i progress.Experimenting with head combos is part of the game.I don't care about the money aspect of it cuz i can easily resale heads i buy that i don't like.I'm looking for what sounds best to me and that is my goal..

[veggo32]

If you want a more open sound stay away from coated heads, they will warm up the sound even more.
You need either clear single ply or clear two ply.
Shane is in the business of selling drum heads remember that.

[bodinski]

My 12x10 3003 (maple/basswood) gets weird tones if I tune above a certain point, so I keep it low.

. I tune the reso to the overall pitch desired & then tune the batter lower - starting real low & bringing it up slowly till i get the decay, attack & feel that suits. Try that & see if things don't improve.


Note: If you don't get a CLEAR note out of the reso, you're gonna have a weird sounding drum! My 13x11 can be really tricky on the reso side but sounds great with patient tuning.


FWIW, my 3003s project really well with G1s, Ambys, even with the stock heads!

Hope this helps - Bo

[cjbee]

-Stock resos = garbage. Switch them out as soon as possible.
-Check that the bearing edges are smooth and equal all the way around the drum.
-Check that the shell is still in round.
-Make sure your hoops aren't distorted or bent.


...or maybe you just got a bad head. It happens.

[drums32]

-Stock resos = garbage. Switch them out as soon as possible.
.


I have ec2s over my stock remo dw heads on my pdp mx and it sounds pretty good but i think i might try those ec resos or g1s maybe soon and see if they make a difference.