Improving Pearl Forum

Hi

I talked to a guy a while before about sorting out my shitty shitty Pearl Forum. Now, if this is the place for it, what can i do to get the Snare (if possible) sounding better, as well as what can i do to the toms and Bass Drum to get them sounding as good as they possibly can.

I've heard about ambassodors, stock reso heads, batter.. but i'm confusted.

As of now, I am getting a Dw5000 HI-Hat pedal/stand, Dw5000 pedal, and some Zildijan A series Cymbals to compliment the rest... which i'm excited about. that's what i'm driving for..., and i like jazz, blues, soul, and some rock --though not HEAVY. So i guess tuning them etc. to suit those needs.

Can anyone give me advice on how to improve this mess of a thing into a decent sounding kit for my needs?(not expecting miracles here)

I'm a newbie to drums, so this website (and these posts) serve as educate me, and is a learning tool.

If you can be specific, as it'll save me having to ask anyway later!

Regards
JAK
 
Do this:

Get Remo Emperors for the tops of your drums, and Ambassadors for the bottoms. Use the same top head on the snare, but replace the bottom with an Ambassador Snare side head. You might want to consider changing the wire snares under the snare too.

Then get a Remo Powerstroke 3 for your bass drum. If you want to be really cool. replace your front head as well, use an Ambassador here, don't put anything in the bass drum, just use those two heads.

Check out YouTube and look up Bob Gatzen and see what he has to say about tuning your drums and follow those instructions. But a new set of heads will make your drums sound great. The heads that come on beginner drumsets are really crap. Good luck!

EDIT: BTW - any new pro-level heads will do at this point. Remo, Evans, it doesn't matter which brand, or really what model at this point. I suggest what I suggest because you should be able to find them anywhere. If you can't get Emperors for the top, Ambassadors can be used top and bottom too. But the bass drum I insist on the Powerstroke type because it has a built-in muffling ring, so that coupled with a new front head, and you'll swear it's a different set of drums.
 
Thanks bud.

For both pieces of advice. This one will serve to help me. In fact, i am going to copy this into my email and keep it because It will be the first thing i do when i get home. Away for 6 more weeks.

I will look up you tube videos. I have been asking what's better, but now that I thinki about it, getting the cymbals first, then upgrading the stands, and getting new Pedals, would set me for years, as the forum isn't really a bad kit, just the cheapest and so the stands and the toms aren't as sturdy as others... but the more i think about it the more new cymbals are the way to go, together with a new bass pedal (which has to be changed) and hi-hat hardware.

Can't wait to sort out the kit. I have suffered for hours with the crap sound... I def deserve the upgrade.

JAK
 
I also play a Pearl forum kit. I'm using and EMAD and Stock pearl reso (with a 5" porthole) on my bassdrum and Evans EC2 batter with Evans G1 on reso side for my toms. I actually think it sounds pretty decent to be honest.
 
There's no reason at all that you can't get a kickin sound from the Forums. Good heads and good tuning is 90% of your sound anyway. I would advise cleaning the threads of all the tension rods and all the reciever threads on your lugs, so your tuning is as silky smooth as possible. You can lube it with lithium grease, graphite, or 3 in 1 oil. I used to use vaseline but was advised not to because it supposedly pits chrome, but I don't know how true that is. You can't go wrong with machine oil. Maybe a little beeswax on the bearing edges of your shells to, so the head slides easily on top of the edge.

You want to make tensioning the head as smooth as possible. Make sure you wipe off your counter hoops where they touch the heads, the insides of them, you don't want any foreign objects between the head collar and the counter hoop. Wipe off your head collar before installing as well. Wipe off the inside of the head where it contacts the bearing edge. Wipe off the bearing edge too. Make sure you get a coated batter head for the snare. The toms can be clear or coated depending on the amount of attack/warmness you like. I run clear batters on the toms because I like the attack, you may prefer coated which has slightly less attack and a slightly warmer sound than clears. Either way go with a 10 mil single ply clear reso head like a clear Remo Ambassador or a clear Evans G1 or an Aquarian Classic Clear.

Tension the drum slowly and evenly 1/8 turn at a time after contact with the head, 2 keys 180 degrees apart works well. Perfectly even tension 360 degrees around both heads is your goal. Then you have to make sure the top head and the bottom head are tuned so they don't cancel each other out, a phenomonon called phase cancellation, AKA comb filtering.

I prefer resos to be tuned to the same note, only an octave above the batter head. Some guys like them both at the same note, same octave. The relationship between your batter and reso heads are very important. They just can't be any tension, a person with good tuning skills will be be acutely aware of the relationship between the 2 heads. Beware of phase cancellation, where your drum will lose all balls. Tuning one of the heads differently will take it out of that zone if you are in it.

After you get one drum tuned right, then you have to get your drums sounding good in relation to one another. Tuning takes some real know how and nothing can substitute for many hours spent learning to tune.
 
There's no reason at all that you can't get a kickin sound from the Forums. Good heads and good tuning is 90% of your sound anyway. I would advise cleaning the threads of all the tension rods and all the reciever threads on your lugs, so your tuning is as silky smooth as possible. You can lube it with lithium grease, graphite, or 3 in 1 oil. I used to use vaseline but was advised not to because it supposedly pits chrome, but I don't know how true that is. You can't go wrong with machine oil. Maybe a little beeswax on the bearing edges of your shells to, so the head slides easily on top of the edge.

You want to make tensioning the head as smooth as possible. Make sure you wipe off your counter hoops where they touch the heads, the insides of them, you don't want any foreign objects between the head collar and the counter hoop. Wipe off your head collar before installing as well. Wipe off the inside of the head where it contacts the bearing edge. Wipe off the bearing edge too. Make sure you get a coated batter head for the snare. The toms can be clear or coated depending on the amount of attack/warmness you like. I run clear batters on the toms because I like the attack, you may prefer coated which has slightly less attack and a slightly warmer sound than clears. Either way go with a 10 mil single ply clear reso head like a clear Remo Ambassador or a clear Evans G1 or an Aquarian Classic Clear.

Tension the drum slowly and evenly 1/8 turn at a time after contact with the head, 2 keys 180 degrees apart works well. Perfectly even tension 360 degrees around both heads is your goal. Then you have to make sure the top head and the bottom head are tuned so they don't cancel each other out, a phenomonon called phase cancellation, AKA comb filtering.

I prefer resos to be tuned to the same note, only an octave above the batter head. Some guys like them both at the same note, same octave. The relationship between your batter and reso heads are very important. They just can't be any tension, a person with good tuning skills will be be acutely aware of the relationship between the 2 heads. Beware of phase cancellation, where your drum will lose all balls. Tuning one of the heads differently will take it out of that zone if you are in it.

After you get one drum tuned right, then you have to get your drums sounding good in relation to one another. Tuning takes some real know how and nothing can substitute for many hours spent learning to tune.

thanks man-- jesus you sound like you know your stuff. This know-how is where i want ot be headed, and of course you are right-- no substitute for the hours for learning.

But this may prove to bea useful shortcut to learning, as I know no drumers i have to self-learn, but this site is proving to be fantastic, together with drumforum.org.

I just hope i can help people sometime soon.. all i know is a good learning routine which i roughly put together.

When i understand what you were talking about I will do as much as i can. It's probably easy enough when you know how-- the cleaning that is-- and as for the tuning, well i can get some DVD's and then just keep mucking about. BUt your email,and the previous posters, should be all i need to get going.

It's also very likely that your standards would be extremely fine-tuned after years, where as I just want a better sound. But I am aiming to become expert in all this stuff.. eventually.

Much thanks
JACK!
 
I also play a Pearl forum kit. I'm using and EMAD and Stock pearl reso (with a 5" porthole) on my bassdrum and Evans EC2 batter with Evans G1 on reso side for my toms. I actually think it sounds pretty decent to be honest.


Thanks man sorry i almost missed your post. I will have a look at these things and see how much they are etc. But i have too much info now, which is great, so i can see which setup would suit me better.

regards
JACK
 
Hey Jack,

Welcome to the wonderful world of drumming, and Drummerworld as well.

A slow and steady strategy will definitely help in winning the battle to make your drums sound their best.
Things can get very confusing when dealing with drum tuning, drum head selection, etc... especially when one is just starting out. With all the choices, options, tricks and tips available one can easily suffer from an 'information overload'.

What overall type of sound you are looking for from your kit?
This question helps in deciding what type of drum head you need in order to help you achieve the sound you are looking for.
As you can tell, the variety of drum heads on the market is staggering. However, broken down in its simplest form, you are dealing with single ply and double ply heads for the most part. Next comes the choice of coated heads or clear ones. And finally, whether or not the head has any "sound control" or muffling devices built into them. All of these factor into achieving a certain sound once you have determined what that sound is.

Your Pearl Forum will sound better by adding the right type of heads, but it will take some patience and fine tuning. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. Many of us have learned to tune our drums through the 'trial and error' method. The members above have given you some great advice about drum heads and tuning. Checking out the Bob Gatzen tuning videos on Youtube, is an excellent place to start. Bob does a great job showing the basic mechanics of drum tuning.

You have taken a great first step Jack, by coming here and asking for the help and advice of our fellow drummers. Just remember that no questions are too silly or stupid. We all had to start out somewhere, and most of us didn't have the internet or the knowledge in this forum to help us out. Just ask, and someone will be willing to help.
Like I said before, patience is the key. With that, we'll do the best that we can to help you get the most out of your Pearl Forum.
 
I've heard about ambassodors, stock reso heads, batter.. but i'm confusted.
First off, there is no one right way. Recognize that there are many drum heads that will sound good ... there might be one set/combo that stands tall against all others that you prefer, and for all intensive purposes, you are all that matters.​
...what can i do to get the Snare (if possible) sounding better,
The Evans HD Dry http://accessories.musiciansfriend....ra-HD-Dry-Batter-Coated-Snare-Head?sku=447862 is an extremely easy, and forgiving head, to work with, on snares.​
as well as what can i do to the toms and Bass Drum to get them sounding as good as they possibly can.
Again, you need to decide if you want your drums to "sing" (more open tone/harder to tune, usually) ... or if you want a more muffled/fatter sound (probably easier to tune).​
Mostly, I'm a Remo guy. The Ambassador, Controlled Sound, and Emperor heads ... will give you a more open tone.​
Powerstroke3 and Pinstripe heads, more muffling.​
 
Back
Top