Trying to get a deeper sound

eiler

Junior Member
I've been playing a 4 piece mid to late 90's Tama Rockstar for years now and I'm trying to get a deeper sound out of my 12 and 16'' toms. the 16'' is alright but the 12'' I've been tuning low and I keep damaging the Evans power center heads I've been using. I would like to tune it low but without having to replace the heads every two months (that is, if I actually did replace them when they got damaged). I was reading through the forums earlier about Aquatic heads and was considering getting those.

Any suggestions?
 
Aquatic? Perhaps you mean Aquarian...?

Drums don't need to be tuned low to get a low sound, especially if you're playing in a band. Tuning them to the actual sweet spot of the drum, with all the attendant ringing and overtones, results in a full, round sound that projects through the amps and sounds low and boomy by the time the audience hears it. Tuning too low in that situation means your drums sound like cardboard or paper bags, not drums.

If you play mostly by yourself, you may think your drums are too ringy or high-pitched. Record them and see what you hear - this is more like what the audience will hear. Base your tuning decisions on that. The sound coming back at you off the batters is not necessarily your "output sound".

If you do all that and it still seems like your drums are too high, switch to a good 2-ply head, such as G2s/Emperors, EC2s, or Pinstripes. Avoid the urge to tune them just above wrinkling - get them just a hair tighter, so that the true tone of the drums projects.
 
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