I was under the impression that modern heads didn't need seating. That was old technology. I haven't done that since my hair was all blonde
But we're looking for footage of him playing with a band. We've all seen videos like this.
Well, that's because taking a heat gun to the bridge would do nothing, and to the nut could potentially melt the glue.. Do you not pull on your strings while tuning up to stretch them?
I don't see a problem with speeding up nature a little bit. I know that I would personally rather spend less time tuning and more time playing.
Sorry to bump this old thread. I saw I posted and couldn't remember doing so. I think I was "feeling a bit silly" when I did.
Yes, I do stretch my strings when I change them. Thoroughly, using the "suitcase method". I still need to retune a fair bit for the first hour or so.
When changing heads, I press most of my weight in the center with a cloth, which I feel is a comparable effort to string stretching. I still need to retune them after a while, and this is even the case with well worn (presumably well stretched) heads due, probably, to atmospheric changes. I know moving my guitars from one place to another almost guarantees a retuning, while they can stay in tune for days if the temperatures are stable.
The idea of adding heat just seems odd to me, and I'd be afraid agitating those molecules would affect the integrity of the skin somehow. If it is something some folks believe in, maybe I'll give it a try.
Edit to add:
Also, I must confess, since my long absence from drumming, I have not been exposed to serious tuning and retuning yet. This past Saturday, I spent the entire day changing heads and tuning up two sets of drums. My perspective on 'anything that speeds up the process' could be rapidly changing!
Bob Gatzen also says that due to the coriolis effect, all drums tuned in the southern hemisphere should from this point forward, have left hand threads on the tuning lugs and only be tuned counterclockwise.
Yes, I do stretch my strings when I change them. Thoroughly, using the "suitcase method". I still need to retune a fair bit for the first hour or so.
Sorry to bump this old thread. I saw I posted and couldn't remember doing so. I think I was "feeling a bit silly" when I did.
Yes, I do stretch my strings when I change them. Thoroughly, using the "suitcase method". I still need to retune a fair bit for the first hour or so.
When changing heads, I press most of my weight in the center with a cloth, which I feel is a comparable effort to string stretching. I still need to retune them after a while, and this is even the case with well worn (presumably well stretched) heads due, probably, to atmospheric changes. I know moving my guitars from one place to another almost guarantees a retuning, while they can stay in tune for days if the temperatures are stable.
The idea of adding heat just seems odd to me, and I'd be afraid agitating those molecules would affect the integrity of the skin somehow. If it is something some folks believe in, maybe I'll give it a try.
Edit to add:
Also, I must confess, since my long absence from drumming, I have not been exposed to serious tuning and retuning yet. This past Saturday, I spent the entire day changing heads and tuning up two sets of drums. My perspective on 'anything that speeds up the process' could be rapidly changing!
What is the "suitcase method"?
Heads are made out of a petroleum product, and so heat makes the heads act a little bit like shrinkwrap. As Bob Gatzen says, petroleum products shrink when heated. So, getting them warm (not hot) around the edge when they are evenly tensioned down very hard will seat the head instantly. It will not harm the head nor the shell because you're not using anywhere near enough heat to do any damage, especially if you're using the low setting on a hair dryer, or if you're using the high setting and going around the circumference of the head rather fast, like 2-3 lugs per second on a 10-lug drum. Going that fast 2-4 times around the head will be perfect and will only get the head warm, not hot and therefore it's harmless.
Besides, humidity is far more harmful to wood than heat. The air coming out of a hair dryer is only as humid as the air that it's pulling in through the intake side.
Gatzen ought to know what he's taking about. Still seems a bit unnatural, since the normal process for a drum head would be to stretch, not shrink. Could be innovation to take advantage of, though. I will try this on my next head change and see how it goes.
I read that term somewhere. Grab a string around the middle like a suitcase handle and pull it up from the body. To be honest, I actually stopped using that after I broke one. I usually just bend each string up a couple full steps repeatedly until they are all staying in tune.
The details of guitar are already fading as drums take over all waking thoughts.
I was under the impression that modern heads didn't need seating. That was old technology. I haven't done that since my hair was all blonde
I wouldn't recommend the hair dryer/heat gun technique if you've got Evans heads with the Level 360 collar (I really wouldn't recommend it otherwise either, unless you can insure that your application of heat will be completely uniform). We go to great lengths in order to minimize the amount of heat used when forming our collars. Because of the Level 360 collar design, the head is already sitting flat on the shell and doesn't require over-tensioning, CPR, hair driers, mystic voodoo, or monkey chants.