My toms sound like paper

W

Woogy

Junior Member
I bought some Remo Powerstroke 3's a while ago. Since I always play with ear protection my kit sounds much better than it actually is. I took off my headphones and my toms sound like paper. I'm not sure if this is normal because they sound great with headphones, if this is a tuning issue, if it has to deal with the resonant head which I have yet to change, or just the fact that the shells aren't very good. Can anyone help me?
 
Woogy said:
I bought some Remo Powerstroke 3's a while ago. Since I always play with ear protection my kit sounds much better than it actually is. I took off my headphones and my toms sound like paper. I'm not sure if this is normal because they sound great with headphones, if this is a tuning issue, if it has to deal with the resonant head which I have yet to change, or just the fact that the shells aren't very good. Can anyone help me?
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it sounds like they're just tuned way too low.

What gear are you using?
 
I notice the same thing when I hear mine without ear protection. It could just be that you're used to hearing them in your room with ear protection. When I take mine out of my room to gigs they sound fine.
 
I Love the powerstroke3s,.id say its a tuning issue.They where on my kit when i got them awhile back,im due for new heads,and will just replace .Very happy with them.
 
I'm having a similar situation. I'm wondering if how my drums sound with earplugs in will sound the same as they do without my earplugs on, and that maybe the drums sound bad without earplugs due to the acoustics of the room I have my kit in. My drum set is facing up against a wall also, if that helps. Thanks (don't mean to hi-jack this thread)
 
It also sounds to me that your toms are tuned too low. To check them, just lightly hit each head (both the batter and the resonant heads) of every drum and see if you can hear a tone from each of them. If it sounds like a thud without any resonance, chances are that they are too loose. If you press your index finger very lightly into the center of each head, are there any wrinkles at the tension rods?

Dennis
 
I noticed something similiar in the past... After playing for about 30 minutes or so without ear-protection (and toms sounding normal), I'd put it on and play on the same way (hate the snare and hat sound when playing with EP...). After another 30 minutes playing with EP, I'd take it off and get the same feeling - toms sound like paper, my snare is screaming at me, my ride wants to kick me in the face, ...

I guess it's due to the frequency-band cut that comes from the EP... It limits the band of frequencies that enter your ears and actually they somehow get used to it. And then, when you take EP off, it's a shock to your ears as they get smashed with the full freq-range again...

This is something I came up with as I read a few articles on hearing, loud noises, freq-bands, ... I could be completely wrong on this one, though... Someone please correct me if/because I'm wrong.
 
If you still have stock reso heads, this is the problem. Reso heads should be changed almost as often as batter heads. Also, how long have you had the batter heads on the drums? Even without playing on them, drum heads lose their tone over time from being under tension. With Powerstroke heads you will certainly want to keep them tight otherwise that ring underneath eats all the sound.
 
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