How to get projection?

Funky Crêpe

Silver Member
I have my 12" tom kitted with a genera resonant head and a remo emperor coated for batter. It has a nice sound, but no openess at all, I know ambassadors are known for that, but i wanted to try an emperor. I have my floor tom woth coated ambassador bottom and coated emperor top, and it has a great openess...? Doesn't really add up to me. I dont want to try an ambassador, even though these are vintage drums and will probably sound great. Its just that with old ones on my old kit, it was way too bright and high pitched, the pitch on the emperor is perfect, just a very closed sound. Any tuning ideas? Putting a coated bottom head on surely wouldn't work would it? Thanks
 
Sorry if you already know this--just starting simple here.

Is the 12 tuned to its sweet spot? If not, bring it down to finger-tight on both heads. Add tension to all lugs, top and bottom, no more than a 1/4 turn at a time. When you get the first real tone (rather than flappy) bring both heads to the same pitch and make the lug-to-lug tuning decent.

Now keep adding tension to all tension rods keeping both heads at the same pitch, 1/4 turn at a time and striking the batter in the center after each round of tension. Eventually you'll reach a place where the drum opens up, sounds louder, and sustains longer. This is the sweet spot. If you go above it the drum will start to choke.

Now make the pitch of both heads as close as you can and the lug-to-lug tuning as well. You now have the most open sound that drum will make with those heads.

The point of this is to let the drum tell you where it wants to be tuned, rather than coming at it with a preconceived notion about where it ought to be tuned.
 
yeah, I knew about that, but i didn't try and get such percise tuning yet. These drums are definatly meant to sing, from 63' i think. I was just wondering if emperors can sing. I will try this tomorrow in what can be a pain staking process!
 
Finding the sweet spot is really the first step in tuning. Painstaking--well, yes. It might take an afternoon to find the sweet spot for all your drums. Then if you tune by drum dial write down the numbers, or otherwise write down the pitch for each, and you won't have to reinvent it every time.

This is really the only way to ensure that all your toms sound evenly matched in terms of loudness and sustain. It's well worth it.

And yes, Emperors can sing, though they will not have the kind of sustain you may expect from a single-ply head.
 
I have found that many vintage drums do not take 2 ply heads well and sound boxy and dull. This could be due to the much more rounded bearing edge found on most vintage kits...

I would try Ambassador batters on your kit - I think you will be pleased with the open tone. If you need to control ring / overtones - then add a touch of moongel.
 
I have found that many vintage drums do not take 2 ply heads well and sound boxy and dull. This could be due to the much more rounded bearing edge found on most vintage kits...

I would try Ambassador batters on your kit - I think you will be pleased with the open tone. If you need to control ring / overtones - then add a touch of moongel.

Yeah, I just got an ambassador 12" today, tuned it up, and it sounds great! Has sort of the same tone as the emperor, but way more open, less boxed in. I tuned it down aswell, and it can sound like a booming 14"! Kind of starnge, but great! Can be used in every style now, love it!....still find the bass drum a bit strange though, its weird coming from using a 22" to an 18", it feels so.....flimsy really! Ah, well, I suppose it will take some time
 
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