Snare drum with a mind of its own

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jspitza

jspitza

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Or does it? Hello all! This is my first post and am really excited to be a member. I have a absolute mint condition Mapex Orion snare , 6.5x14 power hoops and all with nylon washers. The problem is that when tuning up new heads , Evans G2 and clear batter the more tension I give it , it actually will lose tension in other sides of the head causing me to re tighten those areas. Could it be the nylon washer or perhaps something more sinister at work? This is a useless drum right now as I am unable to tune it. Any ideas? Thanks a million, Jeff
 
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I'd add tension in very small increments crossing from one side of the head to another. Adding too much tension at one lug without balancing it out across the drum is bad for the head and will lead to a lot of tuning inconsistencies, just like what you're experiencing.
 
Winston_Wolf said:
I'd add tension in very small increments crossing from one side of the head to another. Adding too much tension at one lug without balancing it out across the drum is bad for the head and will lead to a lot of tuning inconsistencies, just like what you're experiencing.
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sounds about right. check out some tuning videos on youtube just to make sure you are doing the right thing.
 
Winston_Wolf said:
I'd add tension in very small increments crossing from one side of the head to another. Adding too much tension at one lug without balancing it out across the drum is bad for the head and will lead to a lot of tuning inconsistencies, just like what you're experiencing.
Click to expand...

this is exact. after finger tightening and then one full turn use small turns from there after
 
Thank you all for the responses! Unfortunately I have always used the Evans torque key and have been religious in tuning the drum in equal small increments. Jesus, I hope that this shell is not bad......The funny thing is that from day one I was never ever able to get this SD to sound right but just accepted the sound for what is was as it is From the orion series. It seems as though other snares I have played has that WOW factor and this SD Just sounds possible. With brand new Evans heads I'm getting a little worried though.

opps just wanted to add a question: Are the tension rods actually capable of backing out on there own perhaps from too much lubricant? If not than this SD is possessed!
 
jspitza said:
Thank you all for the responses! Unfortunately I have always used the Evans torque key and have been religious in tuning the drum in equal small increments. Jesus, I hope that this shell is not bad......The funny thing is that from day one I was never ever able to get this SD to sound right but just accepted the sound for what is was as it is From the orion series. It seems as though other snares I have played has that WOW factor and this SD Just sounds possible. With brand new Evans heads I'm getting a little worried though.

opps just wanted to add a question: Are the tension rods actually capable of backing out on there own perhaps from too much lubricant? If not than this SD is possessed!
Click to expand...

If you are not hitting the drum it would be highly unlikely that any tension rod would become loose.

I would make sure the rims and the shell are good. Find an absolutely flat surface and place them on there individually to see if they are true.

I'd also try backing down the tension to loose on all tension rods and then use John Good's method shown here (snare tuning starts about 5:16).

http://youtu.be/yl9wgXSfxew

That might get you in the ball park

Jim
 
Well, it turns out that this shell is warped. I'm simply at a loss for words right now. I took pics but from what I can tell it may have been purchased with this. It's like I kept telling myself " it's just you and your crappy tuning" yet almost every other snare I've come across has a resonance that I could hear yet unable to duplicate. Now the big question: is there anything that could be done or even a resource that would want this? Thanks again, Jeff
 
Winston_Wolf said:
Let me guess; it is warped in two spots, right below where either end of the snare strainer is.
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actually I did not even look to see and I just put her back together to at least have a practice session. Would the warp around the strainer be a problem?
 
sorry to hear it..I went through the same thing with a 12" rack tom. thought i just could not tune drum, even bought a drum dial, then finally did the flashlight on a granit slab, and the drum was warped. hope you get a solution to this.
 
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Good morning. Here are pics showing the drum lying on our flat floor. Thanks for looking and any thoughts as to how I could proceed. Take care, Jeff
 
I'm not an expert on this, but (assuming you can't return it to the store) maybe a qualified drum repare person could help. I know with some cheap drums I once had, I "trued" them by attaching sandpaper to a flat board then took the drum and placed it on the board, applied pressure in the right spots as I rotated it. Of course even after the shell becomes flat, the bearing edge would need work. I wonder what the more knowledgable people on this forum think of this.

I feel for you man. Orions are supposed to be great drums.
 
The photo is pretty small on the forum, but based on the screws for the hardware, you have the reso side on the floor, and the "gap" is centered on the strainer and the butt plate. Those are the snare beds, and they're completely normal, and almost every snare has them. Some are deeper, some are shallower, some are wider, some are narrower, but almost every snare has them. They give the snare-side head a little curve, which helps the snare wires sit snug against the head, instead of sagging in the middle.
 
Soupy said:
The photo is pretty small on the forum, but based on the screws for the hardware, you have the reso side on the floor, and the "gap" is centered on the strainer and the butt plate. Those are the snare beds, and they're completely normal, and almost every snare has them. Some are deeper, some are shallower, some are wider, some are narrower, but almost every snare has them. They give the snare-side head a little curve, which helps the snare wires sit snug against the head, instead of sagging in the middle.
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Thank you for your reply Soupy (Soup? I have you to thank personally for sparing me the embarrassment and shame of bringing the drum to a shop, in front of my Wife and Son only to be told that what I thought was a warp was in fact a snare bed. I looked at it with a fresh set of eyes and sure enough it "dips" down just as you described. This is my first wood/maple snare drum which I have had stored for years. I had forgotten about this feature. I'm obviously embarrassed but like I said it was better for me to be made a fool in front of 1000 strangers than surrounded by my family. Take care, stay in school kids and don't do drugs. Love, Nancy (Reagan)
 
Yea, there are just snare beds. Snare beds can be found on most metal snare drums too, so don't be alarmed. You'll have to tune the lugs around the snare bed a lot more than the rest of the lugs to get an even pitch. Try to tune with those snare beds in mind and test your results.
 
SkaaDee said:
I'm not an expert on this, but (assuming you can't return it to the store) maybe a qualified drum repare person could help. I know with some cheap drums I once had, I "trued" them by attaching sandpaper to a flat board then took the drum and placed it on the board, applied pressure in the right spots as I rotated it. Of course even after the shell becomes flat, the bearing edge would need work. I wonder what the more knowledgable people on this forum think of this..

I feel for you man. Orions are supposed to be great drums.
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Oh man they are once you can tune them and identify what a snare bed is and wtf are those shinny things?

I almost took a belt sander to it. Fortunatly my 5 year old son has this God awful thing called intelligence, a curse inherited from His Mom and and lured me away with French fries
 
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