help! drum dial setting

noble. m

Junior Member
i have a 5" x 12" yamaha manu katch snare and i need help with knowing what tension i should use? 5" x 12" please help!
 
I would set the batter at about 87 as a starting point.
I would then tune by ear from there.
I would set the bottom head at about 77.
I use these dial tensions as a starting Point.
That's all that I use my dial for.
I tune by ear after I do the initial dial settings.

There are threads here about the dial where we dial users discuss the fact that it is just a tool to get the drum close.
Always use your ear to fine tune.
 
I've been playing less than a year. I bought a drum dial from the beginning. Even with it, and trying different heads, I never could get a really good sound. I decided to learn to tune by ear. My drums sound good now!

I'm just saying's all ... :)
 
I've been playing less than a year. I bought a drum dial from the beginning. Even with it, and trying different heads, I never could get a really good sound. I decided to learn to tune by ear. My drums sound good now!

I'm just saying's all ... :)

I've used a Drum Dial for four years and I love it but you still need your ears. The Drum Dial just gets you 80 percent of the way there and saves lots of time, but tuning is a subjective thing in many ways. An absolutely consistent reading on the Drum Dial might produce a bad sound, because of minute inconsistencies in the thickness of the head, evenness of the bearing edge, roundness of the shell. straightness of the hoop, temperature, humidity, uneven head stretching, etc. etc. You are playing for other human ears and the human ear should be the final step in the tuning process.
 
That's Right,
No one has been able to make a drum tuner yet that can replace the hearing and feeling of the human hand and ear.
 
bought a drum dail and checked all my drums I tuned at hime and at practice and was as close to same reading all around both batter and reso decided to sell it...nothing like the good 'ol ear for tuning
 
I had the same experience when I first got my dial.
I felt really good about myself when I found that my tuning was accurate and I could out tune the dial.
I was teaching a neighborhood kid to tune.
I loaned him my dial so that he could check his work after he tuned by ear.

I sometimes envy guitar players. The electronic tuners work great for them.
 
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