Reso heads tighter or looser than batter?

Lunar Satellite Brian

Senior Member
Welp, a few days ago I got a new kit from a friend of mine and I noticed he had the bottom heads tuned lower than the batter head, which didn't surprise me, because I know this is how DW recommends tuning your toms, but something about having the reso looser didn't sound right to me when I was playing (which is odd because I've listened to him play that kit for a while and it sounded perfectly fine outside the kit).

So I re-tuned all of the toms, pretty much to the same note just with the batters looser and the reso tighter, and what I noticed is that it seems that it sounds better to me, inside the kit with the batter heads looser than when the reso heads were looser, but worse outside the kit when the batter heads were looser.

At least that's what it sounded like to me.

Does anyone else have any thoughts about this? Also I'm looking to record some drum tracks soon(with actualy drum mics) and I'm wondering which tuning would sound the best, I'm thinking tuning the batter heads looser might be better but you guys have more experience with recording than I do.
 
Does anyone else have any thoughts about this?

There are three ways this can be done. Batter tighter than reso, batter and reso the same, batter looser than reso. All three are widely used and all three are perfectly acceptable. Thre is no right way or wrong way provided that the heads are in tune with themselves and the correlation between batter and reso produces the desired sound.

Which way you decide is up to your own ear.


Also I'm looking to record some drum tracks soon(with actualy drum mics) and I'm wondering which tuning would sound the best,

Tune them how you normally tune them.....unless you or a producer want something different....then tweak them til you get a sound you like.
 
I think the only difference is attack and pitch bend. For a given desired fundamental pitch, with the batter tighter you get a more definitive stick attack and (I think) a pitch bend downwards as it decays; with the batter looser, you get less attack (I think folks call this a fatter sound, but I've never been sure what that means) and a pitch bend upwards.

I could have the pitch bend backwards though. I have tighter resos, but they are close enough to the batters that I've not paid too much attention to pitch bend (and my ear for such things is not so good).
 
Both are valid. Depends on what you prefer.

I've always liked the reso head slightly higher than than the top.
I
 
With any of my tom heads, I'll tune both the batter and the resonant head to approximately the same pitch. With my snare drums, the resonant or snare head is always tighter than the snare's batter head. With my bass drums, I usually tension the batter head for feel and let its resonant head decide on the pitch of the drum.

Dennis
 
I start out with both sides being equal. Then as I start to play, the resos end up being a little tighter than the batters. The bottoms tend to start flapping on me if I leave them looser than the tops. It must be something I just don't like - I recall Stewart Copeland saying he just cranks his batter heads and adjusts the bottoms to get a nice deep tone, and I couldn't achieve the same result (or result that I liked, anyway).

Something makes me wanna remove the bottom heads for that classic 70s sound...
 
I tend to prefer both heads tuned to the same pitch for toms, batter a minor third higher on snare. Bass drum, I don't really concern myself much with exact pitches.

I definitely notice a difference in sound between being behind the kit, and out in front with someone else playing. If you're close-micing, go with what sounds best from the driver's seat. If performing with no mics, go with what sounds best from the audience perspective.
 
i tune the reso an octave higher than the exact note that i want. and fine tune the batters to the exact note i want. exception being the floor tom's, which are tuned to unisons on a 12 / 13 / 16 set up.

snare tuning utilizes the Larry Ace method. crank that reso high as you can get it.

i tried tuning the resos lower when i first started, because i read that classic rock should be tuned with lower resos, but i found that didn't seem to project enough. i say seem, because i didn't have the opportunity to listen from out front.

but i must admit, i'm very intrigued by Securitron-X 's Method Of Tuning To An Exact Note: http://drummerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=93985

when i started to play, four years ago, i could not believe that drum tuning was such a haphazard, helter skelter experience. i could not believe that in 100 years of trap sets, no one had done the math on how to get exactly what you want out a drum's tuning. and even more aghast-ing (yes, that's a word) was drummers' defense and even pride at the go for what you know approach. although i must admit that if you can tune a drum kit, you should be very proud.
 
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Just for the record, I don't recommend tightening the snare reso as tight as you can get it. A snare reso head.....lets say it's highest note is a high A. If you tighten it down beyond that, the note doesn't change, and the film starts to stretch. I recommend tightening it to just about the highest note you can get before the film stretches. I can tell by tapping and listening to the note it sings..... if it can go any higher. If it can go higher, I keep going. Once I hit the highest note the reso will make before stretch, and I know it when I hear it, I stop. Beyond that point is just too much tension and diminishing returns.

I do advocate the resos a full octave above the batters, (on toms) as determined by the harmonic note when tapped near a lug. It yields a punchy tone, with complimenting harmonics, as it's the same note. It may not generate the longest note possible, but the quality of the tone far outweighs any loss of sustain. IMO.

I think with resos looser than batters, the drums sound boingy. I do not go for boingy sounding drums. The batter and reso note tuned the same....to me it sounds OK, if not a little boring and one dimensional. With the reso tighter than the batter by an octave, I get the benefit of matched harmonics, that combine to bring out....well.... my favorite tom tone anyway. Plus you get a slight pitch bend effect, depending on how hard you strike the batter. My toms sound like toms in the audience tuned that way.

No doubt about it drums are the hardest instrument to tune. Every time I change heads, I learn a little more about tuning, and I have been honing my tuning skills for quite a while by now.
 
I almost always tune the reso heads on toms a step lower than the batter heads. It just sounds right to me that way, but I tune them so that they sustain as long as I can get them to. Peace and goodwill.
 
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I think with resos looser than batters, the drums sound boingy. I do not go for boingy sounding drums. The batter and reso note tuned the same....to me it sounds OK, if not a little boring and one dimensional. With the reso tighter than the batter by an octave, I get the benefit of matched harmonics, that combine to bring out....well.... my favorite tom tone anyway. Plus you get a slight pitch bend effect, depending on how hard you strike the batter. My toms sound like toms in the audience tuned that way.

+1 on that for me too, When tuning I take some of the time and effort out of it by cheating a bit, I give them about the same number of turns from finger tight but when fine tuning I tune the batter to the lug with the lowest pitch and the reso to the lug with the highest pitch.
 
Just to let you guys know I have been lurking in this thread, I haven't really found something to reply to but I really enjoy the comments.

I'm basically on the boat of tuning the reso-head a full octave higher, it just seems to have the most interesting sound to me, but I'm going to have to experiment with other tunings a bit because outside the kit you can hear the reso-heads more than the batter heads, therefore they sound a full octave higher than they should be. Or at least that's what I have found.
 
I tune my batter heads quite a bit looser than the reso heads. This makes my notes pop. I like toms that have a loud pronounced note, but I don't want them to particularly sing. I like a good attack and a sturdy thud from my toms. My snare drum is the exception in which I case I tune both heads as tight I can without over-tightening, so I can get a nice loud pop from it.

Every method I've ever tried for tuning the reso heads looser has given my toms a lot more ringing than I wanted. For some gigs it's been suitable, but most of the time I do not want that ring.
 
The way I understand it is:

Both heads the same pitch for maximum sustain.

The greater the disparity between the two heads the dryer the drum.

Batter tighter for pitch bend and fall.
 
Experiment with loose but like tuned reso.

It reinforces specificity of pitch by reflecting fewer overtones(can call that dry, I guess ; )

Looser the more specificity...helps reduce the need for dampening to control sympathetic vibrations.
 
I do advocate the resos a full octave above the batters, (on toms) as determined by the harmonic note when tapped near a lug. It yields a punchy tone, with complimenting harmonics, as it's the same note. It may not generate the longest note possible, but the quality of the tone far outweighs any loss of sustain. IMO.

I'd like to add that the "right" way to tune is not only between your ears but also between the heads -- the interval which creates the best drum sound also depends on the drum you're tuning. For instance, my Kumus like to have their bottom heads a perfect fourth higher than the batters, whereas my Remos like to be tuned closer to a minor third. Some school kits I've tuned have come to life only when both heads are at the same pitch. That being said, I personally have never come across a drum that sounds best with its reso head lower than the batter.
 
I just recently retuned my toms from an even tuning to a reso JAW and really didn't like the results. I'm gonna tune the resos to a higher pitch than the batters and see what happens.
 
the interval which creates the best drum sound also depends on the drum you're tuning.

For sure. Case by case has always been the "best" approach, IMHO.

I just recently retuned my toms from an even tuning to a reso JAW and really didn't like the results. I'm gonna tune the resos to a higher pitch than the batters and see what happens.

Can I just say how excited I am to read this?

Amongst the sea of "what would happen if....?" or "should I do.....?" threads, it's a breath of fresh air to see someone actually experimenting with their own gear and trying to find their own sound. Honestly, it's almost as if no-one can be bothered finding their own path anymore.

Forums are great....and knowledge is being passed on. But way too often, old fashioned "trial and error" is falling by the wayside as a result of them. Of that, I'm completely convinced.
 
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