How to tune a drum?

icedgreece

Senior Member
This may sound silly, but hear me out.

I bought some Remo Pinstripe heads, so I was going to replace the batters on the kit. My kit has always been a pain in the ass to tune, and now I'm just getting frustrated. It's the tuning on the Batter and Resonant that make me mad. I cannot find that perfect spot on my 8" tom alone. I spent a good 4 hours trying and just gave up.

If I tune it just a little above, I choke it. If I tuned it below, it sound like a big "THUONG" when I hit it. I can upload a video if it helps describe it, but it just sounds terrible. What would you guys recommend? I've always had this problem but not to this degree.

Thanks for helping with the noob question.
 
I find thicker, pre-muffled heads on smaller drums can often lead to tuning problems. Try a single ply head on your 8"....Remo Ambassador or Evans G1. You may find a little relief in a thinner more resonant head on a drum of that size. I currently have an Emp on my 10" tom and can't say I'm in love with the sound either. I'm thinking the drum may respond a little better if I slap a single ply on there too.

For general tuning advice, search the boards mate. The topic has been done to death. Bob Gatzen's youtube clips are a great demo of the process too. The rest comes down to practice.
 
Question: What is the reference for the sound you want? Have you ever played a well-tuned drum before, and are trying to make your drums sound close to that? Or are you trying to make your drums sound like something you have heard on a record?
 
This may sound silly, but hear me out.

I bought some Remo Pinstripe heads, so I was going to replace the batters on the kit. My kit has always been a pain in the ass to tune, and now I'm just getting frustrated. It's the tuning on the Batter and Resonant that make me mad. I cannot find that perfect spot on my 8" tom alone. I spent a good 4 hours trying and just gave up.

If I tune it just a little above, I choke it. If I tuned it below, it sound like a big "THUONG" when I hit it. I can upload a video if it helps describe it, but it just sounds terrible. What would you guys recommend? I've always had this problem but not to this degree.

Thanks for helping with the noob question.

An 8" drum is too small for a muffled 2 ply head IMO. An emperor may be enough but you may need to go with an ambassador to restore a bit of resonance that the heavier heads kill in smaller drums
 
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I agree with the others...go with a single ply head on your 8" tom. On my Pearl VBX kit I have recently switched to Aquarian Classic Clears for batters and resos only on my 8" 10" and 12" toms while my 14" and 16" floor toms will get response 2 clears for batters.

I'm done with any 2 ply heads on smaller toms for now.
 
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