Tuning toms to octaves

drummingman

Gold Member
I have a 12" rack tom and 16" floor tom. As is I have them both tuned to about a G as far as notes go. High G for the rack with a lower G for the floor.

I do dig the sound by I have to wonder if they blend too much to where the difference in tone is not enough being that they are tuned to an octave of each other?

Anyone else tune their toms to octaves? What are your thoughts on my question?

On another note, I'm tuning my rack tom quite a bit lower then I usually do. Again I like it but it is a bit unusual to my ear being that I'm used to a higher tuning. But the the tom seems to have a real open fullness to it at the lower tuning.
 
I have a 12" rack tom and 16" floor tom. As is I have them both tuned to about a G as far as notes go. High G for the rack with a lower G for the floor.

I do dig the sound by I have to wonder if they blend too much to where the difference in tone is not enough being that they are tuned to an octave of each other?

Anyone else tune their toms to octaves? What are your thoughts on my question?

On another note, I'm tuning my rack tom quite a bit lower then I usually do. Again I like it but it is a bit unusual to my ear being that I'm used to a higher tuning. But the the tom seems to have a real open fullness to it at the lower tuning.

I've tuned my 12" and 16" to high and low octaves before, but without a 14" at a 3rd or 5th from the 12" I always thought it sounded strange going from one to the other or playing them together.

I try to stay in thirds when tuning toms, but sometimes the notes at which they sing best turn out to be octaves. So if that's the case for you, and you dig the sound, then keep it. There's no law against it. :p
 
I prefer flat sixes, and all the ninths major, minor and augmented. A vibrating membrane doesn't have an octave unless it is the tabla, which has very principled placements for damping.
 
Tune them so they sound good to you. I tune everything to my snare. I start there then go around so that the head tension remains about the same (drum dial) and then fine-tune to perfection. Only you can satisfy yourself with your tone and tuning.
 
I remember I tried tuning toms to notes (not necessarily intervals) in the past.

Then I decided that was relatively pointless and just started tuning them so they sound as good as possible, regardless of their size, although I do tend to try and make them sound like there is a fairly even spacing in tone.
 
I do octaves with 12/16 kits all the time. I don't mind it. Depends on the drum, I guess. 16's tend to be temperamental (because everyone manufactures them too deep), but some behave better than others and will tune high.

I prefer a 14 in that position on the kit. Couldn't tell you the interval there. Close to a perfect fifth, but not quite. I try to err on the sharp side when I tune to fifths, to avoid a tritone if the rack tom goes out.

Follow your ears

Eric
 
12 and 16 work really well in octaves for me. It gets the 12 in a nice mid tuning and the 16 on the lower end of its range , close to the flappy but not quite there yet.
 
I tune my toms with my 10" and 14" in octaves that match my kick and my 12" and 16" in octaves to compliment my snare and other toms. This way my tom flams sound huge yet the toms still sound good during a roll.

I never put a tuner to find out the notes but I know when everything is correct since it will match my cymbals tones.
 
I tune my toms with my 10" and 14" in octaves that match my kick and my 12" and 16" in octaves to compliment my snare and other toms. This way my tom flams sound huge yet the toms still sound good during a roll.

I never put a tuner to find out the notes but I know when everything is correct since it will match my cymbals tones.

I do a very similar thing and also works out to be where my toms sing the best.
10 and 14" and kick - D
12" and 16" - G or A
Snare = G#
 
I tune my 10" rack and my 16" floor to octaves. I have one other 12" rack in the middle that I tune a 3rd, 4th or 5th below my 10" tom. (depends on my mood). I like going down the toms to a resolved sound. I experiment with non-resolved tunings sometimes and I always go back to resolved. The snare is just a high tight crack and I don't factor it in at all when I am tuning to intervals on my toms. Same with the kick. That's just a low whump.
 
In fact, any sounded pitch does have an octave at the 2nd harmonic, as well as 16v a at the 4th harmonic, etc.

This does not apply to a vibrating membrane. An ordinary drum does not exhibit a nice harmonic (i.e., integer) sequence. Drums are indefinitely pitched instruments with an inharmonic overtone sequence. Consequently, ordinary drums cannot be tuned in the same sense as a definitely pitched instrument, such as a piano or guitar. You can arrange the fundamental vibratory modes between drums to specific intervals (e.g., a major third) but the individual drums remain indefinitely pitched, as does the entire kit. If this was not the case, you'd be retuning your kit every time the band played a song in a new key.
 
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