Drun head tension tuners. Are they worth it?

I tried a drum dial and found that it doesn't really do it- at least for me. Learn the proper procedure for tuning your drums and it will last you a lifetime. There are literally hundreds of great tuning videos available for free on you tube.

Remember, practicing tuning will only cost you your time. You can tune and de-tune as much as you want. Practice tuning each head to different pitches (i.e. reso head in relation to batter) for different effects.

Nothing, and I mean nothing, will do as good a job as your own ears once you learn how to tune properly.
 
What? Can't do a search? This topic only comes up at least a month.

Drum dials are useful to a point on toms, but useless on snares and bass drums.
I own the Tama version because many years ago a producer my then band was working with insisted I go buy one, and the rest of the band said if the producer insists, I have to do it.

And it is useful, but it's usefulness is rather limited.

I saw a demo if a tune-bot a few months back. Assuming it works in the real world as good as it does in the live demo, it should put drum dials out of business. It's more expensive than a drum dial, but is 100 times more effective.
 
If you are blessed with great ears you don't need one. If like me you hear lots of confusing overtones etc, a drum dial will get the head at least tensioned evenly, and that is all they really claim to be. Hence the name of the Tama Tension Watch"

If you can get an even tension at each lug it makes tuning much easier, and the dials show just that.

Starting at finger tight at each lug is very hit and miss, if you are tuning by ear, as anomalies in threads means some will feel tight but it is just the thread. The dial indicator actually measures the tension of the head, not the screw, so you will have a consistent and measurable starting point.

Some of the more experienced drummers have great ears and years of experience tuning there kits. I wish I was one of them but I am not and I find the Tension Watch a great help in tuning to the sound I want and avoiding nasty overtones.

Also if you make a note of the tension figures for each drum, batter and reso, you can quickly achieve the same settings should you split a head or need a head change.
 
If you can get an even tension at each lug it makes tuning much easier, and the dials show just that.

Starting at finger tight at each lug is very hit and miss, if you are tuning by ear, as anomalies in threads means some will feel tight but it is just the thread. The dial indicator actually measures the tension of the head, not the screw, so you will have a consistent and measurable starting point.

Also if you make a note of the tension figures for each drum, batter and reso, you can quickly achieve the same settings should you split a head or need a head change.

Not really. When fine tuning after using even turns from finger tight I only have to tweek it to get each tension rod in tune but after using the drum dial I have had to loosen and or tighten tension rods as much as a full turn to get them all sounding the same, and with or without the drum dial you still need your ears to fine tune so whats the sense of buying one?

Also if you make note of how many turns it takes you will also quickly be able to achieve the same settings, without wasting money on a drum dial.
 
I tried idrumtune today. It seemed to struggle to hear certain lugs no matter where I put it. I detuned a lug one full turn and all the app could pick up was the lower fundamental of the whole head not by each lug - no matter where I put it. Plus it takes a long time to register new hits. I would imagine the mic in the phone is the weak link.

The drum dial is much more effective.
 
There is a very good use for the drum dial....the studio.
We just recorded a 12 song cd and the drum dial was invaluable.
All new heads (5 tom setup) and then tuned by ear to get the desired sounds. Then checked heads...top and bottom. Tweaked a bit to get them even at all lugs. Surprisingly tuning by ear got them extremely close. Then recorded the number for each tom and the snare. Actually wrote the numbers on the top of the snare head for quick reference.

From there it was so quick and easy to guarantee the exact same tuning for each session and even between takes (especially when the skins were still fairly new). Made for perfect punch in/outs later on also. I would highly recommend it for recording.

This process still assumes you know how to tune by ear which I would highly recommend that everyone spend the time to learn.
 
I've got the Tama Tension Watch. I like it. I don't use it very often any more but I do like for quick head changes. It gets you back to the ballpark quickly. You've still got to use your ears to get it right. Same exact tension on each rod doesn't always equal same pitch.
 
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