Floor toms without the growl

jwildman

Senior Member
I don't really like the "growl" my floor toms give off. What combination of heads and tuning do I need to get my floor toms to have the same resonance as my rack toms?
 
I don't really like the "growl" my floor toms give off. What combination of heads and tuning do I need to get my floor toms to have the same resonance as my rack toms?
The floor tom is meant to have a deep growl sound.
You can tune a floor tom a bit tighter on both heads to tame it a bit more. You can also put heads with muffle systems built into them for a thump-like sound.
Try the Aquarian Studio-X heads. I use the coated Studio-X on my 14x12 floor tom. It warms it up a lot. It still has a nice low ring and long sustain.
I use a clear Remo Emperor on the 16x16 tom on my other kit.
 
I don't really like the "growl" my floor toms give off. What combination of heads and tuning do I need to get my floor toms to have the same resonance as my rack toms?
Tuning, tuning, tuning. A tom (floor or otherwise) will only growl (I assume you mean the sustained roll off tone) if the batter & reso heads are tuned differently. Tune them evenly around the drum & exactly the same pitch as each other and the problem will go away. You need to be accurate though. Once youv'e done that you'll probably have a lot of sustain, something I believe a floor tom can never have enough of. Don't worry about sustain, it'll mostly disappear in a band situation and adds huge body to the audience perception of your sound.

The growl you describe (some players want this sound) is caused by the two heads resonating at different frequencies. As the two heads continue to effectively "confuse" each other, the heads slow down in an ever diminishing roll off.

Give it a try. Different heads will help control your tom but they won't cure a tuning issue.
 
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