What size drum do you not like tunning

Sirwill · #1 02-03-2010, 02:35 PM

After playing and tunning just about every Major drum shell manufacture, I have found that tunning a 13" tom is the trickiest one of all to tune. I think its due to many things, but it never falls to be a bugger to tune no matter the head,manufacture or so on. I was wonder what size drum gives you the must fight when tunning regardless of heads or manufacture?

audiotech · #2 02-03-2010, 03:02 PM

The toms that give me the most headachs are the 8", anything above the 8's are a breeze to tune. For some reason I sometimes find it difficult to get it's sound in the exact pitch I want in relations to my 10s without the 8" trying to chock out a bit. The smaller the drum, the more intricate the tuning can be. I've had a kit with a 13" x 9" rack tom for 45 years that never gives me problems, but everyone of my 8s has something personal against me, lol.

Dennis

#3 02-03-2010, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sirwill

After playing and tunning just about every Major drum shell manufacture, I have found that tunning a 13" tom is the trickiest one of all to tune. I think its due to many things, but it never falls to be a bugger to tune no matter the head,manufacture or so on. I was wonder what size drum gives you the must fight when tunning regardless of heads or manufacture?

13's tend to be an issue when they are sandwiched between drums only 1" larger or smaller. Its not so much the drum itself is difficult as it is difficult to get the pitch separation most want to hear between toms

Moldy · #4 02-03-2010, 03:52 PM

Deep snares, like 6.5" and deeper. They ring A LOT, which annoys me to no end.

mind_drummer · #5 02-03-2010, 04:37 PM

Any Floor tom w/ legs...

When it's on its legs, they lose tone & resonance. So to me it's hard fine tune the reso while they are on their legs so they aren't sounding 100% perfect to my taste.

zambizzi · #6 02-03-2010, 04:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mind_drummer

Any Floor tom w/ legs...

When it's on its legs, they lose tone & resonance. So to me it's hard fine tune the reso while they are on their legs so they aren't sounding 100% perfect to my taste.

Not if you use these!

http://accessories.musiciansfriend.c...ELAID=26034532

To the OP - the 8" and 10"s that I've had, I hated tuning. 13" can be funny, especially if you're using them w/ a 12" or 14" nearby. 13" and 16" together in a 4pc setup is *great* and makes the 13" easier to tune, relative to the floor tom.

mcbike · #7 02-03-2010, 06:24 PM

my 13" has no problem tuning up.

The drums I hate tuning are the ones out of round, and ones with bad bearing edges.

I do have problems with my 16x16 becuase you have to microtune them. If you do a half turn it totally changes the pitch, usually it's tiny 1/8th turns that make the difference.

MikeM · #8 02-03-2010, 07:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zambizzi

Not if you use these!

http://accessories.musiciansfriend.c...ELAID=26034532

To the OP - the 8" and 10"s that I've had, I hated tuning. 13" can be funny, especially if you're using them w/ a 12" or 14" nearby.

+1 on the floor tom feet. I got mine two weeks ago and slapped them on the floor toms I've had for 10 years. Wow, huge difference. They work wonders. No more thud, now it's all tone and thunder.

I have the 12" 13" combo and sometimes when have the 13 in it's sweet spot, I'm forced to crank the 12" above it's sweet spot. Either that or tune the 12 and detune the 13. I have managed to get them both sounding sweet and not sounding too close togetther, but it's often fleeting.

I usually just use the 13.

orvin55 · #9 02-03-2010, 07:08 PM

My 12" is always a head ache to get it resonate. No matter how many gels I put in I always hear that delay vibration 1/2 a second after I hit it. But thats nature of drumming. Its all about tweaking here and there.

Music is Awesome · #10 02-03-2010, 07:13 PM

I hate tuning my 12x8 rack tom

NilsM · #11 02-03-2010, 07:15 PM

13" toms always have been a pain in the ass, no matter on which drumset.

Bram · #12 02-03-2010, 07:50 PM

I have the most problems with my 14*14 floortom, but I know I need to buy other floortom feet like Zambizzi said. The easiest to me is 12*9.

Bram

MisterMixelpix · #13 02-03-2010, 08:04 PM

The 16". It's so deep that trying to get the tones to match just by ear is a PITA.

Biscuit · #14 02-03-2010, 08:19 PM

Two words....My Snare. I hate tuneing a snare drum worse than any other drum. It's a 14 x 5 1/2. The bearing edges and hoops are in great shape, i just have fits trying to get it exactley where i want it tuned at. I really don't have much trouble tuneing my toms and bass drum. They will generaly tune pretty easy.

unfunkyfooted · #15 02-03-2010, 08:20 PM

my 13" is a pain in the butt.

unfunkyfooted · #16 02-03-2010, 08:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Biscuit

Two words....My Snare. I hate tuneing a snare drum worse than any other drum. It's a 14 x 5 1/2. The bearing edges and hoops are in great shape, i just have fits trying to get it exactley where i want it tuned at. I really don't have much trouble tuneing my toms and bass drum. They will generaly tune pretty easy.

come to think of it, my snare is a pain too...but maybe i haven't found the right head yet.

MikeM · #17 02-03-2010, 08:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Biscuit

Two words....My Snare. I hate tuneing a snare drum worse than any other drum...

If you haven't checked him out yet, Bob Gatzen is the answer to your problems.

Jon_Gwon · #18 02-03-2010, 08:28 PM

I've had the most trouble with my old 14x14 yamaha beech custom floating tom, it always sounded flat and had a mild distortion to it. All the others (8,10,12,16) were so easy to dial in it always confused the hell out of me. I'm going to blame the bearing edges.

Zalloy · #19 02-03-2010, 08:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zambizzi

Not if you use these!

http://accessories.musiciansfriend.c...ELAID=26034532

I have those on my 18" floor with rims mount.

the FT is a freaking cannon!

so much lows... such a nice tone... resonance... they work well. :)

maybe rims + those isolation feets are over kill but heck, love the sound I get off my 18".

great stuff.

anyway, I have trouble, like alot of us here, 13"...

sabian92 · #20 02-03-2010, 08:55 PM

13x9 rack tom and 18x16 floor tom.

Total arses to tune.

randrade89 · #21 02-03-2010, 08:58 PM

14 inch toms............

Sirwill · #22 02-03-2010, 10:26 PM

Great thread. It looks as if we all have an enemy in tuning a certain drum size. Also, it seems in my experience each drum has its own personality or sweet spot. Finding it and excepting it my be the key...

maddrummr · #23 02-03-2010, 10:46 PM

14" Toms never like me. Snares I'm ok with but toms just no. Even with my marching tenors the 14" drum had problems.

ENRICO · #24 02-03-2010, 11:09 PM

I'm really good at tunnind drums , my friend always ask me to tune their drums and teach them how to , but I've always had problems with my 13x11 tom

Pass.of.E.r.a. · #25 02-04-2010, 01:15 AM

my issue is with my 16*14 FT. my 16*16 FT tunes up great, no issues but i can never find my 16*14's sweet spot. it either sounds too high (and makes the 14" FT give off crazy overtones which makes the 16 sound like s...) or sounds like a piece of wet cardboard. =/

-Jonathan

Aeolian · #26 02-04-2010, 01:42 AM

It seems like 14 x 14 FT's have the longest sustain of anything. They seem to ring for days unless you choke or damp the snot out of one head or the other. Square 16's are just deep and die off reasonably. Always had the easiest time with 12s of any depth and balancing the sustain with the 16 was easy. When I got my Renowns, it was my first experience with a square 14. Always had 16's back in the day and the two immediately previous kits had 12 x 14s. But when I heard someone sitting in on my Renowns, I realized that the extra sustain I was fighting sounded great out front.