Drum dial or Tunebot?

Old Dog new Cans said:
I guess I trust my hands and ears more than a machine. I've not used a bot. And I wouldn't even consider the one that simply measures tension. It seems like it would be a crutch. Going to a gig, "Oh crap, I forgot my tunebot, How will I ever tune my drums?" It reminds me of my golf GPS. I freak out now if I go to the course without it. Like I can't look at the hundred yard marker and estimate with my frickin' mind if the shot is 95 or 105 yards.
Click to expand...

Once again, the tune-bot is meant as a supplement to your ears, not a replacement. It works best when you tune by ear to the best of your ability and the remaining 5% you turn on the Bot to calibrate the tunings you did on your own.

Used appropriately, the tune bot actually builds your ability to tune by ear as it gives you objective feedback.

It's not either/or! I can tune by ear much better now. The variances between the lugs are much narrower since I've been using the tune-bot.
 
GruntersDad said:
Those instruments are tuning to and with each other. Drums are tuned to themselves basically, so stirking an A-440 chime before playing is not necessary. If you are at a gig and feel a drum has become untuned, you don't have time to drag out a tuning device. Use your ear. Many heads can be gotten for the price of a tuning device.
Click to expand...


The ears used to tune those drums to themselves are not any more accurate than anyone else's. You may have a lot more room for error but the benefits are still the same
 
Use your ears all you want. But remember in a John Henry moment, machines can measure better and more accurately IF you set them up correctly AND ask the right question.
 
Beginner here and thought I was able to tune by ear just fine. I never really knew how much tension to put on batter and reso. All I did was make sure lugs were all even and the tone I got was to my liking.

I’ve been intrigued by the tune bot but didn’t want to spend the $$ on one. Learned about Drumtune Pro app so thought it was cheap enough to try. All I can say is wow! Works just like the TB at a fraction of the price. My kit sound incredible now! Tuning the toms were a breeze. Snare is a bit harder. I’ve read TB users also have harder time with the snare due to the higher frequencies.

There’s a bit of a learning curve so expect to spend more time at the beginning but once you figure it out it is SO nice!
 
I start with a Tama Tension Watch to get the heads seated properly, and then use ear to get it to where I want it. I don't tune to specific notes. I just know where I like the sound and feel of the drums.

Have used the Tension Watch in marching band since it came out to prevent caving in shells due to the high tension of the heads...but I still use it to get the heads seated evenly than use ear
 
vtran711 said:
Beginner here and thought I was able to tune by ear just fine. I never really knew how much tension to put on batter and reso. All I did was make sure lugs were all even and the tone I got was to my liking.

I’ve been intrigued by the tune bot but didn’t want to spend the $$ on one. Learned about Drumtune Pro app so thought it was cheap enough to try. All I can say is wow! Works just like the TB at a fraction of the price. My kit sound incredible now! Tuning the toms were a breeze. Snare is a bit harder. I’ve read TB users also have harder time with the snare due to the higher frequencies.

There’s a bit of a learning curve so expect to spend more time at the beginning but once you figure it out it is SO nice!
Click to expand...

Snare isn't that much harder with Tune-Bot once you get used to it. One thing that made a big difference was getting the snare wires off of the reso head (sticking a drum stick between the head and wires). Definitely made tunings around the snare bed more consistent.
 
Since I didn't see it mentioned... I use the iDrumTunePro app. I used to go by ears only but it took a while and I would have difficulty getting back to a specific tuning. No consistency. iDrumTune solved that issue and it turns out I was less concerned about exact pitch and more concerned about batter to resonant relationship. That was something that I could not achieve at all by ear.
 
Another item to consider...the lubrication state of the tension rods. If the rods don't turn smoothly, a drum is a lot harder to tune no matter what method is used.

Hardest instrument to tune, drums are. Even the room comes into play.
 
larryace said:
Another item to consider...the lubrication state of the tension rods. If the rods don't turn smoothly, a drum is a lot harder to tune no matter what method is used.

Hardest instrument to tune, drums are. Even the room comes into play.
Click to expand...

True dat. I set time aside each week to practice my drum tuning skills. I will fully de-tune a drum or two and challenge myself to re-tune.

Tuning is a skill like any other that is improved by regular consistent practice.
 
vtran711 said:
Learned about Drumtune Pro app so thought it was cheap enough to try. All I can say is wow! Works just like the TB at a fraction of the price. My kit sound incredible now! Tuning the toms were a breeze. Snare is a bit harder. I’ve read TB users also have harder time with the snare due to the higher frequencies.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the apps are really great and I use one when I don't have the TuneBot with me. Really handy when you're out or sitting in on somebody else's kit. If I hear a tuning I like, I can quickly document it.

IMO, the real advantages of the hardware are 1) being able to clip it to the drum and 2) the apps can be a little touchy about recognizing super low frequencies, IMO. Never had a problem with snares or toms. Other than that, you can get a lot out of an app like iDrumTunePro. (y)
 
I have had a Drum Torque for many years, and I only used it on my snare drums. I had tried a Drum Dial when they came out and thought it was useless.
I had never really taken the Tune Bot into consideration until recently. I read a few reviews that were so enthusiastic that I bought one to try it out.
Using it still involves my ears, but it's really quick to try another tuning and then go back to the previous one. I think I'm good at tuning drums, but it is much better now.
 
I can't say enough about the tune bot.

I'm not embarrassed to say that my tunings and overall drum tone are way, way better today than they were before I bought a tune bot.

I also had a torque key solution in the past, and it was useless. Torque / tension, I'm afraid, is a poor approach. Having very little to do with tone.

My drums are musical and consistently sound great. Gig to gig, kit to kit. If you think you can do that with your ears, God bless you. But most of us will get a Big lift from a tune bot.

Quick hint on how to use a tune bot: first tune your batter and reso by the target numerical frequency. Then finish by fine tuning the batter precisely to the Note. Always Finishing looking at the precise Note. That simple approach yields max results. [for the toms - less so for the snare]
 
dboomer said:
Use your ears all you want. But remember in a John Henry moment, machines can measure better and more accurately IF you set them up correctly AND ask the right question.
Click to expand...

Only if the machines themselves are in proper functioning order, as machines are prone to hidden flaws. Sometimes what you hear subjectively is superior to the feedback a machine provides, regardless of how you set the device or the questions you ask it.. Your audience consists of human ears, not of machines, and most audiences won't care if the lugs on a snare drum are at identically even tensions.

To achieve a slightly lower tuning effect, for instance, I have sometimes loosened two tuning rods on a drum and left the others alone. A machine might tell me my setup is defective. My ears tell me to embrace that defect.

So sure, use devices as tuning guidelines if you like, but have the confidence and creativity to ignore them when desired.
 
Hope this isnt hijacking the thread as it might help the OP if he gets the tunebot or phone app.

Frequencies for snare goes up to 300+ hz. On the reso side mine is at around this right now but it supposed be even higher. I feel like tightening the reso side anymore and the snare is going to implode. I've read people go up close to 400. It seems as I go past 300 it gets more difficult to register increases as I crank the head tighter. Wondering if tunebot users experience the same thing or if it's a limitation with the phone apps.
 
vtran711 said:
Hope this isnt hijacking the thread as it might help the OP if he gets the tunebot or phone app.

Frequencies for snare goes up to 300+ hz. On the reso side mine is at around this right now but it supposed be even higher. I feel like tightening the reso side anymore and the snare is going to implode. I've read people go up close to 400. It seems as I go past 300 it gets more difficult to register increases as I crank the head tighter. Wondering if tunebot users experience the same thing or if it's a limitation with the phone apps.
Click to expand...

I have no problems tuning to 400. See my post above re disengaging the snares which makes a huge difference when going that high.
 
I already do that. Snares stay off the head as you describe.

I tested hitting something that will produce a higher pitch and it definitely registers well past 400. It just feels like the reso is so dang tight already I'm nervous continue cranking down to get close to 350.
 
vtran711 said:
Hope this isnt hijacking the thread as it might help the OP if he gets the tunebot or phone app.

Frequencies for snare goes up to 300+ hz. On the reso side mine is at around this right now but it supposed be even higher. I feel like tightening the reso side anymore and the snare is going to implode. I've read people go up close to 400. It seems as I go past 300 it gets more difficult to register increases as I crank the head tighter. Wondering if tunebot users experience the same thing or if it's a limitation with the phone apps.
Click to expand...

When that happens, start over. Back off all tension rods and finger tighten them.

Using a star pattern, tighten each rod 1/4 turn until you're in the ballpark and all lugs are tensioned evenly.

Finish up using the Tune-Bot to fine tune. Find the highest reading and filter on that if you're confident that all rods are otherwise evenly tensioned. Even if you get 211, 213 Hz unfiltered on 6/8 lugs and the 7th reads 381 Hz, you can trust that they're all around 381. Turn the filter on using that 381 reading and bring them all up to pitch using that star pattern.

Note: those are arbitrary numbers above, used for example. I do find that having the snare side head around 389 Hz to be just right, though.

Hope this helps!
 
I usually tune my snare side head to around an A440, and I always tune that one by ear just because I don't think the Tune Bot reads snare side heads as well.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top