Drum Tuning Bible

Well I use the actual drum dial. If you look up some instructions from drum dial on you tube that may help. When people say table top tight that means absolutely nothing to me. One thing it does do for you it gets you consistent. I mean if you want a lower or higher tone you have a reference point. Half way decent or cheap drums, some common sense and I think you might like it. Good luck.
The Drum Dial is okay, but it pales in comparison to the Tune-Bot. It's better than nothing but if you really want great sounding drums, the Tune-Bot is the way to go.

This is coming from a past (and present) Drum Dial owner. It's no contest.
 
The Drum Dial is okay, but it pales in comparison to the Tune-Bot. It's better than nothing but if you really want great sounding drums, the Tune-Bot is the way to go.

This is coming from a past (and present) Drum Dial owner. It's no contest.

Yammy you do whatever you want most tune by ear way before that bot was around or the dial. So yeah Appreciate you!!
 
Yammy you do whatever you want most tune by ear way before that bot was around or the dial. So yeah Appreciate you!!
Absolutely, and thanks.

I've been playing drums off and on for 40 years and tuned by ear for most of them. The Drum Dial was an improvement for sure but then the Tune-Bot came along and changed everything.

One is like a hand grenade and the other is like a cruise missile. :)
 
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I was aware of the existence of the dial only before today, but I never used one. The discussion "sheared" into an unexpected direction with the Tune-Bot.

New technology I wasn't aware of came in.. I am not always a fan of technology but this time, after watching the tutorial, it looked like a magic show of fine tuning to me.

I just can't pass on it.

We will see soon.
 
I was aware of the existence of the dial only before today, but I never used one. The discussion "sheared" into an unexpected direction with the Tune-Bot.

New technology I wasn't aware of came in.. I am not always a fan of technology but this time, after watching the tutorial, it looked like a magic show of fine tuning to me.

I just can't pass on it.

We will see soon.


Good luck with whatever you choose.
 
Good luck with whatever you choose.

Thanks GOOSE72, I will try to make the most of it, a device by itself is not everything, I still need to develop some talent at this too and this is not at all a success so far. ?

The heads on my drums, the tuning dates from 5 years ago. Back then, I found a specific pitch with a piano I had, I think it was tuned around a "G"
but I hardly remember how I did it today, I'll need to re learn.

Maybe all this is inside the bible that I haven't started reading yet.

I still need to figure that out before I even use the Tune-Bot. ?
 
I got two paragraphs in and realized that with intel like this I'll be teaching my workshop for a long time.

Let's start with this - first, you don't tune a drum - you tension it. Second you don't tune a drum - you tension a series of drums to a desirable intervals (and this was mentioned)

The comments regarding die cast and triple flange hoops are simply not accurate.

This is just one individual's ideas and notions. Nothing to get caught up in.

Wow. Opinions vary.
 
I read the bible a bit but so far I am not hooked too much either... not sure I am going to make it my primary reference right now. But i'll see later.
 
I read the bible a bit but so far I am not hooked too much either... not sure I am going to make it my primary reference right now. But i'll see later.
You realize the Bible was never meant to read from beginning to end, like a book, but rather as a reference guide, where you search the section that applies to your issue, then read that part.
....of course, no law to say you can't read it from start to finish...just it wasn't intended to be used that way.

Elvis
 
I'm just wondering if anyone can lead me towards info that might serve as a guide/templet to tuning pitches using the tune bot on a reference and black panther . Iv tuned them to ear and love the sound of the coated resos( I know this isn't a norm) but it's a lovely warm tone with a reduction on overtones and sustain. Which I like but I'm not married to, it was just for the hell of it. For fun and experimenting il be changing heads around to finally get to play with the drums. get-vidmate.com instasave.onl
 
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I'm just wondering if anyone can lead me towards info that might serve as a guide/templet to tuning pitches using the tune bot on a reference and black panther . Iv tuned them to ear and love the sound of the coated resos( I know this isn't a norm) but it's a lovely warm tone with a reduction on overtones and sustain. Which I like but I'm not married to, it was just for the hell of it. For fun and experimenting il be changing heads around to finally get to play with the drums.
This is an interesting read: Drum Nuts (& Bolts): Tuning drums with Tune-bot (drumnutsandbolts.com)

So far, I've found Perfect 4ths between toms to be the best and most natural sounding interval. Call To Post was interesting but not my all-time favourite.
 
I had a 22/12/13/16 kit at one time and the band I was in then was doing some recording. During a break the keyboardist asked me what pitches I set my drums to
I told him I don't do it that way. I go for feel and a nice round sound and leave it at that, so we decided to experiment.
I played one tom until he could find the complimenting note on his keyboard.
I forget the exact notes, but I remember the conclusion was that the 3 toms were tuned to the 3 most common keys used in pop music.
Our conclusion was, regardless of what song I was playing, SOMETHING was likely going to compliment the key the song was written in.
We both found that a very interesting conclusion. Could be why the most common tom set-ups are 12/13/16.
 
Not to come across too much of an ignoramus but the I've always felt much of the DTB is convoluted and irrelevant. I use a drum dial to get each lug evenly tensioned then adjust the batter by ear to a nice balance with the resonant side. Its not rocket science.
 
Bumping because I really took the time to experiment with my rack tom since it finally has both heads as of last week, bought Drumtune Pro and read and watched tutorials about tuning including the Bible. The Bible warned that you could tune up a drum one day and it sounds horrible, yet let it sit overnight and it sounds a lot better. Sure enough, that's what happened. Just needed to tweak the tunings a bit and now it sounds really good. Hope I can repeat it :D
 
The DrumDial isn't for tuning the drums, it's for setting an even tension across the hoop, especially on new heads. Worth every penny for that.

For the sake of all that is decent and good in this world, don't use a DrumDial to tune your drums.
 
I know how much you love the Tune-bot. Have you experimented with 5ths, by any chance?
Good question and the answer is yes, I have and I do.

My DW kit is configured as a 4-piece at the moment and the rack and floor toms are a 5th apart which just happens to work really well for a two tom configuration. The batter and resonant heads are a also 5th apart and the drums sound fantastic like that.

My Renowns, on the other hand, are configured as a 5-piece and the toms are a 4th apart. Coincidentally, the heads are also a 4th apart but that's a relatively new thing for me as I generally tune heads a 5th apart regardless of the intervals between toms. In this case I wanted to try something different and used 4ths. I'm glad I did because the kit sounds better than ever, and that is saying a lot.
 
Good question and the answer is yes, I have and I do.

My DW kit is configured as a 4-piece at the moment and the rack and floor toms are a 5th apart which just happens to work really well for a two tom configuration. The batter and resonant heads are a also 5th apart and the drums sound fantastic like that.

My Renowns, on the other hand, are configured as a 5-piece and the toms are a 4th apart. Coincidentally, the heads are also a 4th apart but that's a relatively new thing for me as I generally tune heads a 5th apart regardless of the intervals between toms. In this case I wanted to try something different and used 4ths. I'm glad I did because the kit sounds better than ever, and that is saying a lot.
Sweet! I don't know how much music theory you've got under your belt, but 4ths and 5ths are where it's at. I'm not doing resonator heads on my kit, but I like your approach. There's a reason that 4ths and 5ths are referred to as "perfect".

Just to clarify, when you say "4-piece" and "5-piece", does that include your snare, or do you have 3 or 4 toms and a kick going on?
 
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