Drum Tuning Bible
- Thread starter JohnnyG
- Start date
timmdrum
Gold Member
I've experienced Mr. Dunnett's description of the wires not moving away from the bottom head as far as they could with the strainer disengaged, than if they were attached with the more flexible ribbon. I don't play with the snares off often on my primary snare, but my aux snare doubles as a timbale, so it gets close to equal time played with snares off & on, and occasionally I get that slappy rattle.
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Elvis
Silver Member
...could it be that you just set the snares without enough slack that time?
I've done it before. A lot of people have.
The whole thing with the ribbon was that its supposed to allow the snares to move with the head better because the ribbon stretches more easily than the plastic strap....at least that's what the marketeers were saying 20+ years ago when the idea of using Grosgrain Ribbon was first brought up on internet forums.
Elvis
I've done it before. A lot of people have.
The whole thing with the ribbon was that its supposed to allow the snares to move with the head better because the ribbon stretches more easily than the plastic strap....at least that's what the marketeers were saying 20+ years ago when the idea of using Grosgrain Ribbon was first brought up on internet forums.
Elvis
timmdrum
Gold Member
Figured the stretch ability would be a bonus, but sound-wise, I don't perceive an issue with the plastic straps I've been using. Re: slack- well, no, because I set the strainer tension to what is needed for it to not rattle or choke when engaged, so the amount of slack present when the strainer is disengaged is a matter of the design of the strainer (i.e. how far the strainer moves vertically).
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GOOSE72
Active Member
I have heard the term table top regarding the snare side head. That is so vague. Unless you can define what tension your heads are at it means nothing. I have a Lm402 and a stock Pearl export snare. I use a drum dial. gave up on the idea I knew how to tune a drum by ear. not to mention I have tried a lot of heads. Right now my 402 has a Remo coated X Ambassador and the Pearl a standard Remo coated Ambassador. Snare head tuned to 81 on drum dial and both batters at 90. It's musical.
johnwesley
Silver Member
Looking through the Drum Tuning Bible I found this in the Book of Krupa chapter 7 verses 3-4.
3: "Once thou hast achieved harmonious congruity between all toms, and haveth attained the fluidity of tone amongst the kick and
snare, then thou shalt begin the thunder. "
4: "Thy audience, once lost to the infraction of sorted tones, can now awaken to the joy that thou now provideth through the sonics
of likened percussion."
Be sure to check back as we look into and make sense of the Book of Moon. Can I get an Amen?
Please send all donations to the Rev. John Wesley at the email associated with this account. And first time contributors can make a 5 dollar donation for just $3.95 and receive credit for the full 5 dollars.
3: "Once thou hast achieved harmonious congruity between all toms, and haveth attained the fluidity of tone amongst the kick and
snare, then thou shalt begin the thunder. "
4: "Thy audience, once lost to the infraction of sorted tones, can now awaken to the joy that thou now provideth through the sonics
of likened percussion."
Be sure to check back as we look into and make sense of the Book of Moon. Can I get an Amen?
Please send all donations to the Rev. John Wesley at the email associated with this account. And first time contributors can make a 5 dollar donation for just $3.95 and receive credit for the full 5 dollars.
johnwesley
Silver Member
Exactly. That's why I'm taking donations.
AudioWonderland
Silver Member
Heads such as REMO Ambassador, Ambassador Ebony and FiberSkyn FA,Aquarian Classic Clear or Satin Texture Coated and the Evans G1 series. These will have less sustain thanthe thinner counterparts such as the REMO Diplomat or Evans Glass or Genera Resonant.
This is patently false.... Simple physics tells us that.... I find many parts of the tuning bible questionable....
This is patently false.... Simple physics tells us that.... I find many parts of the tuning bible questionable....
Auspicious
Silver Member
I was thinking about getting a drum dial to set up my drum heads at the right tension, for me right now it's the same thing has you said, I am not too sure about tuning by ear.
But I don't have much tuning experience either..
I would like to know, what dial do you use and do you have a favorite procedure to work with such a tool? I would like to try it someday.
yammyfan
Senior Member
The Drum Dial isn't entirely useless but it's pretty close.
I sound like a broken record sometimes but the Tune-Bot is one of - if not THE best tuner for the money on the market today. It's easy to use and extremely effective. If you want to hear what a good job it does for yourself, check this video:
Auspicious
Silver Member
Tune-Bot my god, I need one of those, it's incredible? thanks for the suggestion, I might order one today.
I looked at the testing of the Club Date in your video, Yammyfan, it has an awesome sound. I'll listen to the entire video when I have a bit more time.
But I skipped to tutorials about the Tune-Bot and I find it very impressive.
Auspicious
Silver Member
It's not related to the drum bible no more but I listened to all of the drums in the video, all of these Ludwigs are amazing. Overall, my 2 favorites are the Classic Maple first and Club Date second.
Because of the bass drum, the Classic Maple wins for me over the Club Date (I suspect an important tuning difference more then the pure sound of the shells, not sure). For the toms, Club and Classic, I find them equal, they have a longer tonality then the other models, I am naturally attracted to that, for jazz.
But they all have great sounds and certainly great tuning.. although the club date bass drum, i think it has some tuning issues.
What do you think?
Thanks for the video Yammy it puts me back into a "tuning mode"
yammyfan
Senior Member
I'm glad you found the video useful. It's pretty obvious how well-tuned those drums are and how consistent the tuning is across all five kits. That consistency is one of the Tune-Bots best features. You can change heads and try new things without ever having to worry about losing or forgetting your favourite sound.Tune-Bot my god, I need one of those, it's incredible? thanks for the suggestion, I might order one today.
I looked at the testing of the Club Date in your video, Yammyfan, it has an awesome sound. I'll listen to the entire video when I have a bit more time.
But I skipped to tutorials about the Tune-Bot and I find it very impressive.
I tune my Stage Customs the exact same way as those Ludwigs and they sound amazing. I was never any good at tuning before so the Tune-Bot is a godsend to me ?
Auspicious
Silver Member
Yes I agree, they did a great job, almost laboratory grade methodology to compare the real sound of various shells with consistent tuning, very impressive.
I called 2 stores about the Tune-bot and it's out of stock at the 2 places, one store has more motivation the then other but it's farther away from home, I'll continue my investigation tomorrow.
I started reading the bible too, for general knowledge, it looks like a good publication too. If I don't agree with the author on too many points then i'll simply put it aside and find another source.
yammyfan
Senior Member
I think you'll have a lot of fun with tuning once you get your Tune-Bot. I learned enough from using it to tune entirely by ear now if I wanted to but nothing beats the accuracy of the Tune-Bot.
There's a companion app that suggests and calculates the different frequencies and intervals you can use, and the Overtone Labs website is chock full of resources including artist's tunings.
There's a short learning curve to using the device but once you get the hang of it, it's a piece of cake to use. The key things to remember are to mute the opposing head and to use the filter button when tuning the individual lugs. There are tons of YouTube videos that demonstrate the proper use of the device. DW's "beyondbetrayal" has posted a couple of them.
Good luck, and have fun!
GOOSE72
Active Member
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.