Factory Tuned?

makinao

Silver Member
I read some people here mention drums being "factory tuned." Are they really? AFAIK, drum kits are shipped from the factory disassembled. That's the way I see them delivered to stores. Besides, if they were delivered fully assembled and tuned, can heads really maintain their tension after months of factory storage, shipping, and store storage?
 
I've never received a drum in tune..in fact they usually just come hand tightened with the head left on pretty loose.
 
My Performance series from DW came with heads installed and tensioned. They needed some tweaking but sounded decent out of the box.
 
Sonor tunes their snares to C according to one of the factory tour videos.
 
Not sure about factories but I had a used snare, for backup, delivered from Graham Russell and it was tuned superbly. I have never got it to sound as good since, but that probably says more about me.
 
So called factory tunings may give the buyer a starting point but new heads are going to stretch. Temperature changes during shipping also will likely impact a drum's tuning. Let's not even factor in each drummer's preferred tuning methods and practices. Manufacturers who proudly brag that they tune their drums for you are simply employing marketing techniques.
 
Watch some DW videos on YouTube. They are definitely tuned. I imagine mid and lower level drums might not be, but I can't imagine a Craviotto or Brady or etc, etc being shipped without heads attached and then tuned by some kid at the music store.
 
When I got my new Mapex snare, I though it sounded great from the factory. I tightened up the snare wires a little but after a few months it still sounds great.
 
...can heads really maintain their tension after months of factory storage, shipping, and store storage?

Can they maintain tension? Yes.

Will they actually stay in tune? Way too many variables here to give a definitive "yes" or "no" answer.
 
We tune all our drums across a range of pitches after assembly, then tune to a default setting for shipping. Despite shipping times & external influence, that means the drum arrives with the customer in a playable tuned state, although it won't be optimal. Just the new head settling in is enough to throw things out a bit in the week or so from tuning to receipt.
 
My new MyDentity kit came pre-tuned. Yes I re-tuned them but they weren't bad from the start.
 
Back
Top