LM402 tuning driving me crazy

Fritz Frigursson

Fritz Frigursson

Senior Member
vindrums said:
Throughout the years I have played some supras that have been in really rough shape. I'm talking about abused school drums, rehearsal studio drums, neglected garage finds...excetera. No matter what the shape of the drum, it always sounds like a supraphinic. I find it hard to believe that slightly bent hoops are the problem here. It is more likely that you are not really a fan of the sonic characteristics of a supraphonic or were expecting something different sonically then what the drum delivers.
I'm not trying to criticize you, sometimes the idea of a particular drum is more appealing to us then the actual sound of the drum. I for one, am not a huge fan of Black Beauty snares. I know how great most people think they sound, and I even own a few of them (and use them from time to time when I feel the music calls for that particular sound) but to my ears they have a slightly boxy, uninspiring sound.
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There is definitely something wrong. I’ve heard supras before even in real life and they never had this sound. I just ordered Puresound custom 24 strand wires to see if anything changes. I made this decision because the overtone was DEFINITELY coming from the wires. I tried fixing it with tuning but obviously it didn’t work out. I will update soon.
 
V

vindrums

Senior Member
Fritz Frigursson said:
There is definitely something wrong. I’ve heard supras before even in real life and they never had this sound. I just ordered Puresound custom 24 strand wires to see if anything changes. I made this decision because the overtone was DEFINITELY coming from the wires. I tried fixing it with tuning but obviously it didn’t work out. I will update soon.
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I hope that fixes the issue you have with the drum. I find it way more likely that the issue is a minor fix like snare wires or head selection then hoops or bearing edges. Like I said before, Supras are very resilient and forgiving drums when it comes to some of those structural issues that would render other snares unplayable.
 
C

CYP47

Member
vindrums said:
I hope that fixes the issue you have with the drum. I find it way more likely that the issue is a minor fix like snare wires or head selection then hoops or bearing edges. Like I said before, Supras are very resilient and forgiving drums when it comes to some of those structural issues that would render other snares unplayable.
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500-700 drums shouldn’t have structural issues
 
GOOSE72

GOOSE72

Well-known member
I have the 402 as well. 2020 model. I can't get it to sound bad. Does it sound different with tuning and heads. YES. It's not defective it's me changing the dynamics of the drum. Is my ear different than yours YES. This is probably one of the best snare drums out there. Good Luck and don't give up. Music is about the feel.
 
GOOSE72

GOOSE72

Well-known member
Hey Fritz, is your 402 with you or are you waiting for a space to open up so you can try it? The rehearsal space you mentioned in your post.
 
J

jazzerooty

Junior Member
Supras were always the most easy snares to tune. I used standard coated Remo Ambassadors for the batter and diplomat for the reso. Of course I never owned a newer model. So, of it's the rims or the snares being insufficient, that-really-sucks. If you know a drum doctor who can give you an assessment, then perhaps you can demand a replacement.
 
Fritz Frigursson

Fritz Frigursson

Senior Member
GOOSE72 said:
Hey Fritz, is your 402 with you or are you waiting for a space to open up so you can try it? The rehearsal space you mentioned in your post.
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I’ll be going there on the first of July (Wednesday) so I’ll keep you updated as soon as I can :)
 
A

AudioWonderland

Silver Member
Fritz Frigursson said:
I have discovered the reason for the absolute ass sound. The fucking hoops were warped. Both of them. So, as a prize for spending 700 bucks on a snare plus a set of new heads, I have obtained 3 months of extreme frustration and 2 sets of warped heads plus a set of warped rims. Fuck me. At least the shell isn’t warped. The lugs have dented and scratched the bead after I tried going gasket-less so the only thing that isn’t damaged on this drum is the throw off. Really ironic.

I have to buy 2 new rims, new snare wires and a set of heads. I haven’t felt this shitty since I had an ear infection a few years back.

thanks Ludwig! Thanks to your top notch QC I have to buy almost every single component of the drum after already paying 700 bucks for a goddamn snare. This was definitely not worth the money and definitely one of my worst financial decisions I’ve made. Hats off to you Ludwig. I am never buying a snare from you again.
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I would have thought you checked these things straight away and returned it. If it makes you feel better, I bought a set of new Yamahas last year and had to have the edges on all of the toms redone.... I could have returned them but I decided it was a good opportunity to get a different edge cut on them and make the common place kit something unique.
 
GOOSE72

GOOSE72

Well-known member
Hey Fritz. I kinda re read this whole thread to better understand your problem. I have the same drum you do it's not vintage it's new 2020 so we got that figured out. I have a few questions real quick. Why didn't you call Ludwig or who you bought it from right from the start? I guess that's my main question. But you did surgery on a new 402 taking the gaskets out God knows what else. Are you sure you know what this drum sounds like in real life? Not You Tube? Hope you get it figured out.
 
Fritz Frigursson

Fritz Frigursson

Senior Member
GOOSE72 said:
Hey Fritz. I kinda re read this whole thread to better understand your problem. I have the same drum you do it's not vintage it's new 2020 so we got that figured out. I have a few questions real quick. Why didn't you call Ludwig or who you bought it from right from the start? I guess that's my main question. But you did surgery on a new 402 taking the gaskets out God knows what else. Are you sure you know what this drum sounds like in real life? Not You Tube? Hope you get it figured out.
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because it’s my first ever snare I got coming from electronic drums and I thought it would be a common fix. Then the coronavirus outbreak started just a few weeks after I got the snare so it was a pretty crappy situation. I wouldn’t call it surgery since many people take apart various parts of the snare to oil it or replace it, I did it to diagnose a problem. Kinda like fixing a bike. I have since put the gaskets back on and everything is as-is right now apart from the strainer which is a puresound 24 wire.
Not having played many snares doesn’t help since I don’t know any unique snare sounds. I have only played on 3 high end snares, which are a Pearl Masters Maple 14x5.5, Yamaha Dave Weckl signature maple with dual strainer and a Ludwig Super Sensitive Black Beauty 14x5. Those drums sounded fine without any excess buzz, even without muffling. I have never heard a Supraphonic IRL before so it may be a misunderstanding on my part but until I do, this is a problem for me. So far I’ve not found anything hugely wrong with the drum like a bent shell or a cracked rim, so it should sound just like other supras. I’m just going to have to experiment and adjust until I get the sound I want from a snare. I doubt Supras make a drastically different sound than normal snares...

Is there a quirk of the Supra that’s apparent with every drum that I haven’t heard of?

thanks for returning to my old post, as I told you before, I will make sure to keep you updated. Just a few days left.
 
GOOSE72

GOOSE72

Well-known member
Because it's my first ever snare I got coming from electronic drums. Those are your words not mine. I would stop there and re group.
 
Fritz Frigursson

Fritz Frigursson

Senior Member
GOOSE72 said:
Because it's your first snare ever coming from electronic drums.
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Yes I am used to perfect samples but do keep in mind I do use 3 other snares in my practice space which aren’t mine. These do not have my problem even though they are set up very similarly.
 
MrInsanePolack

MrInsanePolack

Platinum Member
GOOSE72 said:
Because it's your first snare ever coming from electronic drums.
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Cut the guy some slack. It's a snare drum, not a transmission. Anybody can and should learn how to properly disassemble, repair, and reassemble drums, if you want them to continue to function properly anyhow.
 
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