Quick drum tuning

Auspicious

Auspicious

Silver Member
Hello

I found decent fundamental notes for all of my drums and they don't keep theses notes for a very long time. I use my Tunebot often to reset the fundamental notes to default by adding more tension to the batter heads only. Since I believe they undergo assault, they stretch while the resonant head.. :unsure: ?

(I thought the Tunebot's future was mainly to collect dust but it turned out, it's solicited all the time, much more then expected because the heads retain their tension much less then expected also)

When you quick tune your drum, do you add tension to your resonant heads every time or you are lazy like me and only add a bit of tension to the batters?

What is the real, easy to spot, evidence to tell you that the resonant head needs replacement?
 
Auspicious said:
Hello

I found decent fundamental notes for all of my drums and they don't keep theses notes for a very long time. I use my Tunebot often to reset the fundamental notes to default by adding more tension to the batter heads only. Since I believe they undergo assault, they stretch while the resonant head.. :unsure: ?

(I thought the Tunebot's future was mainly to collect dust but it turned out, it's solicited all the time, much more then expected because the heads retain their tension much less then expected also)

When you quick tune your drum, do you add tension to your resonant heads every time or you are lazy like me and only add a bit of tension to the batters?

What is the real, easy to spot, evidence to tell you that the resonant head needs replacement?
Click to expand...

My Session Studio Select kit remains in tune with admirable persistence. It's rare that I detect a foul tone that calls for amendment. But when I do retune, I check both the batter and resonant heads for cacophonic elements. My resonant heads are tighter than my batters all around the kit. Often, if something seems amiss, I discover that a resonant head needs tightening. My batters I tune primarily for feel, so if their response seems aberrant, it's usually a signal that I need to make adjustments. I tap in front of each lug (checking for inharmonic frequencies) and make modifications as appropriate. My tuning system is more grounded in intuition than in science. I've been using it for almost four decades, and it's never let me down.

With regard to head replacement, I change my batter heads every four months or so and the resonant heads on my toms and snare twice a year. My bass resonant head I change far less frequently. Pearl logo heads are harder to come buy, so I'm never eager to part with them.
 
@C.M. Jones

Thanks my heads get out of tune much quicker it appears, after maybe 3 4 sessions of 1 hour, they already needs a slight adjustment.

My resonant heads are many years old..(like a decade :))
 
I've tried a tuning app on the iphone.. and it 'kind of' worked. But I find it much faster to tune by ear.. and the results are the same. Whether you use a device or your ear.. the important thing is get the right pitch for the heads (top and bottom).
One trick I used to use was record an audio sample on my phone - of the pitches for your ultimate drum kit sound. For example tune your snare up and compare it to your baseline drum recording.. pitch too high or low? adjust etc. Works everytime. it's fast and accurate. .. and by now the pitches are burned into my head so I don't even use the reference audio.
Losing the tuning is usually either
- breaking in a new head (for remo I used to use a hand stretch to break them in - push palm down in center to get the kinks out.. but I don't use those anymore). Aquarians have a ring thing - and they hold there tuning forever.. Evans rarely goes out on me
- could be bad tuning lugs giving up the tension
- heat and hot lights can play a part
- smacking the heck out of them can play a part
- you could also just have a bad head from the factory
Any head should settle in after a few gigs an keep the tuning for long periods of time (if you're lucky!)
 
Actually re-reading - your question was 'do you always have to tune both heads or just keep tightening the batter'
- in a pinch that works (like in between tunes and you only have 4 seconds).
- but I usually lift my snare off the stand and rest the outside of the shell on my lap.. so you can check both heads and make sure the interval is right. I muffle one head with my arm and tap the other.. then switch arms and check the other side. It's really quick taps to check.
- I usually go for a 3rd-4th interval with the bottom head higher (eg. twinkle-twinkle-little star)
- but it's important to get the bottom reso head pitch right.. too loose and you have mush that doesn't cut it at the back of the room.. too high and you're hitting tin.. you have to find the sweet spot for a good crack, responsive ghost notes yet enough tone to get some body in the sound.
 
moxman said:
I've tried a tuning app on the iphone.. and it 'kind of' worked. But I find it much faster to tune by ear.. and the results are the same. Whether you use a device or your ear.. the important thing is get the right pitch for the heads (top and bottom).
One trick I used to use was record an audio sample on my phone - of the pitches for your ultimate drum kit sound. For example tune your snare up and compare it to your baseline drum recording.. pitch too high or low? adjust etc. Works everytime. it's fast and accurate. .. and by now the pitches are burned into my head so I don't even use the reference audio.
Losing the tuning is usually either
- breaking in a new head (for remo I used to use a hand stretch to break them in - push palm down in center to get the kinks out.. but I don't use those anymore). Aquarians have a ring thing - and they hold there tuning forever.. Evans rarely goes out on me
- could be bad tuning lugs giving up the tension
- heat and hot lights can play a part
- smacking the heck out of them can play a part
- you could also just have a bad head from the factory
Any head should settle in after a few gigs an keep the tuning for long periods of time (if you're lucky!)
Click to expand...

I use my ear plenty too but the Tunebot is a breeze to tune back to the exact sound in a matter of seconds, all I need to remember is the fundamental frequencies. it really works well.

Snare: 198hz, Hi-Tom 136hz, Low Tom 103hz and Bass Drum 51 ~ 53hz (Still can't decide which frequency I prefer for the bass drum)

--> There is also 1 decimal of precision with the TB, 135.8 is not the same thing as 135.1 (for me at least)

I have the tuning procedure under control, I was just concerned about by the amount of tweaks required, just checking if it was normal or not.. I read right here from another user, he replaces the heads every weeks.

I would quit drumming if it was required to replace the heads every weeks.

?
 
Yes I can't afford the time or money to change heads that often.. I change snare batter the most.. usually when it starts to show wear or lose the coating... or if the sound starts to lose it's zing. Toms and kick rarely..
 
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