I have finally figured out tuning!

I checked the saved settings that I use, and it turns out that they are in the ballpark of 4ths. I 'm interested in trying to see how it sounds when I tune to the specific notes.

3rds, 4ths, 5ths, It all works.. It works fine to be "off" as well. Most drummers don't even tune to notes. I did find when it was bang on though it sounded like magic to me.


What is more of an issue is when the reso is CRANKED above that the sound will choke. I think that was an issue on my snare for a while. I was constantly using 400hz which is too much.
 
On an unrelated note, if anyone has a Tunebot they would like to donate to a good cause, I'll PM you my mailing address. Thanks!

I really, really want to try one out.
 
On an unrelated note, if anyone has a Tunebot they would like to donate to a good cause, I'll PM you my mailing address. Thanks!

I really, really want to try one out.

If you want to see what kind of results you'd get you can grab the DrumTunerEZ app for like $2.99 from the iOS store. It is basically the same thing and uses your phone mic. You just have to hold your phone while you are doing it.
 
I hear the iDrumTune App works as well. Or even a guitar tuner.

Or, to do this just google the notes that I posted on the chart in the video. On YouTube you cal look up 300hz, or 270 hz, or 250 hz. Or look up F#,C3, etc and they have long tones generated to tune your lugs to.

It's pretty fun going down the rabbit hole with this stuff though. I notice when my drums sound great, it motivates me to play more, and play differently.
 
How did you determine what note (A) to start with?
I mean when you began tuning your toms based off the 1st tom batter head tuned to A, how did you decide on A?
 
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I tune my top and bottom heads the same because I like an open sound. They’re tuned kind of high and the interval between all three is a fourth.

I have a tunebot, but I don’t use it much. I’ll have to use it to see what my notes are- you’ve got me curious...
 
How did you determine what note (A) to start with?
I mean when you began tuning your toms based off the 1st tom batter head tuned to A, how did you decide on A?

I can't speak highly enough of the tune-bot as for me personally, it's been a game changer. It's odd that all other instruments use electronic tuners, yet some drummers find a level of pride by ear tuning and/or scoff at devices like a tune-bot :)

To answer you're question, I personally used:

https://tune-bot.com/tuning-calculator/

as my starting point and it sounds great for the note. Like the OP, I tune to the note and only use the Hz as my reference/starting point when putting on a new head.

Steve
 
It started heating up here in the desert. I sat down to play yesterday and everything sounded terrible and out of tune. Took out the Tune-Bot and batters had dropped and resos had raised in pitch. 5 minuets and everything was back to normal. One would normally raise the lower lugs to match higher...that would have made it worse. For those of us who don't know an A from a B, Tune-Bot is a huge time saver.

Those who want to to tune by ear should continue to do so, but 5 minutes to great sounding drums....? Tune by ear all you want I say, best $50 I've ever spent.
 
Now try moving your set to different sized, shaped, populated, unpopulated, and various surface materials as well as different miking/processing equipment and sound personnel 'rooms'....

Its an eye opener....unless you are traveling with an isolation booth for your set...but variation in how the sound is processed and managed by the crew still will create variations.(hey, throw a blanket over that next acts drum set....its effecting my sound!...etc)

What sounds great in one place can create sympathetic vibrations that change everything from cross talk between parts of the set to different dominate pitches...and even different ways of striking the instrument can make major differences.

Tuning is a trip and worthy of practice all in itself!

Good techs are worth their weight in Grammies....wait...is that a lot or not so much value?...I get confused... ; )
 
So, I've had a Tunebot for about a month, primarily because of this thread. Didn't have time to do too much with it before this last weekend. Saturday I spent a few hours with it tuning up my new-to-me used Gretsch Maple Renowns and my Black Beauty.

Like others have said, it does take a little time with Tunebot (and the guide) to get the hang of it and have it be useful. But, after a few hours, damn those drums sounded good!

Also, I've had the hardest time getting my Black Beauty to sound good. I have a Supraphonic that I have tuned & love, but just couldn't get the same great sound out of the BB. Using Tunebot, I tuned the BB to the same settings I had the Supra at and walla - the BB was singing! Like Beyondbetrayal, I tuned the reso to perfect 4th above the batter. IMPORTANT - remember to use the Hi Range setting for snare drums.

Tunebot takes a little invested time, but worth it!
 

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I picked up a couple of different heads over the weekend and swapped them between three shares and a FT. Each time I tuned them exactly the same with the TuneBot. Can’t imagine doing that by ear over and over.
 
I tried the 4th interval on my DW kit on a recent theater tour opening for Yngwie Malmsteen and the drums sounded awesome!

Several engineers actually complimented me on it. OK, two did ;) but it was obvious on the tour who's drums were spot on. Both the first opener and the main act drummer spent quite some time hitting toms while the engineer dialed it in. I hit each tom once or twice and the engineer always said "cool" and we moved on.

It's amazing how many guys on tour do not tune their drums at all. It's also amazing how a decent sound engineer can make it so that no one out front even notices that the Pearl Export kit with the dented heads sounds like crap.

Anyway, I wanted to thank BB. Your tip really worked well for me.
 
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