it depends on how much experience you have with tuning. when i bought my first snare drum i couldn't tune well and the drum sounded awful. I decided then to buy a drum dial because i wanted to play and not tune my drums. I am enthusiastic about drum dials and similar tuning devices because they are easy and they work. However, they are not necessary to get a good sound. for instance, about a month ago I decided to try and tune by ear, and I got a nice sounding result. I then checked w/ my drum dial and was pretty close at each tension rod. So i think over time your ear gets better. but if you want to drum and you're sick of tuning, and don't mind paying 60 bucks, get one-you'll be happy.