How do you tune a drum set?

Question

How do you tune a drum set?

Answer 1

Well, this is a very open question. There are many ways of tuning a drum set and different styles of tuning. Also, in a way, there is no true right or wrong way to tune a set because everyone like a different sound. It also depends on the quality of your set and the wood it's made from.



1) The batter head (top side) - take all the tension off the head by using a drum key to loosen the tension rods. Then go around and get each tension rod finger tight. After you have done that, just go around the head and tighten the rod a little more. (You do this to keep the tuning/tension balanced throughout the entire head. A way to know if the tuning is balanced, is to go around the head and stop near each lug and hit it, if each hit sounds the same or very similar, then you have a balanced tension.) Keep going around tightening the rod a little each time until you have yo desired tension. If you have a tighter head, the sound will be brighter/higher pitched than if you have it tuned low.



2) The resonant head (bottom side) - Do the same with the lugs (finger tight, go around and tighten, etc.) The resonant head is very important in the sound you you hear. Key word, resonant/response does what it is called. If you have a tight resonant head, you will have more over tones in the sound. many drummers like a medium - low tension on the bottom head because it makes the sound more controlled and less "ringy." I like a controlled sound.



Now, if you are brand new to drumming, then you probably don't know that a beginner drumset will not sound like sets you hear on you favorite artist album even with goo tuning. Those drumsets are very "clean" sounding and sound expensive, and have a VERY VERY controlled sound. For an even more controlled sound and to make a deeper tone as well as isolating overtones, I HIGHLY recommend Remo Os. They are plastic rings that you put on top of your drum head and they make a HUGE difference in the sound. They make it sound better in my opinion.



If you have anymore questions please feel free to email me at [e-mail]



Best of luck!

Michael

Answer 2

Drum tuning can be the most frustrating aspect of drumming. There's no one way to tune. Some people tune the batter head higher than the resonant, others like the opposite, and yet others like them at the same pitch.



Some drummer like to detune one lug on each tom to get a pitch bend.



Here's a link to a helpful guide to drum tuning. You will need to spend some time tuning until you get the hang of it.



http://home.earthlink.net/~prof.sound/





Note: if you have a set of 'beginner' drums, go buy new heads asap. Cheaper drumsets tend to come with cheap heads that won't tune well.

Answer 3

If my base drum sounds funny what I normally do to them is rip them open and put like a blanket or pillow inside evening out the sound. Works like a sound

Answer 4

there are little screws around the different drums. just use a drumkey to screw them tighter or looser, depending if you want the drum set to have a sharper sound or a less sharp sound. just hit the drum set after tightening and listen to the sound. keep tightening till you get the sound you want.