I so appreciate what you guys do here. I would have NEVER have thought to do this on my own. Gonna give it a try. What a joy to watch you giggle when playing this. Your enthusiasm is contagious. Thanks SLAD!
Just added gaff tape to a cheap Pearl 10-lug steel snare last night after viewing this video. This snare drum has always been difficult to get a good sound from, but after this trick, it actually sounds pretty good. Thanks to Sounds Like a Drum for this video. It works better than advertised!
Nice! This is perfect for a unique gig I have two weeks from now! I'm playing with two violins and a piano. I've been searching and experimenting for a snare sound solution. Thanks guys! Once again, you're here when I need you!
Taking my coated Ambassador off as we speak Gaff tape is ready to go..... I'll let you know how I make out you guys are great thank you so much truly an asset to the drumming community
I tried this trick with my '68 Ludwig Acrolite and loved the sound! I noticed that rim shots immediately became a lot easier for me to play, even with the original 1.6mm triple-flange hoops. I've never liked a lot of overtones/over-ring from my snare drum anyway, so for me, it's an ideal setup!
Great ! Double hoop can work too, i mean an old head ( cut a large portion of the center ) and put the new head over it . Hoop will be much higher, It s a great trick for old calfskin head too ( when you can't tune it / too stretch ) / High tuning is more easy with this technique !
I tried this on my 22x14 Sakae kick drum. Have been having some issues with too much resonance and not as much "thump" as I want. Tried filling it up with blankets and pillows, all sorts of tunings but this made by far the biggest difference! Remo Ambassador coated batter and a ported reso. Best drum hack by far!!
I've been doing this with regular Packing Tape for several years now. Not only around the outer diameter, but also just in the center for a CS Dot affect. Even at times taping the entire bottom surface--which, for all intents and purposes, turns a single ply head into and two ply head. Using multiple layers if so desired.
Loving the tones on this video!!! Also, just wanted to let y’all know that, when I am having troubling sleeping, your hacks and tips help me fall right back asleep. That is said as a compliment!!!! Love the channel!!!
Wow! I am absolutely going to do this to my 66' acrolite and get rid of my "big fat snare drum mute topper" I have on right now. Thanks alot guys!..love yalls vids always! Keep um' coming! 😁👍♥️🥁🇨🇱
First off, I love all the stuff you're doing on this channel! I saw something similar to this, where you fold up a piece of paper towel and duct tape it to the bottom of the head close to the edge. Great for a really fat, dead tone. I'm definitely going to try this! I don't like Moongels or those rings for the same reason you mentioned, I often switch to brushes mid-set and they get in the way. Great work as always!
Being a huge Alex Van Halen fan, I've put 4 strips of gaff tape in a trapezoid/triangle -like shape on top of a Coated Emperor X batter head on my 8x14 Ludwig Keystone Maple/Oak snare in medium/high tuning and I'm really close to that unique awesome "woody" AVH Brown Sound snare tone. If you've ever seen photos of Alex and his 1980 Tama Rosewood snare at the US Festival concert Memorial Day Weekend 1983 he had almost the entire batter head covered in gaff tape lol. He had quite a bit of gaff tape on his snare for the Jump video shoot as well.
@@joeydubois Ed himself said the "brown sound" term that he and Al coined was originally talking about Al's snare because Ed likened it to hitting a log.
Thank you for this hack, I've got a Sakae aluminum snare... Similar to the supraphonic, but the rimshot crack is deafening... Going to give this a go as hopefully it will soften it, and besides what you got going on is exactly the sound I've been hunting for... Thanks
I have an old Pearl 5.5x14 steel snare that I've done all sorts of mods on since I got it in 1975. I was thinking about my next mod when this episode came out. Thanks for the idea. I'm enjoying it now.
I tried it on a decent cheap steel snare drum with a factory no brand head and it sounds awesome! It really works wonderfully. I wonder what adding more tape layers will do.
The snare sounded compressed but is actually awesome to hear no over tones. Funny it's like putting an EMAD but for the snare and yes the sounds fit in some electronic, hip hop music genres much a like :D. This is another cool idea added to my vocabulary! Results are just surprising!
I tried it on a steel shell drum, that try as I may with every conceivable cofiguration , couldn't get a sound I was happy with. High or low tuning it is now a happening thing. I still get plenty of crack and volume when needed. I used a pinstripe head. I'll try other heads in the future . However it sounds great .
Thanks! UV EQ4 batter and EQ3 Reso White resonant head. Nothing inside the drum except for the sandbag we referenced in this episode: ua-cam.com/video/mWekstZjfRQ/v-deo.html
I think that the calftone head makes a huge difference in the feel of the head. They tend to be more squishy feeling. Curious what your take on doing that same thing with a single ply ambassador or G1 would be. Great video, great trick!
i'm trying this asap. at first i misunderstood what was said about where to put the gaff tape; i thought you meant on the outside perimeter of the snare side head surrounding the snare wires. maybe idea for a future video, muffling snare side in various ways?
Thank you very very much for your effort! I was so excited about this stuff that i gave it a try right away. But I have some concerns: - Due to some overlapping of different tape strips it was quite difficult / strange to tune the head with itself - It is hard to estimate how much tape you should put on. My snare was pretty much dead. Maybe my strips were too thick?! - Couldn't you achieve the exact same sound with an thick e-ring / big fat snare drum kinda thing?
In the 3 tunings the back beat just sits down, with clear ghosts. Itching to try this with various rods. Well played. Splendid stuff. Thank you lots. :-) :-)
Just wow! Daddario Canada sent me the calftone 14 inch a year agonand didn’t know what to do with... because I play most pop rock stuff. Thanks for that great video!!! I will experiment now. Wow again!
When I was young and stupid(er) I put a strip of elastic cloth under the snare head, straight across the middle. Perhaps not the most cleverestest thing to do if you want to tune the head evenly, but as I recall it ('twas ~40 years ago after all!) it sounded a bit like this. My guess is that since the cloth was elastic, it "bounced off" when I hit the drum, giving it a little bit of breathing space... and when it returned to the underside of the head some milliseconds(?) later, it removed all the ringing and such. And the top was clean and nice.
@@SoundsLikeADrum Yep, as I recall it, I did that too... I think that's where I got the idea to try it on the snare too. I played mostly metal though (still do), but I didn't always have control over the room, so some of them had lots and lots of echo so I wanted my drums "dry" to compensate a bit.
@@SoundsLikeADrum i made an underlay with a 1" strip/ring of red mechanic's rag, and i agree, while the concept is similar, by putting it into practice with a material that is not mylar, and has nonuniform mass around the perimeter, it gives a much more strongly isolated batter tone.
So the gaff tape is right up against the metal collar of the head? Great video guys, I think I will also do this to my acrolite for that low fat sound!
It’s up to the flesh hoop (the aluminum portion of the head). The collar is the curve that covered in gaff tape but the contact point with the bearing edge is really just inside the collar (closer to the center of the head). Cheers! -Ben
Would love a video about the different tunings for a Deep kick drums. I've got that situation of having a 22x20" kick and trying to find the right sound can be a beast sometimes!
Would you stretch out a brand new head first? I tune high and I worry about ripping the tape while tuning up. Is it possible that tuning the head up first to stretch it out, then apply tape and re-heading would avoid that extra give around the hoop?
your low tuning of the snare sounds identical to any and every 70's slow jam song you would hear on the radio-it makes me think of "baby come back" by the O'Jays i'd like to say-but do not hold me to the group name as I am probably wrong....
Couldn’t say, we only tested this specific iteration but I’m sure it’d still have an effect, perhaps different behavior in the overtones. Try it out and let us know! -Cody
Nothing worse than a donut flying off my drum during a session! Hate those freaking things! I’m going to try this hack! Next, show us how to make an entire drum kit from Gaffer! Ha ha ha ha cheers… Keith
I've tried the tape pattern like Alex Van Halen uses on an Ambassador and clear dot heads and don't personally care for it. The pattern you made looks similar to Evans' HD Dry. I have one on my black beauty and it really dries it out. Have you tried the HD Dry for comparison?
I have! And I like that too, but this configuration for me seems to have both more crack and more sensitivity. I run the HD Dry for heavy hitting though and it kills - this one here is ultimately still a thin head and I could wreck it if I was really bashing :) -Cody
I would be curious to hear it with different amounts of tape. Maybe not full around. Half in half or maybe just top bottom and sides there’s so many things you can try
I've been thinking about sticking an e-ring underneath my evans black chrome that I have on my snare for a while. This makes me want to try it even more.
This is VERY hit or miss- the e-ring usually gets crumpled up pretty quickly (this obviously depends on the bearing edge and tension you're applying) since it's not attached to the drumhead the way the overtone control ring on the Evans Genera is. Still, always worth experimenting! -Ben
As soon as I finished watching the video I did that to my Natal Copper snare and it sounds GREAT! Never would've thought to do it on my own, there's no turning back now ;P
Does this dial back the overall volume of the snare? I get complaints about my snare from almost every Sound Guy I ever encounter. I have a Magnetone Snare (if you’ve never heard of them, look them up!) with a Bubinga Top and Maple Bottom. So naturally it’s a LOUD snare. I’ve tried every head combo I can think of, and I still get complaints. Right now I have a Hydraulic Blue on the batter and I’m wondering if this hack would help with the overall volume. Thanks!
Another excellent episode! One question - When you tuned waaay low on the snare, did you leave the snare side alone and just loosen the batter head? It sounded FAN-freakin-TASTIC!
As I recall, we dropped the reso VERY slightly for the lower tuning but it was incredibly minor. That's one of the benefits of not having the snare reso overcranked from the start. Cheers! -Ben
Sounds Like A Drum Cool, thanks for the reply! I sense that you guys are kinda ‘anti-Tune-bot’ , but this is one of those things it’s great for. When discussing drum tunings, we can now quantify tension precisely, where up until now we could only use vague, subjective terms like “just past wrinkle”, “table top tight’, and “medium”. I agree that a TuneBot shouldn’t be RELIED on as a tuning device, but it is an excellent tool for replicating sounds precisely and for sharing information. We now have access to the exact tunings used by some iconic drummers, which is amazing. And we can precisely reproduce tunings that some of our favorite UA-cam drummers use... wink, wink, nudge, nudge. I really think being able to talk about tensions in an exact way adds to the discussion, I hope you guys will think about it. Thanks again!
@@DZNTZ You're very welcome! I wouldn't say that we're 'anti-TuneBot' but rather that we're more than happy tuning with our ears. It's an incredibly common misconception (and one that we don't wish to perpetuate) that using the numbers that someone provides from a device that quantifies tension or pitch will allow you to reproduce that sound. That's simply not the case. While terms like "just above a wrinkle" may be quite subjective, that's perfectly fine (and often more relevant for people regardless of the equipment they're using) for a starting point. In the end- it's about what you HEAR. There are a multitude of variables at play outside of just the tension that heads are under when it comes to replicating a tuning and your best aid is going to be your ear when it comes to the fastest way to reproducing sounds. It just comes down to ear training, and while I know that's not the answer quite a few people are looking for- it's just like developing any performance technique. You have to practice it. We love the idea of something like a TuneBot when it comes to maintaining a specific drum (for example, during a long recording session where you may be changing out heads or maintaining the tuning). That said, we've both tech'd for sessions were we simply referenced a recording of the drum and went from there with our ears. We appreciate the request and we always love the feedback. We believe that quantifying elements of the sounds for the purpose of these videos gets away from what matters most- the SOUND of the drum. We'll be producing an episode on this in the future as it is something that comes up from time to time.
Do you love the quest for different sounds? We do. That's why Evans has released Gafftone. Our legendary Calftone head has been pre-muffled with quality gaffer's tape. When your creative gets stuck, stick with Gafftone.
I wonder if black electrical tape would work? It is stretchy and might be easy to shape as you install it in one long piece. Perhaps two layers if needed.
It would be possible but we strongly recommend sticking with (ah yes, that pun was bound to happen at some point...) gaffers tape to minimize the mess. As this stuff is experimental, your adventure is at your own risk. If you don’t have gaffers tape, it’s absolutely worth picking up a roll. -Ben
@@SoundsLikeADrum Thanks man I will probably pick a roll soon then. And also what are some of those heads you said were pre-muffled or had a ring on the edge? I'm wondering what the effect of the tape would be one those heads.
There's also the old Dave Mattack's trick of gaffer taping a star pattern in the center of the batter head. I think he'd be using a single ply coated like an Ambassador.
Yep- though with a very different effect. Adding mass to the center of the head drops the fundamental of the head and puts a bit more emphasis on it while retaining a bit of the high end. Essentially what a Power Center Dot or Controlled Sound dot does. -Ben
Sounds Like A Drum - I had a lesson with Dave Mattacks a couple of years ago. The head on his snare was one of the ones with a factory fitted black dot on the underside of the head. I can't remember the brand, but he seems to have switched to the 'off the shelf' version. He did have plenty of tape on his toms and also underneath his cymbals, though.
Just thought about it some more, it would look terrible on clear heads, but maybe if you had coated heads on, or you weren't bothered about aesthetics, then it could be interesting?
Hey Cody, thanks i just tried it on my red evens hydraulic snare and 16 inch floor.. They sound really fat, so fat. I'm on the worship team at church and use alot of toms, It sounds awesome. Thanks so much brother. -jesse-
Nothin' better than when you're surprised to discover that you absolutely love something you weren't sure was going to work at all.
Couldn't agree more! That's why it's always worth experimenting. Cheers! -Ben
"Happy little tape pieces..." Earning that Bob Ross Drummer moniker today. 👍
I so appreciate what you guys do here. I would have NEVER have thought to do this on my own. Gonna give it a try.
What a joy to watch you giggle when playing this. Your enthusiasm is contagious.
Thanks SLAD!
Just added gaff tape to a cheap Pearl 10-lug steel snare last night after viewing this video. This snare drum has always been difficult to get a good sound from, but after this trick, it actually sounds pretty good.
Thanks to Sounds Like a Drum for this video. It works better than advertised!
Just rigged up my Supra, and I love it just as much as you do, thank you for bringing this up!
Nice! This is perfect for a unique gig I have two weeks from now! I'm playing with two violins and a piano. I've been searching and experimenting for a snare sound solution. Thanks guys! Once again, you're here when I need you!
Taking my coated Ambassador off as we speak Gaff tape is ready to go..... I'll let you know how I make out you guys are great thank you so much truly an asset to the drumming community
Such an amazing hack! So good to see you happy about the discovery. Kudos to Questlove for the inspiration!
I tried this trick with my '68 Ludwig Acrolite and loved the sound! I noticed that rim shots immediately became a lot easier for me to play, even with the original 1.6mm triple-flange hoops. I've never liked a lot of overtones/over-ring from my snare drum anyway, so for me, it's an ideal setup!
Great ! Double hoop can work too, i mean an old head ( cut a large portion of the center ) and put the new head over it . Hoop will be much higher,
It s a great trick for old calfskin head too ( when you can't tune it / too stretch ) / High tuning is more easy with this technique !
I tried this on my 22x14 Sakae kick drum. Have been having some issues with too much resonance and not as much "thump" as I want. Tried filling it up with blankets and pillows, all sorts of tunings but this made by far the biggest difference! Remo Ambassador coated batter and a ported reso. Best drum hack by far!!
Thats the best snare sound ive ever heard!
It's great under the right context but it's certainly not right for everything. Context is key!
I've been doing this with regular Packing Tape for several years now. Not only around the outer diameter, but also just in the center for a CS Dot affect. Even at times taping the entire bottom surface--which, for all intents and purposes, turns a single ply head into and two ply head. Using multiple layers if so desired.
What I like about this idea vs. the Masshof method is that it doesn't mess with the tension and doesn't bend the drum hoop. Cool!
Loving the tones on this video!!! Also, just wanted to let y’all know that, when I am having troubling sleeping, your hacks and tips help me fall right back asleep. That is said as a compliment!!!! Love the channel!!!
I LOVE how much you clearly enjoyed this! They all sounded awesome!
Brother, this is happening TONIGHT. I can't believe how good this sounds.
Grooves were killer in this episode man 🔥 The high tuning sounds just like the Voodoo snare drum! Super neat trick here 👍🏼
I can taste the devils pie
Great hack. I did it on my Ludwig Acrolite, which for now is the snare for my practice kit.
Wow! I am absolutely going to do this to my 66' acrolite and get rid of my "big fat snare drum mute topper" I have on right now. Thanks alot guys!..love yalls vids always! Keep um' coming! 😁👍♥️🥁🇨🇱
The things u experiment with Cody has helped me so much thank u so much. This one was rad, def gonna try this myself
First off, I love all the stuff you're doing on this channel!
I saw something similar to this, where you fold up a piece of paper towel and duct tape it to the bottom of the head close to the edge. Great for a really fat, dead tone. I'm definitely going to try this! I don't like Moongels or those rings for the same reason you mentioned, I often switch to brushes mid-set and they get in the way.
Great work as always!
Pal when you dropped it low in Don Henley land,you definitely got my attention. Thank you.would of never thought about doing this.!!!
that is probably the best snare sound i've heard
Just did this on my Pearl 14x6.5 Modern Utility snare. Sounds gorgeous
Being a huge Alex Van Halen fan, I've put 4 strips of gaff tape in a trapezoid/triangle -like shape on top of a Coated Emperor X batter head on my 8x14 Ludwig Keystone Maple/Oak snare in medium/high tuning and I'm really close to that unique awesome "woody" AVH Brown Sound snare tone. If you've ever seen photos of Alex and his 1980 Tama Rosewood snare at the US Festival concert Memorial Day Weekend 1983 he had almost the entire batter head covered in gaff tape lol. He had quite a bit of gaff tape on his snare for the Jump video shoot as well.
Alex VanHalen's been doing it for decades! It's definitely part of his
Signature 'brown' sound!
the brown sound is eds guitar tone
@@joeydubois Ed himself said the "brown sound" term that he and Al coined was originally talking about Al's snare because Ed likened it to hitting a log.
This is such a great idea. Gonna rig up a head to keep like this around the studio.
Thank you for this hack, I've got a Sakae aluminum snare... Similar to the supraphonic, but the rimshot crack is deafening... Going to give this a go as hopefully it will soften it, and besides what you got going on is exactly the sound I've been hunting for... Thanks
I have an old Pearl 5.5x14 steel snare that I've done all sorts of mods on since I got it in 1975. I was thinking about my next mod when this episode came out. Thanks for the idea. I'm enjoying it now.
Like the low pitch sound sick
I tried it on a decent cheap steel snare drum with a factory no brand head and it sounds awesome! It really works wonderfully.
I wonder what adding more tape layers will do.
ALWAYS a great thing, to discover a new and cool way to change the sound of your drums. LOVE ALL your inputs. 🤘🥁
The sound is so nice! They should manufacture an inner ring for the same purpose.
I think I've seen heads with a dampening ring on the underside? Don't remember any names though...
Found an example. Remo Powerstroke... at least some versions.
Not sure if this was what you meant, but... yeah.
@@ziiofswe the Evans Genera Dry has a ring underneath.
@@jacobblanchardart Ah, right. I have one of those on my home kit.
@@ziiofswe yes a few models from Remo and Evans have a built-in one I remember. But a removable one would be interesting for AB sound tests.
Try this out with toms next
i was skeptical but... the proof is in the video. dang. that was an instant vibe. i'd love to know what it sounds like on a big rock snare
THIS IS GREAT! I will try this on my steel piccolo (3 x 13) to see what happens. THANK YOU!
The snare sounded compressed but is actually awesome to hear no over tones.
Funny it's like putting an EMAD but for the snare and yes the sounds fit in some electronic, hip hop music genres much a like :D.
This is another cool idea added to my vocabulary!
Results are just surprising!
I tried it on a steel shell drum, that try as I may with every conceivable cofiguration , couldn't get a sound I was happy with. High or low tuning it is now a happening thing. I still get plenty of crack and volume when needed. I used a pinstripe head. I'll try other heads in the future . However it sounds great .
That kick sounds so dope.
Thanks! UV EQ4 batter and EQ3 Reso White resonant head. Nothing inside the drum except for the sandbag we referenced in this episode: ua-cam.com/video/mWekstZjfRQ/v-deo.html
No hole on the reso?
@@danfarias4922 There's a standard port that comes pre-installed with the EQ3 reso heads.
Really nice vibe with this approach! Cheers! ✌😎
Hhuh! I would have never thought to tape the other side of the head! Cant wait to try it out
Dude I don't know if you hear this enough but your left hand is phenomenal dude. Your control is 👌🏻
Thanks!!! Glad you dug the grooves :) -Cody
I think that the calftone head makes a huge difference in the feel of the head. They tend to be more squishy feeling. Curious what your take on doing that same thing with a single ply ambassador or G1 would be. Great video, great trick!
i'm trying this asap.
at first i misunderstood what was said about where to put the gaff tape; i thought you meant on the outside perimeter of the snare side head surrounding the snare wires. maybe idea for a future video, muffling snare side in various ways?
Thank you very very much for your effort!
I was so excited about this stuff that i gave it a try right away.
But I have some concerns:
- Due to some overlapping of different tape strips it was quite difficult / strange to tune the head with itself
- It is hard to estimate how much tape you should put on. My snare was pretty much dead. Maybe my strips were too thick?!
- Couldn't you achieve the exact same sound with an thick e-ring / big fat snare drum kinda thing?
This is genius. I'm definitely gonna give this a shot on one of my upcoming sessions. Thanks for sharing this!
Love that low tuning. Think I might do this on my Taye stainless.
I have to try this! Thanks. Fun video.
Also reminds me of old school drummers running a felt strip on the bass drum. Would be cool to experiment with different materials.
In the 3 tunings the back beat just sits down, with clear ghosts. Itching to try this with various rods. Well played. Splendid stuff. Thank you lots. :-) :-)
Cody, this is AWESOME!!! I cannot wait to try this. Love your content and I’m lookin forward to seeing more with you.
Keep up the great work. 👊🏼👍🏼🥁
Thanks for watching, Joe! -Ben
Ben, this has quickly become one of my favorite channels. You guys do such a great job. Thanks for making this possible 👊🏼👍🏼😊
Nice to see.
Reminds me of a towel sound but nicer on low tuning with that nice low and high resonance you got simultaneously.
And the feel is preserved in such a great way!
@@SoundsLikeADrum Tanks, have to try!
Hey would you have a link to. The questlove interview you mentioned? Can't find it in the description.
Thanks for the video, super cool hack.
Man I’ve gone back and hunted for it but haven’t been able to find the specific one - if I do I’ll post something :) -Cody
Cheers for sharing these secrets. So many benefits!
That intro beat is bananas!
gonna go work on the acrolite
Just wow! Daddario Canada sent me the calftone 14 inch a year agonand didn’t know what to do with... because I play most pop rock stuff. Thanks for that great video!!! I will experiment now. Wow again!
Fairly high tuning: 5:08
Very high tuning: 7:38
Really low tuning (no wrinkle): 9:51
Great hack! Will try asap
When I was young and stupid(er) I put a strip of elastic cloth under the snare head, straight across the middle.
Perhaps not the most cleverestest thing to do if you want to tune the head evenly, but as I recall it ('twas ~40 years ago after all!) it sounded a bit like this.
My guess is that since the cloth was elastic, it "bounced off" when I hit the drum, giving it a little bit of breathing space... and when it returned to the underside of the head some milliseconds(?) later, it removed all the ringing and such.
And the top was clean and nice.
That makes sense- that's a common treatment for bass drums- ua-cam.com/video/vfDLHROQW4I/v-deo.html
@@SoundsLikeADrum Yep, as I recall it, I did that too... I think that's where I got the idea to try it on the snare too.
I played mostly metal though (still do), but I didn't always have control over the room, so some of them had lots and lots of echo so I wanted my drums "dry" to compensate a bit.
Great idea, going to do this. *It's called 'Gaffer's tape', btw. - used by film & video crews (Gaffers).
Yes, gaff/gaffer/gaffer’s tape are pretty much all interchangeable these days. We use a bunch of it on set here (far more than on drums!)
Awesome video! Definitely gonna try this.
What cymbals are you using?
similar to the p3/p4/p77 heads. very cool.
Actually quite different- yes, there’s an underlay at the edge but the mass, thickness, and material dramatically alters the sound and overall effect.
@@SoundsLikeADrum i made an underlay with a 1" strip/ring of red mechanic's rag, and i agree, while the concept is similar, by putting it into practice with a material that is not mylar, and has nonuniform mass around the perimeter, it gives a much more strongly isolated batter tone.
DUDE!! that sounds awesome
Going to try this on my Pearl modern utility 14x8 maple. Quite tough to get a good sound out of it.
So the gaff tape is right up against the metal collar of the head?
Great video guys, I think I will also do this to my acrolite for that low fat sound!
It’s up to the flesh hoop (the aluminum portion of the head). The collar is the curve that covered in gaff tape but the contact point with the bearing edge is really just inside the collar (closer to the center of the head). Cheers!
-Ben
Ive tried this a few times on bass drum heads but by taking a long piece of gaff tape and using it in place of a felt strip.
Would love a video about the different tunings for a Deep kick drums. I've got that situation of having a 22x20" kick and trying to find the right sound can be a beast sometimes!
I hear ya - unfortunately neither of us own a super deep kick but if we end up with one on our hands we’ll do something with it! -Cody
@@SoundsLikeADrum Thanks for listening! Love the channel!
Does the tape around the edge help lower overall snare volume?
That’s my goal. Reducing volume and/or high pitched tones/the CRACK
Would you stretch out a brand new head first? I tune high and I worry about ripping the tape while tuning up. Is it possible that tuning the head up first to stretch it out, then apply tape and re-heading would avoid that extra give around the hoop?
You certainly could though I don’t think you absolutely need to in order to have positive results. -Ben
Gonna try this when I get home . I have the pdp concept kit but it's a old tama snare that I'm using . Good stuff man . Subscribed to your chAnnel.
your low tuning of the snare sounds identical to any and every 70's slow jam song you would hear on the radio-it makes me think of "baby come back" by the O'Jays i'd like to say-but do not hold me to the group name as I am probably wrong....
Player?
Like the sound, great hack!
Thanks for the video.
Clean head is a good thing.
~Chuck
Have you used a band-aid like Jeff Hamilton does. I would like to see how it works for you. Thanks
Nice hack !Did you see if this happened at the Tom too?
Does the tape have to be over the bearing edge? Or could it be just inside the edge to prevent eventual contact with adhesive?
Couldn’t say, we only tested this specific iteration but I’m sure it’d still have an effect, perhaps different behavior in the overtones. Try it out and let us know! -Cody
You guys are the best!!!!
Thanks for the love!
Nothing worse than a donut flying off my drum during a session! Hate those freaking things! I’m going to try this hack! Next, show us how to make an entire drum kit from Gaffer! Ha ha ha ha cheers… Keith
keith: The Big Fat Snare Drum won’t fly off and kills 100% of the overtones.
Did you like the sound you got from your Acrolite with the tape? I'm going to try it on mine with a coated ambassador. Thanks for the tip!
I did! Worked like a charm :) -Cody
Awesome!
Also, that bass drum is sounding AMAZING. Any details on how that is set up and tuned?
I used to do this with sellotape many many years ago
I've tried the tape pattern like Alex Van Halen uses on an Ambassador and clear dot heads and don't personally care for it. The pattern you made looks similar to Evans' HD Dry. I have one on my black beauty and it really dries it out. Have you tried the HD Dry for comparison?
I have! And I like that too, but this configuration for me seems to have both more crack and more sensitivity. I run the HD Dry for heavy hitting though and it kills - this one here is ultimately still a thin head and I could wreck it if I was really bashing :) -Cody
I would be curious to hear it with different amounts of tape. Maybe not full around. Half in half or maybe just top bottom and sides there’s so many things you can try
I've been thinking about sticking an e-ring underneath my evans black chrome that I have on my snare for a while. This makes me want to try it even more.
This is VERY hit or miss- the e-ring usually gets crumpled up pretty quickly (this obviously depends on the bearing edge and tension you're applying) since it's not attached to the drumhead the way the overtone control ring on the Evans Genera is. Still, always worth experimenting!
-Ben
@@SoundsLikeADrum thank Ben! Maybe I'll try it out when it's time to replace my head.
Do you think it would work with other type of head?
As soon as I finished watching the video I did that to my Natal Copper snare and it sounds GREAT! Never would've thought to do it on my own, there's no turning back now ;P
The high tuning reminded me of the sound of a marching snare.
Does this dial back the overall volume of the snare?
I get complaints about my snare from almost every Sound Guy I ever encounter. I have a Magnetone Snare (if you’ve never heard of them, look them up!) with a Bubinga Top and Maple Bottom. So naturally it’s a LOUD snare. I’ve tried every head combo I can think of, and I still get complaints.
Right now I have a Hydraulic Blue on the batter and I’m wondering if this hack would help with the overall volume.
Thanks!
Certainly worth a try - it really cuts down the harsh part of the overtones and focuses the body of the drum. I’d recommend! -Cody
Another excellent episode! One question - When you tuned waaay low on the snare, did you leave the snare side alone and just loosen the batter head? It sounded FAN-freakin-TASTIC!
As I recall, we dropped the reso VERY slightly for the lower tuning but it was incredibly minor. That's one of the benefits of not having the snare reso overcranked from the start. Cheers! -Ben
Sounds Like A Drum Cool, thanks for the reply! I sense that you guys are kinda ‘anti-Tune-bot’ , but this is one of those things it’s great for. When discussing drum tunings, we can now quantify tension precisely,
where up until now we could only use vague, subjective terms like “just past wrinkle”, “table top tight’, and “medium”. I agree that a TuneBot shouldn’t be RELIED on as a tuning device, but it is an excellent tool for replicating sounds precisely and for sharing information. We now have access to the exact tunings used by some iconic drummers, which is amazing. And we can precisely reproduce tunings that some of our favorite UA-cam drummers use... wink, wink, nudge, nudge. I really think being able to talk about tensions in an exact way adds to the discussion, I hope you guys will think about it. Thanks again!
@@DZNTZ You're very welcome! I wouldn't say that we're 'anti-TuneBot' but rather that we're more than happy tuning with our ears. It's an incredibly common misconception (and one that we don't wish to perpetuate) that using the numbers that someone provides from a device that quantifies tension or pitch will allow you to reproduce that sound. That's simply not the case.
While terms like "just above a wrinkle" may be quite subjective, that's perfectly fine (and often more relevant for people regardless of the equipment they're using) for a starting point. In the end- it's about what you HEAR. There are a multitude of variables at play outside of just the tension that heads are under when it comes to replicating a tuning and your best aid is going to be your ear when it comes to the fastest way to reproducing sounds. It just comes down to ear training, and while I know that's not the answer quite a few people are looking for- it's just like developing any performance technique. You have to practice it.
We love the idea of something like a TuneBot when it comes to maintaining a specific drum (for example, during a long recording session where you may be changing out heads or maintaining the tuning). That said, we've both tech'd for sessions were we simply referenced a recording of the drum and went from there with our ears.
We appreciate the request and we always love the feedback. We believe that quantifying elements of the sounds for the purpose of these videos gets away from what matters most- the SOUND of the drum. We'll be producing an episode on this in the future as it is something that comes up from time to time.
Cool sound... I'll try it on my LM402... How about the toms and floor toms ?
Gotta try it and on the toms and see what you think!
Do you love the quest for different sounds? We do. That's why Evans has released Gafftone. Our legendary Calftone head has been pre-muffled with quality gaffer's tape. When your creative gets stuck, stick with Gafftone.
It's as if we saw the future here... ua-cam.com/video/K1Nt8-qoZ5s/v-deo.html
I wonder if black electrical tape would work? It is stretchy and might be easy to shape as you install it in one long piece. Perhaps two layers if needed.
It's possible. The thing we love about gaffers tape is that we have it around and use it for all sorts of things and it doesn't leave residue.
Hi, electrical tape works just fine 😀
How is this a different sound from what an off the shelf Remo Powerstroke head offers? Seems like the same concept
Do Questlove use it on another drums in set?
Would it be possible yo do this without gaff tape, or will the different tape have a differe t effect on the sound? And incredible drumming man!
It would be possible but we strongly recommend sticking with (ah yes, that pun was bound to happen at some point...) gaffers tape to minimize the mess. As this stuff is experimental, your adventure is at your own risk. If you don’t have gaffers tape, it’s absolutely worth picking up a roll.
-Ben
@@SoundsLikeADrum Thanks man I will probably pick a roll soon then. And also what are some of those heads you said were pre-muffled or had a ring on the edge? I'm wondering what the effect of the tape would be one those heads.
The heads referred to would be the Evans Genera/Genera Dry/Genera HD/Genera HD Dry. Cheers!
I know this is a D'addario sponsored page, but this seems very similar to what the remo muff L rings do
There's also the old Dave Mattack's trick of gaffer taping a star pattern in the center of the batter head. I think he'd be using a single ply coated like an Ambassador.
Yep- though with a very different effect. Adding mass to the center of the head drops the fundamental of the head and puts a bit more emphasis on it while retaining a bit of the high end. Essentially what a Power Center Dot or Controlled Sound dot does. -Ben
Sounds Like A Drum - I had a lesson with Dave Mattacks a couple of years ago. The head on his snare was one of the ones with a factory fitted black dot on the underside of the head. I can't remember the brand, but he seems to have switched to the 'off the shelf' version. He did have plenty of tape on his toms and also underneath his cymbals, though.
Hey guys, great channel!
Out of interest, do you think this would work on toms?
Just thought about it some more, it would look terrible on clear heads, but maybe if you had coated heads on, or you weren't bothered about aesthetics, then it could be interesting?
Hey brother, would you think it would make as much of a difference on hydraulic heads? Awesome stuff by the way 👌
I think it will, but less so than with a standard head for sure 👍🏻 -Cody
Hey Cody, thanks i just tried it on my red evens hydraulic snare and 16 inch floor.. They sound really fat, so fat. I'm on the worship team at church and use alot of toms, It sounds awesome. Thanks so much brother.
-jesse-