Wrinkle-Rid Tuning Method | Season Six, Episode 14
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- Опубліковано 18 вер 2023
- Just get rid of the drumhead wrinkles and your drum will be in tune.
“Do not overthink this! This is not rocket science…”
Could it really be THAT simple? You don’t have to worry about listening along the way, matching pitches between lugs, or considering the relationship between batter and reso heads? We’ll demonstrate this method of tuning and compare/contrast the results with tuning by ear.
*All of the full kit interludes in this episode feature the drums tuned by ear.
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When my band recorded our album back in june i was pleasantly surprised at the speed and accuracy of the engineer's ability to tune drums. he is a drummer himself and has been working in the industry recording albums for 27 years. He would play the drum with one hand and tune with the other hand. I asked him about this because I've always put a certain amount of tension onto a head using the star pattern before hitting it and evening out the tone.
He plainly told me, "don't be afraid to hit it and always be wary of people telling you 'tips and tricks' for drum tone. the drum will tell you what it needs, we just have to listen. It's your job to make the band sound good, it's my job to make you sound good, and that all starts right here."
Go figure- want to get to a sound you like? Listen as you go. This is the way.
After a lifetime of doing the cris-cross method, like since 1990, I started using the method Roy Burns demonstrated in an Aquarian video from the 90's.
I start by finger tightening the lugs, and then go around the drum getting the lugs even.
This changed EVERYTHING. My drums have never felt or sounded this good. The dynamic range is wide. This method is also VERY fast. I get tuned up in no time with this method.
The scary thing is that I've been called into recording studios to tune drums. I now feel like I cheated them because I doubt those sounds were anywhere near what Im getting now.
Great video. I tried the wrinkle-rid method years ago and I completely agree with you. The only way to learn to tune a drum is to experiment and use your ears.
This is one of those things where I know this is the right answer, but trying to tune on my own for years I was never happy and ever since I got a tune bot, I couldn’t be happier!
I love Rob Brown. Really I do. His no-BS approach to everything he does is so refreshing, and makes learning about playing drums (and about the drums themselves) a joy. But his wrinkle-tuning method…sorry. Thanks for shedding some much-needed light on a very important subject, and for doing it so diplomatically.
This was diplomatic? It was a hit piece.
I think that Rob’s ‘un-wrinkle’ method is more of a quick fix suggestion, and not the bottom line on getting the drum to sound its best i.e. great in the middle of a gig when you can buy an extra 2 minutes between tunes / sets.
As well, probably quite useful for those folks who’ll admit that they’re really not sure how to tune their kit …which, in my 45+ years playing the instrument, seem to be the majority of drummers - both pro and hobbyists.
Hmmm, based on the way it's described in his videos- this method does all that's needed. We've seen similar struggles to what you describe- a lot of people across the spectrum of experience struggle with tuning. That's why we created this channel; we wanted to share our knowledge, expertise, and experiences to help demystify all of this. Quick fixes couched as a simple way to get a tolerable sound are one thing but we don't feel like a mediocre drum sound should be end result. Many drummers aren't ever taught that tuning and ear training require practice and that can be quite misleading.
@@SoundsLikeADrum And - no doubt about it - your channel does a great job of drilling down to the fine details of how to get any drum kit to sound its best for a wide variety of musical situations and environments!
I only tried the Rob Brown method once and it just sounded way off. Not sure if I was doing something wrong, but I've stuck to ear tuning ever since. 🤷♂️
The problem with the Rob Brown method is that it's lowest possible tension which doesn't always work. It's a good place to start however.
Thanks for another insightful video!
I tried the Rob Brown method the last time I tuned my toms, but in a slightly different way. Instead of pushing down with my palm, I placed a single portion-bag (approx. 250 grams) from one of my ankle weights in the center of the drumhead. Then I used a star-pattern for tightening the lugs in small increments until the wrinkles disappeared, tapping and listening to the results from time to time. After the wrinkles were gone, I took the bag off of the heads and the they already sounded pretty good and almost completely in tune with themselves. It took one more round of fine-tuning and my toms were ready to go, and there was much less guessing and re-tuning compared to when I took the procedure using only my ears. The time factor didn't (and doesn't) matter much to me, so I was not looking to save time, I just wanted to get rid of the unnecessary hassle, which the combination of those two methods seems to have achieved.
Greetings from Germany!
Yet another great debunking video. Thank you for the help you are providing to the drumming community.
I too have tried the wrinkle method and wasn't quite happy with the sound or feel. My drums have never sounded better than when I take the time the tune each lug to an even tuning. Thanks for the video!
Fantastic. Masterfully done 😁
Great video! Would you please make a video using the drum tune pro app (or maybe tunebot device) vs the tension watch device and let us hear the results?
My thoughts are, you have to develops your ear, which takes experience, (and experimentation), and that all equates to time. So, until your ear improves, there are no quick fixes. Thanks for the great work you do, guys.
I recently bought a really old (30s-40s) vintage slingerland 16 marcher to use as a bop bass drum and I’ve found with the oversized shell, tight fitting heads, snare beds, and stiff tension rods hearing individual lug pitches and tuning normally is difficult. I’ve found using this method actually works pretty good if your really careful to get a usable baseline you can then tweak to get the kinda “flappy” sound out of the heads. Pretty niche but it works for the application.
Thank you for yet another informative & articulate video. I would say that the only way to get a good drum sound quickly is to have practiced doing so. Like many other worthwhile pursuits, knowledge on how to achieve a specific drum sound comes from many areas; not limited to time, experimentation, repetition, & patience.
I'm gonna be the black sheep in this herd. I absolutely love this tuning method. The harder you push down on the head, the more tension is required to get the wrinkles out, leading to a higher pitch. The softer you press down, the lower tension required, giving you a lower pitch. This method is also highly dependent on your ability to maintain even pressure with your palm while moving around on the drum. The less control you have, the more wild your tuning is going to sound lug to lug afterward. But as all things, that's my preference, as most of the time my kit is usually rolling out of the flight cases and into back stage/ a rehearsal room where i cant hear nuthin with no time to properly tune.
If it works for you, that's great! What you described here seems like a fundamental flaw related to the consistency that is supposedly provided by this method. If you remove your hand from the head altogether and slowly bring the tension up, you can play the drum as you go rather than searching for the presence of wrinkles.
Thanks Cody! Personally I see a compromise here. I think the Beatdown method is great to quickly get you 75% of the way there. I combine three things. One, the wrinkle method, two I use a drum dial to ensure all tension rods are the same, again fairly quick and easy, three I tune up or down all tension rods evenly to get the sounds I prefer. Like you said, I don’t think there is a right or wrong method, it’s whatever gets you to the desirable sound you’re looking for. BTW, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen your drums with any muting options; like Moon Gels, Drumtacs, Remo Rings, etc. Do you prefer not to use any of those? If not I’m interested in why?
Thanks for the video Cody! Can you comment on where “finger tight” feels right for you? Should it be the point we can’t crank the tension rod further by hand or should be a lighter pressure applied to find the stopping point?
Thanks for all your hard work and be well!
Cody doesn’t respond to comments but I’m happy to field this as I believe we both have the same approach- “finger tight” is imperfect, particularly if the lugs/tension rods aren’t in great condition. That said, we tension to the point that no additional tension can be applied by fingers on the threaded portion of the tension rods. The imperfection of this first step is accounted for when you start tuning by ear. -Ben
"Getting rid of wrinkles" has been used for decades, don't know why some call it Rob Brown's method. It's a good starting point to learn how to tune, but, I agree with Cody, it just doesn't sound right by itself (sounds really sloppy) and needs more detailing.
People seem to have a habit of attributing concepts/methods/ideas/etc. to the place where they heard about it first, often assuming that's the origin of whatever is being showcased. Rob's videos on this method have (not at all surprisingly) become quite popular.
For me the trick is to combine different tuning techniques or approaches to tuning for maximum effect. I might start by getting rid of the wrinkles, although I'm always much more careful about tensioning the lugs. Then check the tuning by ear, and as a last step, take the tune-bot to the drum for fine tuning and to be able to recreate the tuning at a later point if it sounds good.
I tune my second floor tom (16x14) really low compared to the rest of them. I use a single kick and the 16" tuned the way makes it sound close to my bass drum
I use a different version as a starting point. I use a single finger in the middle, with less force, and tension each rod in a star pattern a little at a time until the wrinkles are gone.
If one still has a wrinkle, I can turn that rod a hair more.
That gets the classic JAW tuning, of which I use as a starting point to tune higher.
My 14 and 16 thunder there, but only behind the kit, so I tune the 14 up to "punk floor tom" levels, and then tune the 12 and 16 to sound good with it. Projects like crazy and thunders in the room.
Thank you, guys! That tuning method makes no sense to me. If I was a guitar player and someone told me that I could tune my instrument perfectly by tightening the strings to certain tensions without listening to it, I'd probably want to hit them over the head with my guitar. Drums are musical instruments. They produce sounds. The idea that you can tune them "perfectly" without even listening to them is kind of absurd, in my opinion. Taking some time, getting each lug in tune with the others (I use the star method--always have), and LISTENING, are the only ways to assure that your drums will sound good. Rob's a bit of a didact, so I wouldn't want to argue with him. But this is a bit loony. Good sound is the whole point, isn't it? And once you've done it enough times, tuning the drums in a reasonable amount of time is not only entirely possible, it's second nature.
I like Rob Brown's videos, he seems very intelligent and he is a good player. I am not sold on this tuning method, though. The only way I can see this method being functional is if you are using heads that are already pre-dampened, such as a Pinstripe. Because those drums have so many less high overtones, you don't have clashing overtones to begin with.
Just curious, at your typical preferred tuning, when you press on the head, do wrinkles appear?
Due to the subjective and context-dependent nature of drum tuning, we tune lots of drums into lots of different ranges. Its very rare that we’ll see any wrinkles when applying any sort of pressure to the center of the head after tuning but it could happen. That said, wrinkles are far less common when you’ve taken the time to methodically balance the tension around the drum. This will also allow you to tune lower if you choose to.
I like tuning by ear with the two key method best
I usually do this method with my kick drum batter, but not on my toms. When I do this, I go in a circle pattern with a 180 degree turn at a time.
Happy belated birthday to Rob Brown!!!🎉
Admire all the self-control, but video could have been shorter if Cody had just said "this wrinkle tuning method is bollocks"
Ha! We prefer to demonstrate the methodology and get into the objective details rather than simply offer a subjective review absent of substantive justification.
I always thought that in this method you still tune the same as before (1/4 turn on one lug, go to the opposite lug and so on) but while pressing down in the center of the head. So you get even tension on all sides until the wrinkles disappear. Turning one lug until the wrinkles are gone is a bad idea all together. Watched Robs video and only now realized that he does it in the way you've shown here which physically cannot result in even tension.
If you tune as you would always tune but you only go "just above wrinkle" the you will end up with a very low tone. But it's essential that you only do small increments on each lug and still go in a sort of star pattern around the drum. Kinda weird that Rob does not do that
The Rezo gives over all tone
I'll say this, Rob Brown seems like a super nice guy.
For sure! Let us be clear, this is in no way an attack on him or his character. We simply wanted to take a closer look at this approach since it was brought up
Quite a bit in the comments of a recent episode of ours.
I tried the iron, didn’t work ruined two heads😊
Don't overthink it... 😉
needs to be hotter....
this "works" better for small kits, i wonder how this method would sound with a 12", 13" 14" and 16" toms, in relation to each other... would the shell size make enough difference?
That's an excellent point! Of course, it's also stated that you can adjust the pitch simply by tensioning a single batter and the opposing reso tension rod as demonstrated in this episode but your results may vary.
this right here is a recipie for disaster... as one attempts to first get the drums to sound alike, then tune them up by ear, in relation to each other. leads to a spiraling down, of 'fixes' and less 'actual tuning'..... this is when your drums sound like garbage, and you need to go back to the drawing board..... and start watching your video's, beginning at #1............@@SoundsLikeADrum
i've never actually tried it. it seems like maybe an okay method to get to some kind of starting point, but definitely not the be-all end-all of tuning methods. i actually have not found anything interesting on that channel, but YT seems to think i'm in love with it because i watch drum videos. it got to the point where i had to click 'don't recommend channel' (although it still shows up in search results. riddle me that one, batman). i prefer to watch videos of talented musicians or videos that are actually going to give me some useful insight (shameless nod to Sounds Like a Drum).
having said all that, my best advice is (as with mixing) trust your ears. if it sounds good, it IS good.
First! (ha ha). I always appreciate hearing your thoughts and your drums. Best wishes.
I would no sooner tune a drum without listening to it than I would drive a car with my eyes closed. Just saying. Great video yet again!
If u use this method, as i did when i was younger then u have to settle for mediocre drum sound. I personally put the head on and dont seat it, break the glue or stretch it at all and just tune it til it sounds good to my ears.
Is this method perfect? No.
It will get you 90% of the way there imo. It is an acquired skill you have to practice, the same as any other tuning method.
One thing that was not mentioned is that if you need to tune quickly in a noisy venue, this could save you. Works great for a gigging drummer.
Really... "Aim higher". :)
This was my problem with the Rob Brown style of “tuning.” There’s no life and no punch when tuning like this. My DW maple/mahagony rack tom mounted off of my bass drum mount resonates for ever. I have to tune the bottom head much higher to make it resonate less and get a good punchy tone with 5 cotton balls inside. My floor tom has the bottom head tuned where it stops sounding like a lug is to loose at the lowest pitch, top head is basically just above finger tight also with 5 cotton balls.
A rack tom is a completely different instrument from a floor tom and much be treated 100% differently in terms of how to tune to get the best fundamental pitch from your toms.
There is absolutely no one size fits all tuning method for all tom sizes.
Nice video.
I use iDrumtune app on my phone or tubebot for fundamental pitch on my drums on batter heads.For pop rock music this is my tuning:
Snare G#3 208Hz
12" Tom A2 110Hz
14" Tom E2 83Hz
13" Tom G2 98Hz
16" Tom C2 66Hz
I enjoy your "myth-buster" style videos.
I am a big Rob Brown fan.
I don't tune ... i tension using a tension watch from Tama ... but i have seen and used Rob Browns method and it has worked for me in a pinch when my tensioner isn't available.
Buddy is reputed to have tensioned his drums, not tuned them.
BTW i am tone deaf pretty much, so a visual aide to setting my tension helps me a lot.
No rule is hard and fast ... just like 40 strand snares really work well on wide snare beds but not so much (in my experience) narrow snare beds.
The problem with the tension watch is that as we play and stretch the head, its density and elasticity gets modified all around. So after a while, equal tension doesn't translate to equal pitch, I'd better use a tuner that shows frequency
@@orti1283 I’d argue that a specific pitch isn’t required for tuning drums. Tension methods work great. I also don’t believe anyone that uses the tension method does so without using their ears. Once you know your drum, it’s easy to get the sound you want using any method really.
A+ Content as usual. I'm not shocked that a more scientific method that includes listening is the route chosen by this channel. You guys have always shown a more in depth methodology and exploration to achieving a desired sound. I like to experiment and try different things and for that reason I will continue to watch and learn from what you guys do.
Rob brown's drums sound amazing. isnt that all that matters?
This isn’t about Rob Brown’s drums. This is about a method of tuning and how functional it is.
I think that method works great... and recently I watched a video of nick d,Virgilio on sweet water demonstrating the same thing... just taking out the wrinkles...drums sounded great 🤷🏼♂️...
Another thing to keep in mind about most other channels and their demonstrations of drums sounds- they're most definitely EQ'd, compressed, and generally produced to sound good. They're not going to demo a sound that ISN'T desirable. For what it's worth, it seems like applying a bit more common sense in terms of balancing tension not just by eye but with similar numbers of turns on each tension rod would have significantly greater results. But at that point, you might as well remove your hand from the head and PLAY the drum as you go so you can actually hear where it's at.
@@SoundsLikeADrum the point your missing is. Regardless of what they may or may not have to the sound afterwards was, that he used the removing the wrinkle technique...if the drums sounded poor to begin with, no amount of eq and trickery is going fix them...🤷🏼♂️
Quite to the contrary- not missing any points here but your statement isn't entirely true- EQ can absolutely compensate for issues with overtones and compression can make a weak, thinner-sounding drum tone have more punch and/or tone. A bit of reverb can be added to fill out a choked drum sound by synthesizing resonance. There's actually quite a bit of "EQ and trickery" that can be done to alter the sound from what was heard in the room. So sure, regardless of all of that, he used a particular method. But if you have to make up for the inadequacies of a method in post production then that's a bit of an issue for anyone who wants to get great drum sounds in the room without having to record and mix themselves, right?
I've seen first-hand where videos produced by certain entities even use sample replacement/reinforcement to bolster drum tones...in videos about the sound of certain products. I'm not claiming that any of this was done in the video you watched but it's more of a common practice than you might think. All of that aside, as is mentioned in the video, if this method works for you then that's great. We followed the instructions to a T and felt like it came up short and that's why we did the comparison that we did here.
@@SoundsLikeADrum I’m not quite sure you did follow the method to a T... because you actually don’t need to tighten the lugs... you just get them touching the hoop... as someone else pointed out, the more you push the head down, more turning of the key is needed and thus the the tighter the head is going to be.. lugs just touching the hoop and gentle pressure is all that’s needed...
Always thought this tuning method was silly. Definitely just seems like the lazy drummers pandering to the lowest common denominator. If you actually do like the sound then go for it, but saying that this is the best your drums will sound is ridiculous, and it really doesn’t take much experience to hear that
Terrible video. Was hoping to see you actually ironing out the wrinkles.
But for real, another fantastic and informative video 👏
A few things... Rob Brown's video detailing this method was meant to get new drummers started with a usable tone. It wasn't meant to represent the height of his knowledge or ability. It was in response to the many, many tuning tutorials on UA-cam that new drummers found to be too complicated or detailed for their skill level as newbies. That's the stated purpose of his video. Personally, I count your own videos among those that were too complicated (and too pretentious) for those of us who needed to just find a starting point. I found his video on this method after becoming frustrated with your own, and he helped me a lot. Next, to my recollection, he never states in that video that this is the "lowest possible usable tone." Maybe some of the adherents of the method have stated that in the comments somewhere... I don't know. It's also not the only video he has on the subject, and he never says you shouldn't learn to listen to your drums or match your lugs, etc. You're putting words in his mouth and you're misrepresenting his intent and his ability. I don't come here for a hit piece on Rob Brown. And I won't be coming here anymore. I have no problem with you critiquing any particular style or method. But I have a problem with you being dishonest and disrespectful in the process. A word of advice: you often let your defensiveness (whether at comments you receive or other creators) show through in your videos. It's not a good look.
Any by the way, though I use hybrid means of tuning now, I NEVER had a problem with the wrinkle method. Nine times out of ten, the lugs were in tune with each other or needed only the slightest adjustment. Like Rob, I put the drum on a chair or the floor, where it's stable and not bobbing around the whole time under the weight of my hand. Maybe it didn't work for you because you got it wrong.
I call Robs method the compensation method. The wrinkle method compensates for bearing edges that aren't level, hoops that aren't true, and poorly manufactured heads. It doesn't matter how expensive your kit is, there are plenty of videos showing poor build quality on top level drums. I have tried all gadgets available and have yet to find a drum that all lugs match tone when using a drumdial. Tension and tone are very different things. Those wrinkles your getting out are where there is some kind of imperfection. More tension is applied at the wrinkled area because the head isn't contacting the shell very well. Once the head and shell contact is established then match the lug tones. My kit is a Ludwig maple classic. The bearing edge is 45 degree without any roundover or back cut. I can't use remo heads because the heads round over to the surface area. If i try to put one on, it has to forced and then it doesn't move. Aquarian seems to fit my drums the best. The point is everything on the drum has to work together and when they don't, a method like Rob's has to be used to compensate for imperfections.
I've been using this method for 20 years and never one complaint in studio or live, you are leaving out the small details of this method btw, and it was never meant as the be all end all solution in the first place.
Glad to hear that it’s working for you! We didn’t leave out any details from what was presented on Rob’s videos in which he also described that it is all you need. Of course, we believe tuning is all about the subtlety and nuance so the details really are key.
Rob Brown is an awesome drummer, however he is completely tone deaf regarding how drums should sound, just listen to his videos! His "tuning" method is sloppy and lazy, it will at best get you a barely decent tone. Don't overthink it? True, but don't completely overlook it either... 🤷♂
Ummmm 25 year drummer here. No need to reinvent the wheel...
Care to elaborate? No wheels have been reinvented here…
How can you not understand that the palm of your hand while pressing the center of the drums your fingers are pressing on different spot? Wherever your fingers are placed there will be wrinkles, no matter the position of your palm. Completely ridiculous click-bait. Unsubscribed
We understand just fine. We simply followed the instructions as illustrated in Rob’s video. This was a review of that method…not clickbait at all. If this isn’t your cup of tea then unsubscribing is probably a good way to go. ✌️