Drum Tuning via Tension | Season Six, Episode 8
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- Опубліковано 7 сер 2023
- We LOVE exploring the science of drum sounds here and one aspect we’ve yet to delve into is drumhead tension during tuning, especially as it relates to the mass and feel of the drumhead, as well as the resulting resonant pitch. We’ve teamed up with DrumDial to provide some cursory insights into how these characteristics relate to each other. We’re even putting Cody to the test to see how accurate his ears are…
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PRODUCTION PARTNERS:
GIK Acoustics (sonic treatment): sladl.ink/GIK
AKG Audio (microphones): sladl.ink/AKG
Evans Drumheads: sladl.ink/EvansDrumheads
ProMark Drumsticks: sladl.ink/ProMarkDrumsticks
Signal chain:
Mics - Focusrite Clarett 8Pre USB- Mac Studio w/Pro Tools 2022.5
Recorded at 48kHz / 24bit
Overheads: (Matched Pair in Glyn Johns - Cardioid) AKG C314 sladl.ink/C314Pair
Snare, Toms: AKG C518M sladl.ink/C518M
Kick Drum: AKG D12VR sladl.ink/AKGD12VR
All demos are raw audio - no EQ, compression, gating, or reverb
Acoustic Treatment:
GIK 242 Acoustic Panels: sladl.ink/GIK242
GIK 4A Alpha Pro Series Diffusor/Absorber: sladl.ink/GIK4aAlphaPro
GIK Evolution PolyFusor Combination Sound Diffuser/Absorber: sladl.ink/GIKEvolutionPolyFusor
GIK Tri-Trap Corner Bass Trap: sladl.ink/GIKTriTrap
Drums:
Pearl Masters Maple Custom Extra w/70’s Ludwig Supraphonic
Cymbals:
22” Jesse Simpson clone of old Zildjian A, 15" Zildjian Kerope Hihats
Drumheads:
Snare: Evans G1 & G12 coated / Snare Side 300
Snare Wires: PureSound Custom Pro Steel 20-strand
Toms: N/A
Kick Drum: Evans UV EQ4/ EQ3 Coated White Reso
Hosted by: Cody Rahn & Ben O’Brien Smith
Production & Consulting: Ben O'Brien Smith @ Cadence Independent Media
Episode Sponsor: DrumDial Inc.
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the repeatability using the drum dial is why i like it. tune your stuff, measure it, write it down, and replicate it over and over again.
That sort of recall is super valuable. On the flip side, make sure you spend as much time experimenting beyond your settings. Your new favorite sound is likely the one you haven't tried yet...
Good info. I change timpani heads for schools regularly, and I use a Drum Dial every time to get a baseline tension, then fine tune by ear. It saves a good chunk of time seating the head evenly before the final tweaking.
The precision of your ear tuning is impressive. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Finally. You let it in. Thank you. It's a great tool for the basic tuning and I check my snare several times during rehearsals with it, without bothering anybody in the room. 🙏 Love this gadget.
The Drum Dial really helped me learn to tune
I tried it but didn’t get on with it for some reason lol
Me too
1. your videos are really helpful the whole approach of your explanations helps every single drummer to sound better - that's super personable
2. A friend lent me the drum dial: I can confirm that you can also stretch the Drumhead quite precisely and evenly with your ears and thumbs on the drumhead - but with a measuring tool you can see the minimal deviations exactly. I smiled at your video because I also often only had little difference between my tension screws - but with the DRUM DIAL I was able to balance this out elegantly - and my entire KiT benefited from the even head tension - simply less ugly overtones without additional damping.
I just threw my Drum Dial on a new to me snare (Ludwig 6 1/2x14 COW Rocker with a reverse dot coated CS) that I rebuilt this week. I was at 88 on the batter, 78 on the snare side... lol. To me it is a super useful tool for consistency, speed and in situations where I either can't hear the drum or I can't make noise. Usually I'll tune a new drum/head combo by ear until I like it, check it with the Drum Dial, match all the lugs and then write the number on the head. That way I know I have a good baseline as time goes on or if I need to swap out really quickly.
It's very impressive how close you came with tuning by ear 👏 I think tuning devices are really a way to develop your ear training, and for that reason, I for one, subscribe to them. As always a great video's, guys. Thank you.
I've been using the DrumDial for quite a few years. I do find it a great tool for those times when I have to change a head during a gig in a noisy club. Because there is usually some recorded music playing through the house system when the band is not on, I can't really hear enough to tune solely by ear. On top of that, I'm usually wearing some form of ear protection the whole time I'm in the club, not only to save what's left of my hearing -- I wear hearing aids now due to long history of hearing loss, i.e. I was hard of hearing long before I started playing drums -- but also I don't tire so quickly when my ears don't have to deal with music blasting over the loudspeakers.
When I'm not in a noisy environment, I use the DrumDial to quickly tune up and then use my ears to finish up. Recently I had an experience where I had to quickly replace a drum head on my snare -- I was trying something you guys suggested, putting tape on the under side of the batter -- and I had forgotten to bring my DrumDial. In between songs I was tweaking the tuning, again using my ears, until it sounded right to me. A week later, at the same venue, having brought my DrumDial, I though I would check the tension on my snare -- same one as the week before. I figured I would even out the tension. To my surprise, only one tension rod needed tweaking. The tension of the head was pretty consistent all the way round. It's nice to know that I can still tune by ear!
Keep doing what you do. I've learned a lot from you over the years.
I have a drum dial and used it occasionally but as stated in the video, found it not as useful when going for a specific sound. That said, I never thought about using it to get to a objective criteria regarding how the drum feels. Not sure how important this is to others but for me, how that snare drum feels under my hands is as important as how it sounds. It definitely affects the way I play.
i got a drum dial as a gift quite a few years ago. right off the bat, i tuned the drums up to around where i thought they should be and then 'dialed them in' with the drum dial to all the same tensions. i was nerdy enough to write down the results with the intent of recreating those tunings.
i don't use it anymore as i am changing snare drums out a lot and, as you pointed out, our ears can't really pick out these minute differences in recordings. it does, however, produce a clearer tone to my ears as well.
as far as feel.... this is why i like 13 in snares. you can tune them up to the same pitch as a 14, but you get a more plush feel from the drum since there's less tension on the heads.
Great video, pretty much answered any what if scenario one might run into.
Also, love that groove at 10:05. Immediately went and got behind my kit.
Was just in the studio this weekend and was using a drum dial for the first time. It was a lifesaver. Helped save our snare sound, made sure toms weren't detuned between takes, and got us up and running quickly after a lug screw fell out inside the floor tom. Never owned one before, but it's definitely a must-have for me now.
The ethos and the culture that ‘Sounds like a drum’ is putting out in the world is just the Gold standard musical honest way for people to approach their instrument and even life.
Use your ears, use your body, try it try it try it, take your time, find what you like in the moment in the location and make it yours and connect with your craft.
Just amazing
The drum world fucking NEEDS this shit.
Great work guys 👏🏽 Never stop
Much love
You are very kind. Thank you for the support 🙏🏻
It’s a handy tool. I use it for a baseline and then tune by ear.
Since you have one in the studio now, you can give us reference readings in future videos.
i feel like these guys do enough work that they don't need to dig out the drum dial to take readings on drums they didn't tune with the tool in the first place.
When tension/feel is something we're looking to communicate, we'll include the information but one of the reasons why we haven't provided information likes this in the past is that it's incredibly misleading without the appropriate context. We still strongly believe that there is more to be learned by listening and matching sounds than simply reproducing an abstract number for a sound. As we proved here, different heads will produce different sounds given the same number.
*waits patiently for the tunebot episode.
Your channel provides more information about sound than all the others combined. Thank you for everything you do, gentlemen.
If you made it so members had drum dial measurements for tunings in videos I could see that as a perk people would sign up for. With how helpful this channel is, people should become members even without that idea.
We've joked about that before between the two of us but wouldn't ever do such a thing. The idea of providing "presets" for sounds goes against the overall principles that we're teaching by. We will likely provide numerical information when referring to feel though, as this is an abstract that can't be conveyed through audio/video. Thank you for the kind words!
I own that tool and it is handy indeed at the end of tuning to check tension, even if don´t use it often and tune mostly by ear.
This is one of the best made and informative videos. Thx for breaking down the science of this unique gadget. Have always wondered how well it works!
You're very welcome! Glad you enjoyed it.
@@SoundsLikeADrumfor sure. I find your channel to be #1 for drummers
I've been using a drum dial for like 15 years. I finalize all drums by ear. My process involves getting the drum evened out using the drum dial, then tuning by ear to the desired tone. I then use the dial to double-check that i have the head as even as possible. I then log the number (usually just by writing it on the head) so that I can change the head out, and have it back to the same tuning in a couple of minutes. Essential tool. Way more useful than a tune-bot. Tune-bots are a replacement tool for people who can't use their ear, or don't know how. Drum dials are a supplementary tool.
I have a DrumDial and I love it. I also have a Peterson strobe app on my iPhone and I use it for gigs so, if I need to get it back to close I can use the strobe tuner and I can get it in the ballpark and finetune. Thanks again for being awesome.
Nice! We love the Peterson tuner app!
I was looking over the comments, and agree for the most part. I use a drum dial *only with my snare*, because it's so much more subtle and nuanced than the toms. I also found that, once I get the tension right on the dial, I still have to do some level of ear tuning to get the pitch just right. There was an interesting note that you provided, regarding tensioning of the snare head, and that it was tensioned lower than the batter head. I've found that even-tensioning both heads to the same value (89 in my case, with a coated batter and light reso head) reduces a lot of "unwanted" resonance or excessive ringing without killing the character of the snare. Just another variation that you might want to explore. Great point about keeping the dial out of the snare bed when tensioning the snare side. Trying to evenly tension all the way around the snare side head never turns out how you'd think it would.
I found a drum dial useful to get ballpark right when I either can’t make a sound, or I can’t hear the drum. Then I always tune by ear, as I’m ultimately after a feel and a tone, and loosely touching a topic on humans not liking absolute symmetry vs asymmetry, in the end it’s better to tune by “tone”.
Thank you so much for doing a video on this and being open and objective about it! I’m a huge fan. I tune by ear/interval first, then check with the dial. It’s a rad tool. I prefer it over a frequency meter. There’s more room for error/issues with those.
Just days ago I transitioned into being able to tune by ear, the wonders of teching for a punk festival.
The dial excels at finding and fixing cross-tension issues when changing heads. I typically get the drum about half way tensioned, double check with the dial, and then I can go up and down by ear or with a tunebot.
I used a drum dial for years and could never vibe with it. Wasn’t until I used a Tune Bot that my pitch recognition improved dramatically. Can’t imagine tuning without it. Best $100 I’ve spent on drums.
Have to jump in on this one! Great tool that I've used for years. You'll get lots of comments on this video!
This is an impressive video
Tuning by thumbpressure is annother way to go,with a little practice and experience,you can get pritty good results,works good in a loud surrounding,at a soundcheck for example,and you don't an extra tool.
Thanks for your work,allways inspiring !
Great info, I use a drum dial on all my drums. I haven't developed a tone ear yet but using the dial it has make it easier. I have 4 different snares with different types of head on them and they are all tune on the reso side @70. While the baterside go from 88 to 90 and I like how they sound. Btw love your content guys keep up the great work 👍.
I've been using Tama Tension Watch (which is basically the same thing as DD) and I am able to get to tune my drums much quicker after a complete head change. And it also helps when my kit is a backline instrument on a festival, sits on the stage overnight and needs retuning each day, I just sit at it for 5 minutes and it's bang on again.
I’ve always tuned by tension first and then pitch. I can usually feel the tension next to the lug and you can easily tell if a lug is to tight or to loose by just pushing down on the head next to the tuning rod. I’ve had amazing results with this. That being said, I’ve been curious to try a drum dial to further “dial” in the tension when trying to get a perfect sound in a recording situation.
I enjoy these videos. I would think you'd find the Tune Bot interesting based on all the science and musical relationships the heads have. They show how changing each head a little differently can result in the same fundamental but varying resonance. Each drum is different so you have to tweak it up or down, but it works. I find it neat how 2 different notes combine to give the fundamental note. It also helps for people trying to learn how the notes sound to train their ears. To me, hearing medium or tight tension is too personal, a feel thing. Plus it's another cool gadget to use!
I purchased a drum dial years back to help perfectly even out the tension I generally set my drums to, but I never liked the sound I got from my heads having equal tension across each lug; they actually sounded choked to me.
I tried the lowest, highest, and average tension readings I'd get, but my drums just never sounded "right" to me. So after about a year or two I stopped using the drum dial and worked on fine tuning the feel of tension in my fingers, and that is what helped me with tuning my drums tremendously; my drums have never sounded better after taking the time to do that.
Interesting! What was your reference point for starting out when you were using the DrumDial? Have you ever gone back and done what we did at the start of the episode, checking the readings after you tuned via your method? Also, for what it's worth, you're basically tuning via a torque-by-feel method. This can be SUPER unreliable when used without your ears to check the sound along the way. Just something to be aware of, especially when tuning different drums.
awesome video like always, genteman! It showed that the mass of the drumhead impact too much in the tension in a given pitch, therefore changing pretty much the overall tone... this just gives us endless possibilities in the same drum - just playing with lighter or heavier heads in different tunnings. Would there be some cheaper alternative to this drum dial? it costs more than my rent here in Brazil lol
I've been using a drum dial for several years now and consider it very valuable. I was out of drumming for over 30 years and apparently my ears turned to tin during that time, heh-heh. I bought a dialtune snare drum a couple of years ago (cool product, Cory has a review on this channel.. the entire head tunes up and down via a dial) so I don't need the drum dial to get the lugs in tune but an additional use for the drum dial is to check the reading in the dead center of the head. I've noted how many 'turns' of the snare drum's tuning dial I need to move between my favorite tunings.
*edit - My comment was corrected by the creator :) *
The dial indicator is interesting and it seems to cycle back on itself several times during the normal tuning up. So by using the dial alone and not an ear, you're losing those extra turns on the lugs. You might get an 88 several times throughout the turns, settling back at a particular number once the desired tuning pitch is near.
Based on our experience, this isn't the case. There's also a secondary gauge so that you can be sure you're still within the same cycle of 0-100. If you follow the directions for use, you shouldn't have any issues with this.
@@SoundsLikeADrum Oh interesting! I stand corrected and thank you very much for the information!
So in practice can one use the drum dial to balance out the relationship between the top and bottom heads of toms? I only ever seem to have problems with tuning toms, because of the difficulty in matching lug tension and matching primary resonance frequencies between the top and bottom heads.
Drum dial has a video showing the drum dial being used as a diagnostic tool. When the tension of the head is the same on each lug so is the note. If that statement isn't true then the bearing edge, hoop, or the head itself needs fixed. In the real world nothing is perfect and you are far better off using your ears. I have also seen unboxing videos of top of the line kits being inspected on a machinist table showing how uneven the bearing edges were cut. Ludwig, Gretsch and others have quality control issues or their tolerance isn't as tight as we expect. Using your ears compensates for all those imperfections. So if every lug is tuned to pitch perfectly on each lug and you take your drum dial readings and each lug is way different you know you are compensating for some kind of defect.
Very interesting video. I definitely think it is a cool device but I am proud of my capabilities to tune by ear and have spent a lot of time working on it. I think that it forms a closer relationship between your self and the instrument. I know that no matter what drum I get on I can make it sound good Without anything other than a key.
We're right there with you. That said, we found that utilizing this tool for measuring tension rather than pitch actually brought us significantly closer to understanding the instrument as we had a much better understanding of the relationship between drumhead mass, tension, and pitch that couldn't have been achieved any other way. Definitely worth it!
@@SoundsLikeADrum yeah! It was really interesting seeing and considering the differences in pitch at the same tension and feeling. Definitely brings dialing the feeling of the drum in a certain pitch to a new understanding
Thank you truly!!! So much power in what has been said here! Pitch is/was my weakness. I've been using Drum Dial about 15 years. What this channel has taught me is to IMPROVE & EMPLOY BOTH. The Drum Dial gets me there quick & consistently. (Especially swapping new heads) @soundslikeadrum has taught me how to identify & deviate / experiment by ear after the drum dial. This is especially true gigging everywhere in all changing conditions. (Where I don't have a lot of time for or even carrying a drum dial) If I tuned at home with Drum Dial, its not bad at all out in the field bring drums back into tuning by ear accounting for changing conditions. FOR THIS - THANK YOU @soundslikeadrum & Drum Dial 🤓 #madrespect
I like my drum dial. Especially tuning during practice. Gotta say in hind sight i would have went with the analog one instead of digital. The built in light is handy, but the digital read out is finicky compared to the analog needle always being right on in real time. Wish they had a lighted analog option.
All right, fine, I'll buy a DrumDial! I'm a "by ear only" person but this sold me.
Cody, you mentioned the snare side is at around 75. That seems low, no? Or is it because the reso is a much thinner head, that's it's equivalent to an 85 on the batter? I just would have thought the snare side should be tighter than that. thanks - good video and I love the DD as a check of my work.
Agreed that developing tuning by ear is a necessary skill. However, I do like to use a DD to help balance head tension by checking opposing tension rods across the drum, matching opposing pairs around the drum. That goes for replicating a previous tuning, or checking the balance of a particular sound I need or happen to be enjoying at the moment. I"ll tune further by ear to balance any pitch discrepancies I may find. +1 on being a useful tool to use while in a loud environment. It's super useful tool to have handy for many reasons.
I can tune pretty well by ear,but I wouldn't mind having one to speed things up in this ever so tiny studio.🗽🎧
Are you guys able to explain how/what gadget you are using to pinpoint the frequency of the snare in this video?
In this case, I believe I just used my ears and the sine wave generator plugin that was used to represent the frequency. You could also use a tuner app. -Ben
Hi Cody, I have a question for you regarding the drum dial on the reso.
I used the Drum Dial for a while, but I stopped in order to hone my ear tuning skills.
I remember when using the Drum Dial on the reso, it would leave marks on the head, which worried me. Using a metal needle on such a thin head got me wondering of it was possible to use it accurately on a reso, especially when that device is deforming the head (Visually, at the very least). Did you guys test this out?
On a complete side note, I never got what pitches and feels were normal for a snare side. I've done my best to not over tighten, but It always leaves me worried that I've over or under tightened it, and I find that I can never hear the pitches of the head because the notes are so short or so high pitched that I cannot differentiate them. Thought I do still also struggle hearing pitches on the batter with any certainty.
Hey there! Cody doesn't check comments so I'll field this one. As long as you're gently setting the DrumDial on the head, it doesn't appear to impact the material at all. We checked the tension of the snare side and referenced this at the end of the video (it was at a 75 and we were using a 3mil drumhead). -Ben
I use Tunebot and tune top head of snare drum to G =196 Hz. fundamental tone. I use the filter to focus on the 196 Hz. I than use the diff function to get all lugs same pitch. Mostly i tune bottom and top head same ...so to same 0.0 diff. reading. However for snare a tighter bottom head does sound better. Can you give recommendations how to tune the bottom head this way . What is the best fundamental for the bottom head when the batter head is G=196 Hz. My experience with toms is: when i raise bottom or top head always the other side goes with in almost equal steps. So ...very difficult to tune one side higher or lower than the other.
hell yeah!
Ive always wanted to try a drum dial but haven't bought one yet. How did you find the frequency of the head? Love your channel. Such a different approach to drums and the science behind it
We recorded the demo and used our ears to match a signal generator plugin to the frequency via the sine wave that you heard fade in. You could also do this with an app.
@@SoundsLikeADrum . I find that very interesting. Thanks so much
Great info. I got the digital drum dial easier to see
Hey Cody I'm curious how would Drum Dial compare to Evans Torque drum key. Both are tools that are possible to be used in loud environments. I understand that the torque key might not be as reliable as drum dial because of the individual imperfections in the tuning lugs but it's also cheaper and way more compact than drum dial. Which one would you choose to get 80% of the snare sound you're looking for? Keep up the great content!
Hey there! Cody doesn't check comments so I'll field this one, especially since I've got quite a bit of experience with the Evans Torque Key having working for D'Addario. The Torque Key (and any form of tension rod torque tuning) is inherently flawed. The torque key wears down and is incredibly imprecise. I saw these fail over short periods of time. I really wish they'd discontinue this product. Even if your lugs and tension rods are perfectly maintained and functioning with the same amount of resistance, the key still wears down and needs to be replaced. The other issue is that nothing is actually being measured. With the DrumDial you can measure and then recreate tensions (and, as a result, sounds given the same heads and instrument) simply by dialing in the same measurements. If tuning in a noisy environment is something you have to contend with frequently, I'd go with the DrumDial 100% of the time.
@@SoundsLikeADrum Thank you so much! Such a comprehensive answer. I thought that the torque keys won't be perfect but that bulkiness of drum dial always kept me away from it. I guess it's time for change. I tune my drums mostly by ear but having some tool like this that will get me in the ballpark of different sounds quickly plus it can be operated in loud environment is great. At least I'll have something to wish for for my birthday in October lol. Thanks a lot guys!
7:25
I definitely hear f#3 in the center of the drum and c#4 on the edge. But you introduce us to g4.
Let's be clear... if you are not that great at hearing the pitch of the lugs, just using the Drum Dial WILL help you develop your ear for tuning, and thus you will become better at tuning when you do not have the Drum Dial with you.
Okay, if we're gonna get down to the nitty gritty- If you are practicing tuning by ear we suggest using a pitch-based tuner (even a simple app like the Peterson Strobe Tuner app) to help you check your work rather than a device that's measuring tension. The DrumDial could certainly help but if we're talking about ear training, let's stick to frequency-based measurement. Of course, regardless of what you use, you have to be willing to train and test your ears if you want to improve. Simply using a device or app won't inherently develop your ear. One of the reasons why we haven't featured a device like this for tuning in the past is because there's a common tendency for people lean on them as a crutch rather than a learning tool.
@@SoundsLikeADrum Oh absolutely!!! But what I have noticed, especially from novice drummers or novices to tuning, is they just don’t hear the differences in pitch… they can’t get within 2-3hz from one lug to the other. I actually have them learn how to tune a guitar using tap harmonics on the 5th and 7th frets, and then check their work on a Snark tuner afterwards. They can hear the obvious wobble when the two pitches are playing simultaneously through an amp, and that seems to kinda turn the light on in their head for what they need to listen for.
I completely agree that you will get much more value out of a Drum Dial or Tunebot or strobe tuner if you use it with the intention of training your ear.
I've been tuning my guitars that way for a long time (checking them afterwards with a tuner) and I'm fairly confident in my ability. However, when trying to apply those concepts to the drums (the wobbliness between different pitches) I can't for the life of me get them perfect. And when I do, they get out of tune very quickly, even without playing on them (transferred vibrations, I guess). I'm starting to think I may have overgreased the lugs
Do you think a Drum Dial will help me get better at it if I pay attention to the actual change of pitch of the lugs?
@@Tochudin Use a Drum Dial to get the tension even, then use a Tunebot to get it perfectly in tune.
Or use your ears since the sound is ultimately what matters 😉
I have a drum dial and using it will teach you a lot about tuning nuances. My drums sound way better if I tune with drum dial. I have no qualms about tuning with a device. Guitar players don’t stress about trying to tune without a tuner. I play the drums. I’ve never been applauded after ear tuning.
you literally NEED a tuner to tune a guitar - at least one note. unless you have perfect pitch i suppose, but who's betting on that? it doesn't last anyway. people who have it, lose it.
@@nickdenardo6479 I know guitar tuners seem like they’ve always been around, but players in the day would tune up to each other or a piano if one was there.
You don't NEED a tuner to tune a guitar. All you need is a reference pitch and you can tune by ear. Both of us do it all the time. The same can be done with drum sounds and you can use a drum sound as the reference! That's a core principle of this channel.
how could i use this to tune drums to a certain frequency? like, i use my snare in C or D tuning
As mentioned, the DrumDial isn't designed for tuning to a specific frequency. We recommend using your ears for this. If you need assistance in checking your work, there are lots of tuning apps available for smartphones.
Tune Bot and the iDrumTune Pro app use a microphone (in the Tune Bot or the cell phone) to measure the frequency content of the drum head and show you the actual note/frequency.
I wonder what tuning is this G3,G#3 or A3 fundamental pitch?
Not quite sure what you're asking. If you mean the pitches from the demonstration in this episode, the first one was a VERY flat A4 and the second was a slightly flat G4. We didn't check the fundamental pitch of the drum, just the batter head.
Would y’all consider doin a video on the Tunebot if y’all haven’t yet??
What would you want to see us do? What made this episode and makes DrumDial unique is the fact that we’re quantifying an abstract element (the feel of the head via timpanic pressure) and illustrating how mass affects the sound at a given feel.
I was thinking the same thing as you, I assume the concepts/subject matter for both 'tuners' are the same or at least very similar. I use the Tunebot not the DrumDial.
They're actually quite different. The DrumDial isn't quantifying sound or frequency but rather tension. This combined with the mass of the drumhead generates a particular resonant frequency. The Tune Bot doesn't measure tension but rather the frequency. This is quite similar to a guitar tuner or any other frequency measurement device. For this, we often opt to just use our ears.
I would appreciate your findings on whether the pitches found on Tunebot are accurate. I think many others would also appreciate a video on the Tunebot.@@SoundsLikeADrum
@@SoundsLikeADrum I get it, though I use my Tunebot more then my tension watch, I find that the Tunebot can train the ear to get a specific range for batter and resonance drum heads, like a point of reference anyways thanks for the reply love the channel!! I’ll start using both now lol!!
What tension do you use in the reso?
It’s referenced on the video. Be sure to watch the whole thing 😉
I believe he said 75 at the end of the vid. I use 80. That's the minimum that the DD chart calls for.
You just sold me a DrumDial.
I hope to see TuneBot next 😁
What would you propose we do that would be unique to the Tune Bot in the way that this was unique to the DrumDial?
@SoundsLikeADrum after thinking about it for a bit, I couldn't thinking of a concept any different than just comparing your ears to a TuneBot (i.e. how well can you tune a drum to C3 fundamental versus the TuneBot). I use the Tunebot all the time and I love it because I feel I can get more accurate than my own ears. Either way, I value you all's perspective and love the content!
@@SoundsLikeADrum The Tune Bot's flaw is that it is sometimes confused between the overtone and fundamental frequency it is reading, and cannot be used in a noisy environment. But the advantage is it is directly measuring the resonant modes of the head, unlike the DrumDial which measures tension (which is RELATED to the head frequencies). As such, the TuneBot can also tell you the ABSOLUTE tuning of each lug, if you care about that, as well as getting each lug tensioned evenly (like the DrumDial). The DrumDial cannot tell you accurately what the ABSOLUTE tuning is (again, if you care) It would be an interesting comparison to see if the Drum Dial gets the lug settings as consistent at the TuneBot since the DrumDial seems much easier to use. [ref: owner of 2 Tune Bots (Gig and Studio) and the IDrumTune Pro App -- all of these are FFT-based tuners that identify the overtone separate from the fundamental head frequency],-
We appreciate you weighing in as well. We’re not really interested in doing that sort of product comparison/shootout at this time.
Once again, a fantastic video! Thank you so much for all that you share and congratulations on your AMAZING channel. I'm a guitar youTuber from Argentina with about 125k subs and, if someday I can help in any way, please just let me know. It's a pleasure to be in touch with you!
Thanks for the kind words and congratulations on your success! If you know of any drummers that could benefit from our channel, please do feel free to spread the word. We look forward to checking out your work!
I told Ben I put $5 on the Drum Dial 🤣😂
Cody: "Best two out of three?" 😉
@@SoundsLikeADrum 🤣
Come on now! The DrumDial is hardly a “gadget”. It’s a tool, a measuring device. How else can we consistently recreate a tuning?
It is absolutely a gadget. But there’s nothing wrong with gadgets. That said, we’ve recreated tunings by ear plenty of times. Cody’s even done it on a Grammy nominated record.
By the way thank you guys for all the info you've made me a better recording artist in the drumming world because of all the knowledge you share! My trick for fast and accurate tuning is to use the drum dial first to bring equal tension on the head by all the lugs then I'll use the tunebot to get everything into the same relative pitch because I've noticed that nothing is perfectly round therefore even if the tension is the same from lug to lug it does not necessarily equate to the same pitch lug to lug
My starting point tension wise is usually 75 on a calibrated drum dial and 73 on the 22-in kick. If I tune a two-ply head to 75 and a single ply head to 75 on the bottom the relationship between the two seem to be pretty close to a fifth which is one of my favorite relationships between the top and bottom heads. So it makes it very quick and easy to take the tomb but and get them the rest of the way where I like them.
And I also noticed for whatever reason if I use a perfect fifth for the tuning relationship. And I tune all the drums to a whole note, I get very little sympathetic vibrations between each drum and especially with the snares it makes it very nice not having them buzz super loud when you hit the other drums
I bought a tune bot a year ago. It Never, and I repeat, NEVER worked properly. Would always fluctuate. It was horrible. I should've bought the drum dial instead.
One of our favorite things about the DrumDial is that, even with all of the ear training in the world (which is quite valuable and what allows us to successfully tune entirely by ear), there's no other way to match tension without a device like this. This can make for some really interesting experiments in feel & tension vs. mass & pitch.
@@SoundsLikeADrum Right! I am excited to start some of that experimenting. Thank you for showcasing this device!!
Cymbals are totally subjective depending on the sound and budget of the church.
First?!?!
Congratulations to you. 👏
@@SoundsLikeADrum I don't usually try for first, but I saw that there wasn't anything yet and had to do it. Especially cause I love watching you guys!
Thanks! What did you think about the episode?