Lots of drummers ignore tuning, or at least don't take it very seriously. I understand why, it's a pain in the ass. A good guitar player will spend the better part of 45 seconds tuning. Tuning an entire drum kit should take you at least 30 minutes.
That explanation and demonstration of how the drum is gonna sound darker from the kit mics, and muffling is over used abdolutely BLEW MY MIND. I now need to go retune my entire kit to not be so dead.
Yay!! A convert! Warms my heart.... thanks so much for sharing!! Yes, as an audio engineer (my second passion) I have always desired a tad less muffling than is common. I find drums more expressive with less muffling... more satisfying to play and listen to.
You can always add crap to deaden the drums (which I personally hate, bass drum excepted - and even there I prefer ringed heads to pillows - I want as much air moving as possible), but you cannot add resonance beyond what the tuning allows. Hence, tune them for maximum resonance (with a nod to the detuning a couple lugs on the snare for a specific effect as you mentioned). This is a fantastic video - as others have said, definitely the most comprehensive one I’ve seen. I’ve been playing for a little shy of fifty years, and through trial, a lot of error, and some helpful instruction along the way I’ve been using virtually the same technique that you show here. Love the tip about the finger in the middle to suppress the fundamental - that was a game changer when I discovered that! Again, great video, VERY well done!
Great video and thank you for the tips and tricks. FYI, if you hold the filter button down on the tune bot for a few seconds, you will see it switch to "Hi-Range" on the LCD screen. This will allow you to read over 400Hz. Cheers!
This is a great comprehensive tutorial! I would recommend this to any newer / younger students struggling to understand the mechanics and practice of actually tuning drums. Edit: I'd recommend it to all drummers, and techs, actually - something for all of us :) thank you!
I've always tuned my snare drums like you, but I didn't know the reason. I just know that after 60 years of trial and error, this is what works best! Thank you for allowing me to understand why it works. Another great video!
Hi.. 🙂.. Thank you so much for making this great tutorial on snare tuning.. This was a real gem for me, as I understand, how to get the most out of my snare now..At the age of 61... I have just purchased a Ludwig LM 402 14"x 5" 1974, and now, all of my snares sounds like heaven.. 🙂Thank you 🙂 .. With kind regards from Morten in Denmark..
I've never particularly been a fan of my voice (I sound like Gordon Lightfoot when I sing, so I guess that's not too bad ;) I appreciate the kind words! Thanks so much!
This is probably THE best snare tuning video on UA-cam and I've watched a bunch of them. I've been playing drums for nearly 50 years and have tuned my snare this way for the past 10-15 years. Your explanation is right on target. You can really tell that you've been playing for quite a while and I also appreciate that you are an engineer as well and you are always thinking how the drums will sound when they have microphones involved for recording or live sound. I do have a couple comments: When hitting the head with your drum key - this is not something I would recommend. You were not even close to the bearing edge and I'm guessing you may have learned from experience, but I would be concerned of new drummers hitting the head above where the bearing edge is with a drum key. This could potentially damage the bearing edge. Just my two cents. Yes my Tunebot does crap out at about 400hz as well. Good to see all the comments from others who have experienced the same thing. As others have stated in comments, hold the filter button for a couple seconds and it will read higher than 400 but I haven't quite gone to 450hz to see if it really goes that high. I've gone as high as 420ish and got a good snare sound and therefore didn't push the limit. Looking forward to watching the kick tuning and when you post a tom tuning video. I'm sure you have a great perspective on the subject. I really appreciate you doing all these videos. It's too bad that I only recently discovered your channel. You have a lot of great content and I am looking forward to whatever else you post. I will be referring others to this video and others you have done. Thanks Joel!!! 😎🎶
Excellent. This entire video was meat and potatoes, no fluff, very useful. I especially appreciate the tip for reducing a high overtone via de-tuning the two closest lugs. I'll be giving that some exercise. Thanks again for the tutorial on snare tuning. Well done, sir.
In addition to the vertical head friction on the bearing edges, there is also friction on the lug bolts/screws. I always lube the threads with a very thin film of teflon grease (just put it on your finger and thumb and work it into the threads while the screw/bolt is in your hand) and then thread them in and out of the lug, beyond their normal length of travel. This only has to be done once for the life of the drum. From this point on, the only friction you will feel is from the head-to-bearing edge contact. You will be amazed at the difference. You can buy a small tube of this lube at any bike shop or on the internet by searching, "bicycle teflon lube". A small tube will last a lifetime and it just costs a few dollars.
Been playing for about 20 years and I think this is the first time I've seen someone acknowledge different pitches by the snare beds/kick porthole, or interactions when tensioning adjacent or opposite lugs.
Hi Joel! Given the fact that you have good snare strings you actually don't need to adjust the snare string with the screws to get it equally straight at both string ends. The nice thing with snare strings as opposite to the plastic strips is that you can adjust the straightness of the wires with the wires turned off and just adjust where the string is grabbing the wire-plate, without loosening the screws. Hope this makes sense. This is why I love strings and not the plastic strips. Cheers!
You actually CAN play MOST instruments without tuning them, they WILL sound bad BUT you WILL get a sound; this is exactly the same with drums. The Heart of the issue is what is an acceptable 'sound' on drums. Your approach IS Spot On I just felt I should say what I did. Terms like 'finger tensioned' SHOULD be explained as many won't know what that means. THANK YOU FOR USING THE CORRECT TERMS WHEN IDENTIFYING THE COMPONENTS SUCH AS 'KEY ROD' vs LUG NUT/CASINGS!!
I appreciate how thorough this is. I love the finger trick for muting the fundamental pitch. I first saw Gavin Harrison do it during a sound check, it's a great technique! I also appreciate the explanation about ending an adjustment by adding tension. I found that if I detuned a timpani to the pitch I wanted it would eventually detune a little more when playing. Going below the target pitch and coming back up seemed to fix that. I just figured it was inertia, making the pedal tend toward continuing to decrease tension. Friction makes sense, I never thought of that! Great video!
Thank you for your kind comment! I'm so glad you found it helpful!! I feared the length of the video, but really hoped it might be a useful resource for people learning about tuning drums.
I think you accomplished that. I consider myself a drum tinkering/tuning enthusiast. I've always enjoyed taking drums apart and tuning them from scratch. I learned a lot doing this early on, but you did a great job explaining the concepts you use. I'm sure that it will be a great resource for anyone starting out! Just as an encouragement, I've really enjoyed watching all your videos. I discovered it recently and found the physics/sound engineering videos very helpful. I feel like they have validated how I've felt about drums and recording for a long time. Keep it up! Grace and peace!
Best drum lesson I ever had was about 20 years ago. I had my kit tuned how I thought sounded good “Use your ears” was a common saying at the time. I even had a DVD with that title. The guy giving me the lesson asked why I had some damping on the skins, I said to control the ring. He took me to the far end of the room (we were in a church hall, quite big). “Stand there” he said. He went back to the kit and played it. Then took the damping off and played it. Then tweaked the skins up tighter and played it. The lesson I learned, was, don’t tune the kit to sound good to you when you sit on the kit. It will sound VERY different to someone in the audience 20 rows back mid gig. I’m talking un mic-ed. going through mics and PA changes the rules again.
"end every adjustment on the drum with a positive turn" as a long-time guitar player, you're speaking my language! I already know I've finally found the right video and not the same old pandering to noobs for views. As long as this video doesn't end with "and then after recording, just replace all your snare hits with samples" then I'll be sure to subscribe. Thanks!
Wow, what a perfect tuning video and with perfect timing. I bought a Supraphonic a few days ago! I have watched so many videos and worked on tuning as a producer player for years. You have some great tips and would have saved me a ton of time if I had just found your channel first. Ha. PLEASE, would love to hear your approach on kick and toms as well as choosing cymbals, especially rides. Your thoughts as someone who obviously records a lot really makes a difference. Thx again!
53 years old, been drumming since I was 6. When I was in my early 20s, I began really caring about tuning my drums and getting my own sound. For the last 5 years, I have been into home recording so I've been hyper-focused on tuning. I bought a tunebot a month ago. What a great invention! Total time saver and hours of fun trying different tunings, all the while knowing you're getting near-perfect accuracy. I have settings saved and written down for each drum I have, for different head combinations etc. Great tool for fast, consistent tuning. Wish I would have bought one decades ago.
I use a Tunebot mainly so I can re-create a sound that I really liked. The only thing is remembering to write the numbers down somewhere. There's actually an iPhone app that will allow you to store your settings.
I'm a proud owner of a Supraphonic since 1964 and the way you explain tuning snare drum is amazing. I used a Drum Dial and don"t need it anymore now. Thanks
A friend and I were cleaning up a commercially equipped outdoor kitchen at a festival we attended and played in our bands. I started a simple rhythm and next thing you know, we had a full on jam session on pots and pans, lids, etc. using long spoons and hands. We were so involved/focused on each other that we didn't notice the crowd that gathered... When we finished we were taken aback by the rousing round of applause. 😊. You absolutely can make music where you find it, especially with percussion.
thanks man! awesome video and I appreciate the way it's laid out. I'm a producer, not a drummer. So I bought a set purely to learn how to tune them and this video is very down my alley. instead of "Do this or that" you actually just show how different things manipulate the sound of a snare and what adjustments to make to get a sound. extremely helpful for learning what to listen for in a snare.
Thank you for your kind words! Yes, I don't believe in 'do this' or 'do that' as it all depends on the desired result. 'Do this' and 'do that' will work on certain drums and not so much on others, so I prefer people understand the variables involves, so they can manipulate/alter them as needed to adjust for the drum they're working with to get the desired result. Thanks again for chiming in!
When it comes to the camera audio and close microphones one is not better than the other. They just both perceive the source differently. The same with our ears. We are only capable of hear certain frequencies. We also process what is a 'good" and "bad" sound through personal perspective. Microphones don't have personal perspective. They just show reality. Its either a useable sound or its not and you need to fix it. Thank you for the perspective you gave us. Really good stuff.
I thoroughly enjoy all of your videos, this one was very informative and helpful! I retired a few years ago and decided to take up the drums at age 65. I’m having a time of my life!
Very nice. I also appreciate the end of the video about the different sounds depending on how you hit it. I see a lot of drummers who hit the same way every strike, completely ignoring what the song is calling for. Not only the type of sound, but dynamically as well. Softer in the verses and louder in the choruses. They’ll just play the whole song the same way, no dynamics, no variation. Maybe there’s ghost notes, but every 2 & 4 is the same no matter the section of the song. Of course, in heavy rock it’s typically all rimshots all the way through. But this isn’t the case for all genres. Anyway, great informative video without the fluff!
Thanks so much! I only really do have only the two approaches shown (regardless of high or low tunings) and with muffling that pretty much does it. Well... unless I want a 'rattlier' sound... then I might loosen the snare side head a little to taste. ;)
Dude, this video is FANTASTIC!….thorough and informative. I’ve tuned a lot of drums in my lifetime and this is by far the best video I’ve come across on snare tuning. Well done, sir!
Awesome video, much more in-depth information, I've been playing 20yrs + and yet I still learnt something new, thankyou very much, I think I just become a better dynamic player implementing these tips Thankyou
Love your perspective and appreciate your wealth of knowledge to help us better tune our snare drums. In particular, I am grateful for your recommendation at 30:00 because I have a Ludwig Black Beauty which I purchased from a producer at Abbey Road Studios which was used by many artists for their respective recordings including Phil Rudd on AC/DC’s Back in Black album. To me, it has that resonant ring you mention before changing the two lug tensions closest to you. I’ve never touched the drum and don’t play it however I want to keep the original overbattered head for posterity and now plan to replace it with a new head now that I have discovered your video, in order to adopt your technique to see if I can’t make it sound darker before micing the drum. Thanks for your sage advice on an impressive video. You rock!
Wow, a plethora of useful things that i didn`t knew. I found this at the right time because i have to change the heads anyway so i will apply all of this. Thank you very much!
Thanks for the kind remark!! That kick of from my1982 Tama Royalstar Brazilian Grain kit (1st Gen). Royalstar is perhaps the most misunderstood line in Tama's early history (and seems Tama themselves couldn't decide what do with the line during that time -- is it entry level? Professional? Yes and yes (depending on which ones)... I'm going to have to do a video on Royalstar history at some point sooner than later. I LOVE the Brazilian Grain Royalstars (1st gen... not a fan of 2nd gen). They are basically Imperialstars without the Zola coat or plastic wrap. Great drums!
They sound better than I thought too! I love that you put an Evans sticker😂 on the head. Wonder what Remo will think of that. Guess you won't get another care pack.
Hi, First of all, nice video! Just one little tip regarding the tune bot. Actually the tune bot is able to measure frequencies higher than 400Hz by pushing the filter button for a moment (about 3 seconds). It will change to "Hi range" mode and will measure frequencies up to 450Hz. Keep up the great work and all the best! Cheers
Great explanation...thanks for that. Some Words to the tune-bot: at least the newer ones have a secondary function on the "filt"-button. When you push the button longer, 2 sec or so, you get in the "high-range"-mode, wich is capable to measure up to 450 hz
What a gold mine of useful information! Thank you so much. I wish I ran into this 8 or 9 months ago lol. I'm probably going to play this another six or seven times. I'm a beginner drummer, less than a year playing and learning about them. I think you touched on some of the things I learned early on but then kind of forgot about. I think I fell into my own dad habits with tuning not only snares but drums in general. I'm going to look for your channel more when I have some time. Hoping you have some great video like this about toms or kicks. Thanks again.
Kick drum and tom tuning I haven't done yet, but they'll be coming up in the next couple of months, so stay tuned! And thank you so much for your kind words and for being here!! Much appreciated.
The trickiest 'drum set' snare drum to tune in my experience is the Rogers Dynasonic, metal shell or wood. They have a very narrow 'sweet spot' but when they are tuned properly they are great. The vaunted 'snare frame' that made the Dynasonic is very easy to over-tighten to the point that the frame contact points on the reso head actually can choke the drum. The key with that drum is to tighten the snare frame to the point that the frame is just 'kissing' the head. The other type of snare drum that is tricky to tune properly in my experience is pipe band snare drums. They are tuned very high and tight (I liken the tightness of the batter head to be like playing on a granite tabletop) yet the batter and reso side snares (pipe band snare drums have snares on both heads) must still have ability to vibrate freely. A lot of pipe band snare drummers have a tendency to tighten the batter side snares to the point that they choke the drum. Good informative video.
Hey, you were the guy that had a small series on how to create a stereo room drum sound out of an extremely dry (mono?) original recording a few years back. Your voice sounds familiar. I found that very useful due to my lack of a good drum room for recording. This tuning video is of the same high quality, thanks for doing it.
I probably am, yes (I have a video about that on my other channel which I recently renamed RecordingDotPizza and will be increasingly adding new content to). I'm glad that was helpful for you. Thank you for chiming in!
Interesting. You're the first one I've seen tune the reso side to make sure it's even as well, which makes sense. Watched two "pro" tutorials and they just said "crank it up till it's tight" and didn't bother tapping out each lug. They spent a ton of time on tuning the batter side but it seems to me that if your tension isn't even on the reso side, then its going to mess up the rest of the tuning. thought maybe I was missing something but your vid confirmed that I'm correct! thx
Well, in truth the lug-to-lug tuning of the bottom head isn't as critical as on toms, for example, primarily because the tension combined with the shape of the snare beds in the bottom bearing edge go a long way to stifle the response of the snare side head, so any unevenness in the tension is less obvious. Still, I like to match things up on principle, though I will on occasion lower the tension on the four lugs immediately adjacent to the snare wires if the articulation of the wires is a bit blurred (which can happen with too much tension on the bottom head). Bottom head tension is critical for the snare response and tone you want. Play with it a bit (up and down) and compare to see what you like best.
There is not a lot of videos explaining this. What we hear when we reviews or videos is a mic'd snare, sounds WAY deeper and less bright and ringy. I thought I couldn't get a snare in tune to save my life... really this was all it was. ITS THE MICS! I'de love to hear more examples.
Thank you for the encouragement! I've been slammed with so much stuff professionally and personally for the last couple of months, but I expect to be posting weekly now moving forward. Keeping my finger crossed!! ;)
Joel you're doing a great work with your videos! Thank you very much! I would like to note something about the snare side head that I think you would agree with. The 3 clips surely demonstrate that this very batter side head tuning with these dynamics (f to ff, not that quiet) and with this particular snare tension, works better with the higher snare side tension (the second wasn't that bad though). But I really can't imagine a lower tuned snare drum (that someone would like to hit it really soft (soft dynamics of mp to p or even pp)) would work with the same approach. I believe that the tension of the wires should match the dynamics of the playing, and the snare side tuning should match the tension of the snare wires. It's a whole system. I know you secretly agree with this statement! I'd love to see a demonstration of different tunings of the snare side head, including diplomats or 200, and maybe some thicker ones or a Renaissance, with different snare tensions and definitely a variety of dynamics. Again thanks! great work
It's a great idea, thank you for it! Yes, the wires tension definitely changes with batter tension, and depending on average playing dynamic, yes, the snare side head tension can vary to produce good wire response. Most of my playing is f to fff, however, so I tend to stick with higher overall snare side tension and adjust the wire tension for the range of dynamic response I need. I honestly have not spent much time with thicker/thinner snare side heads (only really 3mil). I have obtained drums with Evans 200 and Remo "Emperor snare side" heads that I messed with, but didn't care for either, but demonstration at different tunings and dynamics might be instructive (for me as much for other folks!). Thanks again for the idea!
Yes - the default setting for the tunebot tops out at 400 hz. There is a setting (at least on some models) that allows it to go to 450 hz. Check on their site for how to put it in this mode.
Out of all the videos I’ve watched for past decade or longer, I find you explain things so correctly and simply. Hope you do more videos , I just subscribed last night after watching tuning snare drum. I have 1 question, I just purchased a 3.5x14 snare drum, how would the tuning be on this reso head? The top I’ll be able to figure out but this one idk. And as well as a 6x13 snare drum. Thanks so much
Joel, this is an absolutely superb video and the first one I’ve watched from you. Thank you for all the detail and nuance and examples. I’ve played for 45 years now but just getting into recording. I’m listening with AirPods Pro, so it’s really translating. 👌🏼👌🏼
there's a Filt (filter) button on the tunebot you hold down for extended frequencies above 400. Same button pressed will limit frequencies to the range you are in getting rid of odd readings
I have never used an actual calfskin head on a snare drum (only a bass drum). Closest I've used is Remo Skyntone and Fiberskyn II (loved the latter, not so much the former). I do use Aquarian Modern Vintage heads too, which are their version of that sound, and like them very much, but no actual calfskin, sorry. I'm going to get a calfskin head for snare though and try it on a few different drums. I really want to know what it's like. I've heard good things from people, but always best to experience it myself!
Thank you for the well detailed lesson. I already knew quite but picked up a few things as well. Imma bust out the tunebot and check the reso and bring it up/down to 400. I like it here in the video and I have to say my Supra (6.5) sounds near Identical to yours so we’ll see how close it is. Also, instead of gaff tape I cut a 1”x3” piece of suede leather, lay about 1” over the rim and onto the head with the remaining 2” hanging off the drum and hold/pinch it with a small binder clip. This also allows to quickly fine tune the amount of resonance simply by adjusting the amount of leather resting on the head. Thanks again! Subscribed!
So my reso was at 385-87 but brought it up to 402. Also brought the head up from 265 to 277. Prior to retuning I tapped my snare, snares off, in comparison with yours and they were about a 1/4 step difference. The only thing now is the strands I have is 30 strand pure sounds. Gonna try a thinner wire out for size but either way it’s killer as it is. Thx!
I bet I've watched 50 videos about tuning snares and I've never seen anyone explain it this way. Your way just makes sense to me. Thanks!!!
I'm so glad it was helpful! Thanks for letting me know.
After 50+ years of playing and fussing with my drums I still have a lot to learn about tuning. Thanks for a clear and practical presentation.
Lots of drummers ignore tuning, or at least don't take it very seriously. I understand why, it's a pain in the ass. A good guitar player will spend the better part of 45 seconds tuning. Tuning an entire drum kit should take you at least 30 minutes.
As we all do hahaha
Well done thank you
T
I've been studying drum recording and tuning for years, and this is one of the best videos I've seen on how snare tuning and snare mechanics work.
Thank you so much! I do tune with microphones in mind.
I appreciate the kind words!
Outstanding video. I've watched pretty much every snare tuning video on UA-cam and this was the most thorough and informative one I've seen. Good job.
Thank you so much for the kind words!
This is the best snare tuning video i've ever seen in my 40 years of drumming. Thank you! Subbed for more!
That explanation and demonstration of how the drum is gonna sound darker from the kit mics, and muffling is over used abdolutely BLEW MY MIND.
I now need to go retune my entire kit to not be so dead.
Yay!! A convert! Warms my heart.... thanks so much for sharing!!
Yes, as an audio engineer (my second passion) I have always desired a tad less muffling than is common. I find drums more expressive with less muffling... more satisfying to play and listen to.
You can always add crap to deaden the drums (which I personally hate, bass drum excepted - and even there I prefer ringed heads to pillows - I want as much air moving as possible), but you cannot add resonance beyond what the tuning allows. Hence, tune them for maximum resonance (with a nod to the detuning a couple lugs on the snare for a specific effect as you mentioned).
This is a fantastic video - as others have said, definitely the most comprehensive one I’ve seen. I’ve been playing for a little shy of fifty years, and through trial, a lot of error, and some helpful instruction along the way I’ve been using virtually the same technique that you show here. Love the tip about the finger in the middle to suppress the fundamental - that was a game changer when I discovered that! Again, great video, VERY well done!
Didn't think I needed this after 35 years playing, but still learned a few things! Bravo. Great video.
This is a great video. Finally someone else who understands that microphones hear things differently than your ears do. Well done!
this is by far, the best snare tuning video on UA-cam
Amen! 🙂
Wow, thanks!
Great video and thank you for the tips and tricks. FYI, if you hold the filter button down on the tune bot for a few seconds, you will see it switch to "Hi-Range" on the LCD screen. This will allow you to read over 400Hz. Cheers!
This is a great comprehensive tutorial! I would recommend this to any newer / younger students struggling to understand the mechanics and practice of actually tuning drums. Edit: I'd recommend it to all drummers, and techs, actually - something for all of us :) thank you!
I've always tuned my snare drums like you, but I didn't know the reason. I just know that after 60 years of trial and error, this is what works best! Thank you for allowing me to understand why it works.
Another great video!
Hi.. 🙂.. Thank you so much for making this great tutorial on snare tuning.. This was a real gem for me, as I understand, how to get the most out of my snare now..At the age of 61... I have just purchased a Ludwig LM 402 14"x 5" 1974, and now, all of my snares sounds like heaven.. 🙂Thank you 🙂 .. With kind regards from Morten in Denmark..
We all know you know the Kraft, but your voice and your articulation, pauses, etc is really important here too, thank you , great job !!!
I've never particularly been a fan of my voice (I sound like Gordon Lightfoot when I sing, so I guess that's not too bad ;)
I appreciate the kind words! Thanks so much!
Finally!! A guy who does more action and demonstrations whilst explaining it very simply. Excellent presentation and great advice👏👏
Thank you🙏
This is probably THE best snare tuning video on UA-cam and I've watched a bunch of them. I've been playing drums for nearly 50 years and have tuned my snare this way for the past 10-15 years. Your explanation is right on target. You can really tell that you've been playing for quite a while and I also appreciate that you are an engineer as well and you are always thinking how the drums will sound when they have microphones involved for recording or live sound. I do have a couple comments:
When hitting the head with your drum key - this is not something I would recommend. You were not even close to the bearing edge and I'm guessing you may have learned from experience, but I would be concerned of new drummers hitting the head above where the bearing edge is with a drum key. This could potentially damage the bearing edge. Just my two cents.
Yes my Tunebot does crap out at about 400hz as well. Good to see all the comments from others who have experienced the same thing. As others have stated in comments, hold the filter button for a couple seconds and it will read higher than 400 but I haven't quite gone to 450hz to see if it really goes that high. I've gone as high as 420ish and got a good snare sound and therefore didn't push the limit.
Looking forward to watching the kick tuning and when you post a tom tuning video. I'm sure you have a great perspective on the subject.
I really appreciate you doing all these videos. It's too bad that I only recently discovered your channel. You have a lot of great content and I am looking forward to whatever else you post. I will be referring others to this video and others you have done. Thanks Joel!!! 😎🎶
Excellent. This entire video was meat and potatoes, no fluff, very useful. I especially appreciate the tip for reducing a high overtone via de-tuning the two closest lugs. I'll be giving that some exercise. Thanks again for the tutorial on snare tuning. Well done, sir.
In addition to the vertical head friction on the bearing edges, there is also friction on the lug bolts/screws. I always lube the threads with a very thin film of teflon grease (just put it on your finger and thumb and work it into the threads while the screw/bolt is in your hand) and then thread them in and out of the lug, beyond their normal length of travel. This only has to be done once for the life of the drum. From this point on, the only friction you will feel is from the head-to-bearing edge contact. You will be amazed at the difference.
You can buy a small tube of this lube at any bike shop or on the internet by searching, "bicycle teflon lube". A small tube will last a lifetime and it just costs a few dollars.
One of the best and detailed snare tuning videos ever. And I've seen lots and lots.
Terrific work!
I don't know if anyone has said this but...If you hold down your filter button you can tune higher than 400. Thanks for all the great videos!
Been playing for about 20 years and I think this is the first time I've seen someone acknowledge different pitches by the snare beds/kick porthole, or interactions when tensioning adjacent or opposite lugs.
Hi Joel! Given the fact that you have good snare strings you actually don't need to adjust the snare string with the screws to get it equally straight at both string ends. The nice thing with snare strings as opposite to the plastic strips is that you can adjust the straightness of the wires with the wires turned off and just adjust where the string is grabbing the wire-plate, without loosening the screws. Hope this makes sense. This is why I love strings and not the plastic strips. Cheers!
You actually CAN play MOST instruments without tuning them, they WILL sound bad BUT you WILL get a sound; this is exactly the same with drums. The Heart of the issue is what is an acceptable 'sound' on drums. Your approach IS Spot On I just felt I should say what I did. Terms like 'finger tensioned' SHOULD be explained as many won't know what that means. THANK YOU FOR USING THE CORRECT TERMS WHEN IDENTIFYING THE COMPONENTS SUCH AS 'KEY ROD' vs LUG NUT/CASINGS!!
This is the snare tuning video I’ve been looking for.
I appreciate how thorough this is. I love the finger trick for muting the fundamental pitch. I first saw Gavin Harrison do it during a sound check, it's a great technique! I also appreciate the explanation about ending an adjustment by adding tension. I found that if I detuned a timpani to the pitch I wanted it would eventually detune a little more when playing. Going below the target pitch and coming back up seemed to fix that. I just figured it was inertia, making the pedal tend toward continuing to decrease tension. Friction makes sense, I never thought of that! Great video!
Thank you for your kind comment! I'm so glad you found it helpful!! I feared the length of the video, but really hoped it might be a useful resource for people learning about tuning drums.
I think you accomplished that. I consider myself a drum tinkering/tuning enthusiast. I've always enjoyed taking drums apart and tuning them from scratch. I learned a lot doing this early on, but you did a great job explaining the concepts you use. I'm sure that it will be a great resource for anyone starting out!
Just as an encouragement, I've really enjoyed watching all your videos. I discovered it recently and found the physics/sound engineering videos very helpful. I feel like they have validated how I've felt about drums and recording for a long time. Keep it up! Grace and peace!
Best drum lesson I ever had was about 20 years ago. I had my kit tuned how I thought sounded good “Use your ears” was a common saying at the time. I even had a DVD with that title. The guy giving me the lesson asked why I had some damping on the skins, I said to control the ring. He took me to the far end of the room (we were in a church hall, quite big). “Stand there” he said. He went back to the kit and played it. Then took the damping off and played it. Then tweaked the skins up tighter and played it.
The lesson I learned, was, don’t tune the kit to sound good to you when you sit on the kit. It will sound VERY different to someone in the audience 20 rows back mid gig. I’m talking un mic-ed. going through mics and PA changes the rules again.
I tune for the mics (I don't ever play in a situation that I'm not miked, so I tune for mics.
Very true what that fellow taught you... wise man!
"end every adjustment on the drum with a positive turn" as a long-time guitar player, you're speaking my language! I already know I've finally found the right video and not the same old pandering to noobs for views. As long as this video doesn't end with "and then after recording, just replace all your snare hits with samples" then I'll be sure to subscribe. Thanks!
Wow, what a perfect tuning video and with perfect timing. I bought a Supraphonic a few days ago! I have watched so many videos and worked on tuning as a producer player for years. You have some great tips and would have saved me a ton of time if I had just found your channel first. Ha. PLEASE, would love to hear your approach on kick and toms as well as choosing cymbals, especially rides. Your thoughts as someone who obviously records a lot really makes a difference. Thx again!
53 years old, been drumming since I was 6. When I was in my early 20s, I began really caring about tuning my drums and getting my own sound. For the last 5 years, I have been into home recording so I've been hyper-focused on tuning. I bought a tunebot a month ago. What a great invention! Total time saver and hours of fun trying different tunings, all the while knowing you're getting near-perfect accuracy. I have settings saved and written down for each drum I have, for different head combinations etc. Great tool for fast, consistent tuning. Wish I would have bought one decades ago.
Yeah, I love my Tunebot! I generally don't use it for initial tuning, but it's great to log settings for future (and fast) recall.
The tunebot was invented in 2012, so you couldn't have purchased one decades ago 😊
I use a Tunebot mainly so I can re-create a sound that I really liked. The only thing is remembering to write the numbers down somewhere. There's actually an iPhone app that will allow you to store your settings.
I'm a proud owner of a Supraphonic since 1964 and the way you explain tuning snare drum is amazing. I used a Drum Dial and don"t need it anymore now. Thanks
Drum dial has its place. If you’re in a noisy environment, tune bot may not be accurate. But I take your point
A friend and I were cleaning up a commercially equipped outdoor kitchen at a festival we attended and played in our bands. I started a simple rhythm and next thing you know, we had a full on jam session on pots and pans, lids, etc. using long spoons and hands. We were so involved/focused on each other that we didn't notice the crowd that gathered... When we finished we were taken aback by the rousing round of applause. 😊. You absolutely can make music where you find it, especially with percussion.
Great video! Thank you for taking the time to make it.- this one is a gem.
Much appreciated! Nice to hear it's helpful for folks.
Thank you very much .learned alot .
The under mic info in this vid was key! Don't often hear people talk about this enough. With the audible examples was incredibly eye opening.
thanks man! awesome video and I appreciate the way it's laid out. I'm a producer, not a drummer. So I bought a set purely to learn how to tune them and this video is very down my alley. instead of "Do this or that" you actually just show how different things manipulate the sound of a snare and what adjustments to make to get a sound. extremely helpful for learning what to listen for in a snare.
Thank you for your kind words! Yes, I don't believe in 'do this' or 'do that' as it all depends on the desired result. 'Do this' and 'do that' will work on certain drums and not so much on others, so I prefer people understand the variables involves, so they can manipulate/alter them as needed to adjust for the drum they're working with to get the desired result.
Thanks again for chiming in!
When it comes to the camera audio and close microphones one is not better than the other. They just both perceive the source differently.
The same with our ears. We are only capable of hear certain frequencies. We also process what is a 'good" and "bad" sound through personal perspective.
Microphones don't have personal perspective. They just show reality. Its either a useable sound or its not and you need to fix it.
Thank you for the perspective you gave us. Really good stuff.
I thoroughly enjoy all of your videos, this one was very informative and helpful! I retired a few years ago and decided to take up the drums at age 65. I’m having a time of my life!
This was an awesome presentation. I’ve been playing the drums for a really long time and I still learned a lot.
Oh so very helpful and useful. This content is only gained by experience and expertise. Thank you thank you !!!
Dude tar very much for taking the time to explain every aspect on setting up a snare drum right down to tweeking the snare wires
So glad you found it helpful!
Very helpful!! Especially the different sounds from one tuning and setting up the snares.
Great tip about straitening the snare wires. Thank you.
Very nice. You've addressed and condensed just about every aspect of tuning in every other video I've seen in one. Thanks!
Very nice. I also appreciate the end of the video about the different sounds depending on how you hit it. I see a lot of drummers who hit the same way every strike, completely ignoring what the song is calling for. Not only the type of sound, but dynamically as well. Softer in the verses and louder in the choruses. They’ll just play the whole song the same way, no dynamics, no variation. Maybe there’s ghost notes, but every 2 & 4 is the same no matter the section of the song. Of course, in heavy rock it’s typically all rimshots all the way through. But this isn’t the case for all genres. Anyway, great informative video without the fluff!
This is by far an excellent way to tune a snare I don't know why so many you tubers make it seem so difficult.
Thanks so much! I only really do have only the two approaches shown (regardless of high or low tunings) and with muffling that pretty much does it.
Well... unless I want a 'rattlier' sound... then I might loosen the snare side head a little to taste. ;)
wonderful tuning lesson; Great Master!
Dude, this video is FANTASTIC!….thorough and informative. I’ve tuned a lot of drums in my lifetime and this is by far the best video I’ve come across on snare tuning. Well done, sir!
Kind of a Bob Ross of tuning, love it!
Awesome video, much more in-depth information, I've been playing 20yrs + and yet I still learnt something new, thankyou very much, I think I just become a better dynamic player implementing these tips
Thankyou
Love your perspective and appreciate your wealth of knowledge to help us better tune our snare drums. In particular, I am grateful for your recommendation at 30:00 because I have a Ludwig Black Beauty which I purchased from a producer at Abbey Road Studios which was used by many artists for their respective recordings including Phil Rudd on AC/DC’s Back in Black album. To me, it has that resonant ring you mention before changing the two lug tensions closest to you. I’ve never touched the drum and don’t play it however I want to keep the original overbattered head for posterity and now plan to replace it with a new head now that I have discovered your video, in order to adopt your technique to see if I can’t make it sound darker before micing the drum. Thanks for your sage advice on an impressive video. You rock!
It's a great day when DDP posts!
Well done. Your efforts are not unappreciated, Sir.
That snare sounds so good! Thanks for the info.
Wow such a major difference on changing that bottom pad definitely sounds better with it tighter
Wow, a plethora of useful things that i didn`t knew. I found this at the right time because i have to change the heads anyway so i will apply all of this. Thank you very much!
This is the best tuning video I have watched! Thanks for the brilliant video and explanation.
What a wonderful compliment, thank you! So glad you're here!
I use this video all the time as reference 😅 I’m a touring drummer full time. Thanks for this amazing video!
The kick drum is the star of the show here...love it.
Thanks for the kind remark!!
That kick of from my1982 Tama Royalstar Brazilian Grain kit (1st Gen). Royalstar is perhaps the most misunderstood line in Tama's early history (and seems Tama themselves couldn't decide what do with the line during that time -- is it entry level? Professional? Yes and yes (depending on which ones)... I'm going to have to do a video on Royalstar history at some point sooner than later.
I LOVE the Brazilian Grain Royalstars (1st gen... not a fan of 2nd gen). They are basically Imperialstars without the Zola coat or plastic wrap. Great drums!
A very important video. Many learnings that happened in my journey were covered and some mistakes highlighted. thank you
Good stuff….thank you for the great video!!!
Great stuff! Really appreciate your time and found your time very helpful! Thank you!
They sound better than I thought too! I love that you put an Evans sticker😂 on the head. Wonder what Remo will think of that. Guess you won't get another care pack.
Nice drum collection! It's super useful to just listen and watch a really experienced drum tech do his thing.
Yes. As jeff ocheltree said to me years ago, “trust your ears!” TY
Hi,
First of all, nice video!
Just one little tip regarding the tune bot. Actually the tune bot is able to measure frequencies higher than 400Hz by pushing the filter button for a moment (about 3 seconds). It will change to "Hi range" mode and will measure frequencies up to 450Hz.
Keep up the great work and all the best! Cheers
Getting my 20x18 cut down tomorrow and not sure on how much to take off and this helped a lot, cheers.
Really a very good explaining. Thanks for that. Cheers from Munich Germany.
Great explanation...thanks for that. Some Words to the tune-bot: at least the newer ones have a secondary function on the "filt"-button. When you push the button longer, 2 sec or so, you get in the "high-range"-mode, wich is capable to measure up to 450 hz
Thank you for that information! I should probably read my manuals....
What a gold mine of useful information! Thank you so much. I wish I ran into this 8 or 9 months ago lol. I'm probably going to play this another six or seven times. I'm a beginner drummer, less than a year playing and learning about them. I think you touched on some of the things I learned early on but then kind of forgot about. I think I fell into my own dad habits with tuning not only snares but drums in general. I'm going to look for your channel more when I have some time. Hoping you have some great video like this about toms or kicks. Thanks again.
Kick drum and tom tuning I haven't done yet, but they'll be coming up in the next couple of months, so stay tuned!
And thank you so much for your kind words and for being here!! Much appreciated.
Thank you. 👍🙂
The Tune-bot studio goes to 450Hz on Filter mode. (Long press the filter button)
Awesome!!! Thank you for telling me (I don't read manuals enough, apparently ;). I'll give that a try!
The trickiest 'drum set' snare drum to tune in my experience is the Rogers Dynasonic, metal shell or wood. They have a very narrow 'sweet spot' but when they are tuned properly they are great. The vaunted 'snare frame' that made the Dynasonic is very easy to over-tighten to the point that the frame contact points on the reso head actually can choke the drum. The key with that drum is to tighten the snare frame to the point that the frame is just 'kissing' the head. The other type of snare drum that is tricky to tune properly in my experience is pipe band snare drums. They are tuned very high and tight (I liken the tightness of the batter head to be like playing on a granite tabletop) yet the batter and reso side snares (pipe band snare drums have snares on both heads) must still have ability to vibrate freely. A lot of pipe band snare drummers have a tendency to tighten the batter side snares to the point that they choke the drum. Good informative video.
Agreed! Not an intuitive drum to set up properly.
Have you seen my video on setting up the Dynasonic? ua-cam.com/video/BlN-gi3YN9g/v-deo.html
Hey, you were the guy that had a small series on how to create a stereo room drum sound out of an extremely dry (mono?) original recording a few years back. Your voice sounds familiar.
I found that very useful due to my lack of a good drum room for recording.
This tuning video is of the same high quality, thanks for doing it.
I probably am, yes (I have a video about that on my other channel which I recently renamed RecordingDotPizza and will be increasingly adding new content to). I'm glad that was helpful for you. Thank you for chiming in!
Interesting. You're the first one I've seen tune the reso side to make sure it's even as well, which makes sense. Watched two "pro" tutorials and they just said "crank it up till it's tight" and didn't bother tapping out each lug. They spent a ton of time on tuning the batter side but it seems to me that if your tension isn't even on the reso side, then its going to mess up the rest of the tuning. thought maybe I was missing something but your vid confirmed that I'm correct! thx
Well, in truth the lug-to-lug tuning of the bottom head isn't as critical as on toms, for example, primarily because the tension combined with the shape of the snare beds in the bottom bearing edge go a long way to stifle the response of the snare side head, so any unevenness in the tension is less obvious. Still, I like to match things up on principle, though I will on occasion lower the tension on the four lugs immediately adjacent to the snare wires if the articulation of the wires is a bit blurred (which can happen with too much tension on the bottom head).
Bottom head tension is critical for the snare response and tone you want. Play with it a bit (up and down) and compare to see what you like best.
Absolutely great SD tuning / set up and striking video presentation from a very knowledgeable drummer. Thank you. Drum on.
I appreciate you kind words! Thanks so much for being here!
There is not a lot of videos explaining this. What we hear when we reviews or videos is a mic'd snare, sounds WAY deeper and less bright and ringy. I thought I couldn't get a snare in tune to save my life... really this was all it was. ITS THE MICS! I'de love to hear more examples.
Incredible knowledge and very clear instruction and presentation. Many thanks
1 clip sound all the way.sounds great.Amazing guide video keep them coming
Thank you! Will do.
Been too long! Another great video from my fave drum channel. 😊
Thank you for the encouragement! I've been slammed with so much stuff professionally and personally for the last couple of months, but I expect to be posting weekly now moving forward. Keeping my finger crossed!! ;)
I have the '65 model of the exact same snare, and it's a true gem! I have some great snares, but that one is easily my favorite. Great video, man!
Very intuitive and helpful. Thank you
the last example was very interesting, thank you
Great video-- curious about your crash and rides here-- sound great. Love thin cymbals
He's baccchhh
Brilliant works on me old 402 a treat would it be the same for Toms I guess so
Great video! Thanks for taking the time to explain and giving great examples!
Joel you're doing a great work with your videos! Thank you very much! I would like to note something about the snare side head that I think you would agree with. The 3 clips surely demonstrate that this very batter side head tuning with these dynamics (f to ff, not that quiet) and with this particular snare tension, works better with the higher snare side tension (the second wasn't that bad though). But I really can't imagine a lower tuned snare drum (that someone would like to hit it really soft (soft dynamics of mp to p or even pp)) would work with the same approach. I believe that the tension of the wires should match the dynamics of the playing, and the snare side tuning should match the tension of the snare wires. It's a whole system. I know you secretly agree with this statement!
I'd love to see a demonstration of different tunings of the snare side head, including diplomats or 200, and maybe some thicker ones or a Renaissance, with different snare tensions and definitely a variety of dynamics. Again thanks! great work
It's a great idea, thank you for it!
Yes, the wires tension definitely changes with batter tension, and depending on average playing dynamic, yes, the snare side head tension can vary to produce good wire response. Most of my playing is f to fff, however, so I tend to stick with higher overall snare side tension and adjust the wire tension for the range of dynamic response I need.
I honestly have not spent much time with thicker/thinner snare side heads (only really 3mil). I have obtained drums with Evans 200 and Remo "Emperor snare side" heads that I messed with, but didn't care for either, but demonstration at different tunings and dynamics might be instructive (for me as much for other folks!). Thanks again for the idea!
This was really helpful! I’d love to see a video focused on tuning toms. For what ever reason I struggle a lot with toms.
Yes - the default setting for the tunebot tops out at 400 hz. There is a setting (at least on some models) that allows it to go to 450 hz. Check on their site for how to put it in this mode.
Out of all the videos I’ve watched for past decade or longer, I find you explain things so correctly and simply. Hope you do more videos , I just subscribed last night after watching tuning snare drum. I have 1 question, I just purchased a 3.5x14 snare drum, how would the tuning be on this reso head? The top I’ll be able to figure out but this one idk. And as well as a 6x13 snare drum. Thanks so much
Great video!!! Keep ‘em coming… really love your sound.
Beautiful video, as you said; this is useful information
💯
I Like this Video, because this guy knows what he's talkin about!👍
Yes excellent video. Thanks. What is that Paiste crash?
This a great, in-depth video. Thanks for the advice
All valuable information, thanks for sharing/ imparting knowledge!
This has been so much help & very interesting. Cant thank you enough
So glad! Thanks for being here!
Joel, this is an absolutely superb video and the first one I’ve watched from
you. Thank you for all the detail and nuance and examples. I’ve played for 45 years now but just getting into recording. I’m listening with AirPods Pro, so it’s really translating. 👌🏼👌🏼
there's a Filt (filter) button on the tunebot you hold down for extended frequencies above 400. Same button pressed will limit frequencies to the range you are in getting rid of odd readings
Hey mate, this was a fantastic video! Absolutely loved it.
Joel, when using a calf head as a snare batter; does your approach differ? That crash cymbal sounds almost perfect to my ears.
I have never used an actual calfskin head on a snare drum (only a bass drum). Closest I've used is Remo Skyntone and Fiberskyn II (loved the latter, not so much the former). I do use Aquarian Modern Vintage heads too, which are their version of that sound, and like them very much, but no actual calfskin, sorry.
I'm going to get a calfskin head for snare though and try it on a few different drums. I really want to know what it's like. I've heard good things from people, but always best to experience it myself!
Thank you for the well detailed lesson. I already knew quite but picked up a few things as well. Imma bust out the tunebot and check the reso and bring it up/down to 400. I like it here in the video and I have to say my Supra (6.5) sounds near Identical to yours so we’ll see how close it is.
Also, instead of gaff tape I cut
a 1”x3” piece of suede leather, lay about 1” over the rim and onto the head with the remaining 2” hanging off the drum and hold/pinch it with a small binder clip. This also allows to quickly fine tune the amount of resonance simply by adjusting the amount of leather resting on the head.
Thanks again!
Subscribed!
So my reso was at 385-87 but brought it up to 402. Also brought the head up from 265 to 277. Prior to retuning I tapped my snare, snares off, in comparison with yours and they were about a 1/4 step difference. The only thing now is the strands I have is 30 strand pure sounds. Gonna try a thinner wire out for size but either way it’s killer as it is.
Thx!