You guys are simply, and by far the best! You have the answer to every drummer's question. No-one else even comes close. The pitch-bend setting is funky! Thank you very much.
I have my tom batters tuned to a minor 3rd between them. I used to have a perfect 4th between them for some time, but at one point it felt to me like the drums weren't giving enough in that tuning, so I tried the minor 3rd. It immediately brought the drums to life - at least to my ears. Cheers, and thank you for all the brilliant stuff.
Another fantastic video. 👍 For my preference, with respect to my drums, the setup, and what I play, I much prefer the tom sound at 7:29. This is where the heads are tuned to the same pitch. It is a solid single tone with great resonance and short sustain. It's a great boomy tom sound that lends to clean individual tones that don't bleed into each other which is important if you have multiple toms. However, after watching your single vs double ply, I am looking to possibly trying some thick single plys heads to further define and clean up each tom's individual tone. Thanks again to Sounds Like a Drum for an awesome video and demonstration. 😊
This really helped me!!! For over 20 years I played DW and could just never get the sound I wanted from them, especially on the kick. I recently purchased a Sonor SQ1 and I was blown away by how I just put the heads on and the drums cane to life. Even my 8"X 7" has sustain to it. But after watching this I'm learning a whole new approach on tuning. Thank you so much!
I had a friend in 1966 that had a Leedy set with calf heads, think the bass was a 26 and it is still the most amazing sounding and feeling set of drums I've ever played....you would have loved it
Same, I thought it sounded perfect that way. None of the floor tom tunings really did it for me though (they were all fine, but none stood out as being exceptional).
I've experimented extensively with tuning. Especially by using techniques learned on this channel. With any tom size, wood, cut, or head combination, I keep coming back to the reso a perfect fourth higher. Specifically, the reso pitch is always an octave higher than the fundamental pitch of the tom. With two ply batter heads, the exactness is uncanny, and with single ply batter heads, I have to raise or lower the pitch slightly to get the fundamental pitch to be exact. 10 C# 12 B flat 13 G 16 E flat 18 B flat Even when I subtract or add these toms, the pitches play well together. (Notice the perfect 5th interval between the 12 and 16. Great even when playing a four piece). I like the reso a perfect 4th higher because it gives me attack, tone (shell activation), and just enough sustain to be heard while getting out of the way for the next tom hit. Fast, slow, light, or heavy, it works great on both my 1978 Pearl luan kit and my Pearl Reference Pure. Complements for days! When I encounter a crappy backline kit with crap heads, I use a Tune bot to get my predetermined pitches quickly. But first I take off all the duct tape. Haha! One Moongel on the 16 floor tom. That's it. The drums naturally will have good EQ without the need for dampening. Let them sing! It's all about balance between having the appropriate pitches for the drums and breathable tensioning. Anyway, that's my personal recommendation for both beginners AND live blues/rock drummers. Thanks again for another fantastic video!
Hi John, you seem like you have a great understanding of this, and much experience. May I ask you your opinion on something? I'm a beginner, been playing for about a year and a half on a crappy used kit, and recently ordered my first brand new drum kit: the Yamaha Stage Custom Hip; 20", 10", 13" + 13" snare. The store I bought it from offers to set it up and tune all the drum sets that they sell. I am trying to research what to tell them when they inevitably ask me, "What kind of tuning are you looking for?" Based on your experience, what would you recommend me telling them? Is it as simple as "I want the 10" tom to be a C#, and I want the 13" to be a G, with the reso heads tuned a perfect 4th higher"? Thanks so much for your input!
@@luciendream9246 until John is able to reply, I'll give you my input for what it's worth: They probably won't ask you what you want unless you bring it up. I'm sure they just tune to a fairly neutral standard sound. Nothing wrong with that, but most of their clients probably don't know enough or care enough to worry about specific tuning sounds or techniques. Honestly, you will probably learn more and become a better drummer by messing with the tuning yourself after they've set it up anyway. And feel free to ask some questions during the process, I bet they don't often get people willing to talk about tuning in such detail. You'll find as you grow that there are almost as many tuning techniques and opinions as there are drummers 😂
@@BetterDrummer Thanks so much for your input! I really appreciate it. I'd like to hear anyone else chime in too. Yeah, I'm a tone chaser on guitar, and I am a tone chaser on my crappy drum kit too. I love experimenting with 'drum hacks' and trying to get interesting tones. I agree that messing around with it on my own will definitely help me become a better drummer, but I would really like to get a nice setup right out of the gate. One thing I don't like is a lot of sustain. I think I want a nice, round resonance without too much sustain, but I guess now that I've written that, that's probably what everybody wants, right?!!!
@@luciendream9246 haha! Ya that's probably the most common sound, but some want big boomy, some want super dead... There's so much to mess with, as I'm sure you're aware as a guitar tone chaser lol! Ya I'd let the person who sets up your kit know what you're looking for without sounding too needy/aggressive. Hopefully they can get you in the ballpark pretty quick.
I love this breakdown, explanation and presentation! I'm about to do a big overhaul on my drums and this is a huge help when it comes time to retune everything. Thanks!
Wow, REEEEALLY loved the very first sound out of the gate. I’m slightly embarrassed to admit it, but I’d never considered DIFFERENT intervals for rack tom and floor tom! I know, duh. I’ll certainly be trying it now, man that’s a great sound. Thanks once again for inspiring a new approach, you guys are the absolute best.
The first time I did it, I thought it was weird too, but then I mentioned it to one of my teachers, and he said he did the same thing - the larger the diameter, the larger the interval.
There’s also something to be said about reso heads too. I’ve got controlled sound black dots on the bottoms of all my toms except my 16” FT and it helps maintain sustain and resonance and focuses the tone of the drums made my 12 x 8 sing
Yep. I decided to remove the reso-head from my floors completely. It makes much more sense than a concert-tom to me because, it's projected at the floor and back, giving it more whollop and less "ooom" sound clouding the lows in my mix.
@@jas_bataille beautiful. I was having an issue with my 14” birch floor Tom by having them tuned a certain interval and got a really long pitch bend and wide overtones it was odd but the black dots solved it
This might be content for another video, but shells make a big difference in the resonance and ultimately the sound. My #1 kit is a '72 Rogers, which are thin all maple and they resonate like crazy no matter what heads I use. I have G14's on the tom batters with clear Ambassadors for resos and I get a rich, woody, resonance that is very melodic and satisfying to my ears. Not what I like for jazz, but wonderful for percussion only stuff I enjoy playing...... Just my 2 cents !! Keep up the good work, you guys are helping drummers become more legit!!
Gotta love Sounds Like A Drum! Those super tight reso tunings were wild - I may have to experiment with that! For a recording session I did for my band I slapped the 12" rack at a perfect 4th and the 16" floor at a minor 3rd, and watching this vid made me remember/realise that having that 'smaller' interval for the floor really helped make it more specific for the punkier style of music. But I do think that generally a P4 is the best tester interval for a tom, purely because of the immediate response and how it projects for the mics because then you can deviate in whatever way you think is best for the song if needs be. P.S. SUPER impressive that the toms were the same pitch each and every time, you guys rock
I’ve been experimenting with intervals between top and bottom heads a lot over the last couple of years. One thing I’ve noticed, and this gets back to your different interval schemes from the tom to the floor tom, is the depth of the drum at a given interval will have a different sound. In order to blend the sounds, I feel that closer intervals work well on shallower toms (M2, m3) and wider intervals work well on deeper toms (M3, P4) in order to keep a similar characteristic across the toms.
That was a lot of fun, and I'm going to keep this in mind the next time I change heads. My tuning choices have everything to do with the type of batter heads I'm using (always transparent G1s on resos, no matter what's on top). Currently, I have a set of Pinstripes on all three of my toms, and I'm kind of in love with them because they're so musical. I like having the reso a fifth higher with them, because it makes them sing even more. Onyxes on the other hand, want to be same pitch, which adds boom to the thump. I'd like to see you do a series on specialty heads like Pinstripe and Onyx, etc. It seems like you concentrate on on G1s and G2s, with the occasional Calftone from time to time. Which I have no problem with--they're the workhorses of the business, and rightfully so. Since you're all about sounds, this could be a fruitful area. My apologies if you've already done this in an earlier season and I missed it.
Cool video! Sounds great on headphones.I had a daydream moment of having two kits. one 20 inch kick drum triggered for double bass modern prog/djent, punchy low tuned toms two up, one down. And then another kit, maybe two 22 kicks more Simon Phillips/Billy Cobham tuning with big depth toms tuned high, 3 up two down :))))
If I tried to get specific about My tuning going along with the key of the song then I try to come to a consensus with whoever I'm working with if they want me snare or the kick to be locked in to the key of the song I like to do the reso with the same fourth or fifth higher. I usually elect to make the snare drum the same key as the song I'll also make the snare drum the highest pitched And go down in descending order from I have also tuned the relationship between the snare drum and the four toms a perfect fourth or fifth apart from each other and the one benefit that I like from that is it doesn't matter what two drums you hit at the same time they always sound awesome together. And it makes the snare drum and all the toms have a nice melodic mix together and when you turn your snares off your snare fits perfectly in with the rest of the toms. I've also noticed from my experimentation when you tune your drum to a whole note it seems to have a little bit more volume then a sharp or a flat but that may or may not be true Just seems to be to my ear. I've gotten more compliments on my drum sound when doing the resonant head higher pitched than the batter head. And my experiences I have less sympathetic vibration issues with the snare and everything else recording or live on stage.
CM, me too. I have a 10 X 6.5 rack Tom on my kit, I can't kind that Sweet Spot. I will try these ideas as well. I use G2s batter heads on all my Toms, with a standard Remo clear Reso heads (they came standard with the PDP Concept Maple Kit). I woder if a Clear head on the batter may produce a better sound??
My favorite approach something I use is a baseline and then start to deviate from there from drum kit to drum kit. I use the drum dial to get all the playing surfaces to the same tension I use a dual ply on top single ply on bottom at the same tension that generally puts your tuning relatively close to a perfect fourth or fifth between the batter and reso. Then I use a tune bot to bring the drums to their closest whole note If a drum naturally wants to sit close to a sharp or a flat I just roll with it. That's my quickest way from point A to point B while still maintaining a set relationship between the top and bottom head
Offering side-by-side or 'one right after the other' kinds of comparisons for these tunings (ie more editing :-), I think for some of us would be very useful. Great stuff. Thanks a lot.
Not quite shure why you didn‘t mention the option to tune the reso head lower than the batter. Steve Maxwell and John Good for example recommend this way of tuning. Steve explicitely said that you gain more projection in an acoustic situation. I, playing more acoustically, use the minor third below for reso heads of all toms, using an electronic tuner to avoid wobbling sounds (difficult or even impossible on stage, I know). Batter heads tuned lower may be the method of joice when invividual microphones on the batter side are used, this is shurely right.
I've never been a fan of higher pitched reso head. Mine are either tuned the same, or the reso is a whole step below and I'm a jazz drummer who prefers a medium tuning. This seems to work well for that.
I really enjoyed this one. I've spent a lot of time over the years trying different tunings and I've really benefitted a lot from your channel and Kenny Sharretts' videos. I always play with one rack and one floor. I like the rack tom a perfect 4th above the floor tom. I think of the rack tom a "DO" and sing a low "SOL" for the floor. My main kits are 12" and 14" toms with rounded vintage or vintage-style bearing edges, and I like to use the reso head a major 3rd above the batter head. I have the tunings calculated and written down for maybe half a dozen pitches so that I can pick how high or low the toms are but keep the relationship between the toms and their heads the same. I generally do the same on my larger or smaller toms, though sometimes on the smaller "micro" kit with the 10 & 13" toms, I find that that I need to use an interval smaller than a major third in order to be able to the tune drums low if that's the sound that I want.
Over the course of about 30 years and several different kits I experimented my way to a sound/feel that I preferred - almost always a double ply batter and always with reso tuned slightly higher. Then about 2 years ago I purchased a new kit and long story short I recently discovered a sweet spot in the toms when the resos are tuned slightly lower (so I still get the pitch bend I like). Moral of the story is to always experiment because for any given kit the tuning that works best for your ear (and hands, and the room) may not be where you expect. PS: I note you have kept those Superhoops on instead of the original Pearl Mastercast hoops (die cast)… I’m seriously considering that same swap myself.
I use almost the same method. But I use a double ply batter head on the bottom. Like the way they die out quickly and don't ring as much. Remo pinstripe on the top and Evans hydraulic or Onix on the bottom. Top tuned higher than the bottom.
For me matching the reso and batter on my rack toms really makes them stand out individually when playing as a whole. The floor Tom resos definitely need to be a little bit more cranked. I put a half inch ring on my 16 floor tom and full inch wide ring on my 18 floor tom to deaden just a bit so they’re not so goddam loud. This makes all my toms kind of close in volume. IMHO
THX Cody, and Happy New Year!! I listen to your Toms on a Decent PC Speaker. I have watched all your other YT Vids on Tom Tuning. I am close on the floor Toms, But I just can't get to that Sweet Spot on my 2 Rack Toms (10 and 12) on my PDP Concept Maple kit. I use G2s Coated on the Batter heads on all the drums, and the standard Remo PDP Clear Reso heads. I tend to get too much Overtone. I use Moongels and Gatt tape and get better sound, but I am looking to get a more Ideal sound w/o the Gimmicks. It's my OCD, even at 70 year old, and only a Recreactional / Retired Hobbyist player. I genrally have my Reso heads up 1 pitch above the Batter heads. But no matter how much I tweak them , I just seem to get There... Any other suggestions? THX to All
Setup #2 sounded the most substantial and pleasant to me. I wonder how Simon Phillips tunes his Tama kit, 'cuz they ring like crazy but they also have tons of life.
If I remember correctly from videos I’ve watched from Simon, he tunes his top and bottom heads to the same pitch. Clear Emperors on top, Clear Ambassadors on the reso side.
@@SoundsLikeADrum Well if you have a tom with a mount directly on the shell… The tuning range seems to change when you actually mount it under the stand. Sometimes it seems to choke the drum a bit and sometimes not. I find that you actually have to turn it while it’s mounted.
Great video as usual. Is there a rule of thumb for choosing heads for different broad types of shells? Like, very thin ringy shell gets a thin or thick head? I have Tama Bubinga shells that seem heavy and dense - Would thinner heads help the shells open up?
My Sonor SQ2 seems to tune itself, but my Tama Superstar Hyperdrive, whilst it holds tune well, can take a whole morning to tune. Usually I like a 4th interval but it often depends on the heads I'm using as to what works!
This is likely due to the shallower depths of the toms (as I recall) on the Hyperdrive kit. Consider going for smaller intervals on the shallower drums and larger intervals for deeper drums and don't feel like they need to be the same across a set of toms.
I've been playing for over 40 years and tuning always depends on the size of room or hall your kit is in even the floor your on. Too many factors for a simple explanation. Check out Simon Phillips video for advice . I did enjoy this video.👍🏴
Absolutely! Context should always be factored into your choice of sounds. Some great stuff out there but beware of some of the information in those Simon Phillips videos (don't use your bass drum heads like a trampoline...) without the proper context and some common sense. Not all drumheads are the same and not all of them require the same antiquated approach for tuning either. Thanks for watching!
I have found that the ONLY way I can get the tom sound I want is to tune both heads to the same pitch. If I tune the bottom head higher, I get a BOIIING and if I tune the bottom head lower I get a BOWWWW. I prefer a pure tone with plenty of sustain.
And that’s great! We would never claim that it doesn’t work. That said, there are quite a few places where such devices can fall short, particularly if you haven’t taken the time to develop your ear.
Excuse my ignorance, but what is the difference between sustain and resonance? I’m currently trying to tune a 14” floor Tom and it’s a little to wild for my liking.
This answer barely scratches the surface, but in very general, non-technical terms, you can think of sustain applying to time (length of note), and resonance applying to tone quality (fullness; thin vs round, etc). Not the full story, but start with that :)
I have achieved some of these results, but know why, was somewhat of a mystery. Now I'll have a different approach and not spend as much time on trial and error.
I thought that the shell determines the pitch that a drum should be tuned to. Is this not true? I've seen so many toms that sound rotten except at one certain pitch.
So, I've watched some of your tuning videos in the past. I always run into a lack of sources on learning how to know the difference between a minor 7th, 9th etc... How do you know when you're at the proper "distance" of separation?
Because that doesn’t yield one of the three sounds we wanted to cover in this particular episode and we have covered that approach in previous episodes.
Always by ear. If we ever use a device it’s a quick phone recording for reference. Ear training is imperative with this stuff as it opens up a degree of freedom rarely experienced when one develops reliance on a tuning device. They have their place in certain environments but even then, we’ve tech’d sessions where consistency and precision was paramount without the need for anything beyond our ears.
Was considering getting the Pearl masters kit and I heard some ppl say the optimount system chokes the drum out and someone else said they removed it and they got more resonance out of the drum. Do you guys have any experience / thoughts on that?
I have a pearl reference series which I believe is the precursor to the masters series, and they sing so nicely! You can check out the sound on my channel if you want.
pitch bend, or as i've called it for years, "laser toms". with enough compression that overtone goes PEWWwwww PEWWwwwww. you end up nuking the resonant frequencies with an EQ and there's almost no drum left.
Try coated Emperors (I like suede) on the batter side and clear Ambassadors or Diplomats on the reso. That should give you enough tuning range, sensitivity and sustain for pretty much any style of playing, with a batter head that's durable enough that it doesn't look like it woke up fully clothed in a dumpster after a couple of weeks!
Which is fine- nothing we demonstrated or described here hinges on a particular number of toms, especially since we weren’t talking about the relationship between multiple drums but rather the tuning of batter vs. reso.
In my humble opinion musicians, especially singers, and sound men and studio engineers DO NOT like open drums! Constantly battling for the sound that I'm hearing on a project! Nuisances!!!!
Why on earth would you muffle anything on a drum kit? Bruford, Peart, Cobham, Colaiuta. They never muffled anything. If you exceed these men’s skill, then muffle away.
![“Fixing” Your Floor Tom Sound [Step by Step] | Season Five, Episode 44](/img/n.gif)
I love the work you guys are doing. This channel is like the Dungeons and Dragons culture, but with drums.
i love drum geekyness.
Drum minmaxing
Never would've realised my two hobbies could be a Venn diagram, but here we are.
You guys are simply, and by far the best! You have the answer to every drummer's question. No-one else even comes close. The pitch-bend setting is funky! Thank you very much.
I have my tom batters tuned to a minor 3rd between them. I used to have a perfect 4th between them for some time, but at one point it felt to me like the drums weren't giving enough in that tuning, so I tried the minor 3rd. It immediately brought the drums to life - at least to my ears. Cheers, and thank you for all the brilliant stuff.
Another fantastic video. 👍 For my preference, with respect to my drums, the setup, and what I play, I much prefer the tom sound at 7:29. This is where the heads are tuned to the same pitch. It is a solid single tone with great resonance and short sustain. It's a great boomy tom sound that lends to clean individual tones that don't bleed into each other which is important if you have multiple toms. However, after watching your single vs double ply, I am looking to possibly trying some thick single plys heads to further define and clean up each tom's individual tone. Thanks again to Sounds Like a Drum for an awesome video and demonstration. 😊
This really helped me!!! For over 20 years I played DW and could just never get the sound I wanted from them, especially on the kick. I recently purchased a Sonor SQ1 and I was blown away by how I just put the heads on and the drums cane to life. Even my 8"X 7" has sustain to it. But after watching this I'm learning a whole new approach on tuning. Thank you so much!
I had a friend in 1966 that had a Leedy set with calf heads, think the bass was a 26 and it is still the most amazing sounding and feeling set of drums I've ever played....you would have loved it
4:55 is basically the perfect 12'' tom sound for me. :D Great video!
Same, I thought it sounded perfect that way. None of the floor tom tunings really did it for me though (they were all fine, but none stood out as being exceptional).
I've experimented extensively with tuning. Especially by using techniques learned on this channel. With any tom size, wood, cut, or head combination, I keep coming back to the reso a perfect fourth higher. Specifically, the reso pitch is always an octave higher than the fundamental pitch of the tom. With two ply batter heads, the exactness is uncanny, and with single ply batter heads, I have to raise or lower the pitch slightly to get the fundamental pitch to be exact.
10 C#
12 B flat
13 G
16 E flat
18 B flat
Even when I subtract or add these toms, the pitches play well together. (Notice the perfect 5th interval between the 12 and 16. Great even when playing a four piece).
I like the reso a perfect 4th higher because it gives me attack, tone (shell activation), and just enough sustain to be heard while getting out of the way for the next tom hit. Fast, slow, light, or heavy, it works great on both my 1978 Pearl luan kit and my Pearl Reference Pure. Complements for days! When I encounter a crappy backline kit with crap heads, I use a Tune bot to get my predetermined pitches quickly. But first I take off all the duct tape. Haha! One Moongel on the 16 floor tom. That's it. The drums naturally will have good EQ without the need for dampening. Let them sing! It's all about balance between having the appropriate pitches for the drums and breathable tensioning.
Anyway, that's my personal recommendation for both beginners AND live blues/rock drummers. Thanks again for another fantastic video!
Thanks for sharing your experience in such detail!
Hi John, you seem like you have a great understanding of this, and much experience. May I ask you your opinion on something? I'm a beginner, been playing for about a year and a half on a crappy used kit, and recently ordered my first brand new drum kit: the Yamaha Stage Custom Hip; 20", 10", 13" + 13" snare. The store I bought it from offers to set it up and tune all the drum sets that they sell. I am trying to research what to tell them when they inevitably ask me, "What kind of tuning are you looking for?" Based on your experience, what would you recommend me telling them? Is it as simple as "I want the 10" tom to be a C#, and I want the 13" to be a G, with the reso heads tuned a perfect 4th higher"? Thanks so much for your input!
@@luciendream9246 until John is able to reply, I'll give you my input for what it's worth:
They probably won't ask you what you want unless you bring it up. I'm sure they just tune to a fairly neutral standard sound. Nothing wrong with that, but most of their clients probably don't know enough or care enough to worry about specific tuning sounds or techniques.
Honestly, you will probably learn more and become a better drummer by messing with the tuning yourself after they've set it up anyway. And feel free to ask some questions during the process, I bet they don't often get people willing to talk about tuning in such detail. You'll find as you grow that there are almost as many tuning techniques and opinions as there are drummers 😂
@@BetterDrummer Thanks so much for your input! I really appreciate it. I'd like to hear anyone else chime in too. Yeah, I'm a tone chaser on guitar, and I am a tone chaser on my crappy drum kit too. I love experimenting with 'drum hacks' and trying to get interesting tones. I agree that messing around with it on my own will definitely help me become a better drummer, but I would really like to get a nice setup right out of the gate. One thing I don't like is a lot of sustain. I think I want a nice, round resonance without too much sustain, but I guess now that I've written that, that's probably what everybody wants, right?!!!
@@luciendream9246 haha! Ya that's probably the most common sound, but some want big boomy, some want super dead... There's so much to mess with, as I'm sure you're aware as a guitar tone chaser lol!
Ya I'd let the person who sets up your kit know what you're looking for without sounding too needy/aggressive. Hopefully they can get you in the ballpark pretty quick.
I love this breakdown, explanation and presentation! I'm about to do a big overhaul on my drums and this is a huge help when it comes time to retune everything. Thanks!
i like the way you tuned it, it's perfect
Wow, REEEEALLY loved the very first sound out of the gate. I’m slightly embarrassed to admit it, but I’d never considered DIFFERENT intervals for rack tom and floor tom! I know, duh. I’ll certainly be trying it now, man that’s a great sound. Thanks once again for inspiring a new approach, you guys are the absolute best.
The first time I did it, I thought it was weird too, but then I mentioned it to one of my teachers, and he said he did the same thing - the larger the diameter, the larger the interval.
There’s also something to be said about reso heads too. I’ve got controlled sound black dots on the bottoms of all my toms except my 16” FT and it helps maintain sustain and resonance and focuses the tone of the drums made my 12 x 8 sing
Yep. I decided to remove the reso-head from my floors completely. It makes much more sense than a concert-tom to me because, it's projected at the floor and back, giving it more whollop and less "ooom" sound clouding the lows in my mix.
@@jas_bataille beautiful. I was having an issue with my 14” birch floor Tom by having them tuned a certain interval and got a really long pitch bend and wide overtones it was odd but the black dots solved it
This might be content for another video, but shells make a big difference in the resonance and ultimately the sound. My #1 kit is a '72 Rogers, which are thin all maple and they resonate like crazy no matter what heads I use. I have G14's on the tom batters with clear Ambassadors for resos and I get a rich, woody, resonance that is very melodic and satisfying to my ears. Not what I like for jazz, but wonderful for percussion only stuff I enjoy playing...... Just my 2 cents !! Keep up the good work, you guys are helping drummers become more legit!!
Gotta love Sounds Like A Drum! Those super tight reso tunings were wild - I may have to experiment with that!
For a recording session I did for my band I slapped the 12" rack at a perfect 4th and the 16" floor at a minor 3rd, and watching this vid made me remember/realise that having that 'smaller' interval for the floor really helped make it more specific for the punkier style of music. But I do think that generally a P4 is the best tester interval for a tom, purely because of the immediate response and how it projects for the mics because then you can deviate in whatever way you think is best for the song if needs be.
P.S. SUPER impressive that the toms were the same pitch each and every time, you guys rock
In addition to all of the technical mumbo jumbo I really enjoy watching what Cody comes up with when he plays!
I love how drums is also so much math, science and physics.
Understanding one helps understanding the other and why things happen.
Very thoughtful & useful.
I’ve been experimenting with intervals between top and bottom heads a lot over the last couple of years.
One thing I’ve noticed, and this gets back to your different interval schemes from the tom to the floor tom, is the depth of the drum at a given interval will have a different sound. In order to blend the sounds, I feel that closer intervals work well on shallower toms (M2, m3) and wider intervals work well on deeper toms (M3, P4) in order to keep a similar characteristic across the toms.
That tom sound at 4:58 is perfect!
I used unison tunings for years, but recently have been using fourths above on the resonant heads for a bit of character. Great video as always.
That was a lot of fun, and I'm going to keep this in mind the next time I change heads. My tuning choices have everything to do with the type of batter heads I'm using (always transparent G1s on resos, no matter what's on top). Currently, I have a set of Pinstripes on all three of my toms, and I'm kind of in love with them because they're so musical. I like having the reso a fifth higher with them, because it makes them sing even more. Onyxes on the other hand, want to be same pitch, which adds boom to the thump. I'd like to see you do a series on specialty heads like Pinstripe and Onyx, etc. It seems like you concentrate on on G1s and G2s, with the occasional Calftone from time to time. Which I have no problem with--they're the workhorses of the business, and rightfully so. Since you're all about sounds, this could be a fruitful area. My apologies if you've already done this in an earlier season and I missed it.
Cool video! Sounds great on headphones.I had a daydream moment of having two kits. one 20 inch kick drum triggered for double bass modern prog/djent, punchy low tuned toms two up, one down. And then another kit, maybe two 22 kicks more Simon Phillips/Billy Cobham tuning with big depth toms tuned high, 3 up two down :))))
If I tried to get specific about My tuning going along with the key of the song then I try to come to a consensus with whoever I'm working with if they want me snare or the kick to be locked in to the key of the song I like to do the reso with the same fourth or fifth higher. I usually elect to make the snare drum the same key as the song I'll also make the snare drum the highest pitched And go down in descending order from I have also tuned the relationship between the snare drum and the four toms a perfect fourth or fifth apart from each other and the one benefit that I like from that is it doesn't matter what two drums you hit at the same time they always sound awesome together.
And it makes the snare drum and all the toms have a nice melodic mix together and when you turn your snares off your snare fits perfectly in with the rest of the toms.
I've also noticed from my experimentation when you tune your drum to a whole note it seems to have a little bit more volume then a sharp or a flat but that may or may not be true Just seems to be to my ear.
I've gotten more compliments on my drum sound when doing the resonant head higher pitched than the batter head. And my experiences I have less sympathetic vibration issues with the snare and everything else recording or live on stage.
Pure gold! Thank you guys! I’ve been struggling with my 10x6,5 tom lately to get a fat beefy tone out of it. I’ll definitely try these ideas! Thanks!
CM, me too. I have a 10 X 6.5 rack Tom on my kit, I can't kind that Sweet Spot. I will try these ideas as well. I use G2s batter heads on all my Toms, with a standard Remo clear Reso heads (they came standard with the PDP Concept Maple Kit). I woder if a Clear head on the batter may produce a better sound??
My favorite approach something I use is a baseline and then start to deviate from there from drum kit to drum kit.
I use the drum dial to get all the playing surfaces to the same tension I use a dual ply on top single ply on bottom at the same tension that generally puts your tuning relatively close to a perfect fourth or fifth between the batter and reso.
Then I use a tune bot to bring the drums to their closest whole note If a drum naturally wants to sit close to a sharp or a flat I just roll with it. That's my quickest way from point A to point B while still maintaining a set relationship between the top and bottom head
Offering side-by-side or 'one right after the other' kinds of comparisons for these tunings (ie more editing :-), I think for some of us would be very useful. Great stuff. Thanks a lot.
I also have a 90s Pearl master custom kit with a dark wood finish. They are some of the best sounding drums I’ve ever owner.
Not quite shure why you didn‘t mention the option to tune the reso head lower than the batter. Steve Maxwell and John Good for example recommend this way of tuning. Steve explicitely said that you gain more projection in an acoustic situation. I, playing more acoustically, use the minor third below for reso heads of all toms, using an electronic tuner to avoid wobbling sounds (difficult or even impossible on stage, I know). Batter heads tuned lower may be the method of joice when invividual microphones on the batter side are used, this is shurely right.
I've never been a fan of higher pitched reso head. Mine are either tuned the same, or the reso is a whole step below and I'm a jazz drummer who prefers a medium tuning. This seems to work well for that.
Favorite for absolute pro tips. Thank you.
I really enjoyed this one. I've spent a lot of time over the years trying different tunings and I've really benefitted a lot from your channel and Kenny Sharretts' videos.
I always play with one rack and one floor. I like the rack tom a perfect 4th above the floor tom. I think of the rack tom a "DO" and sing a low "SOL" for the floor. My main kits are 12" and 14" toms with rounded vintage or vintage-style bearing edges, and I like to use the reso head a major 3rd above the batter head. I have the tunings calculated and written down for maybe half a dozen pitches so that I can pick how high or low the toms are but keep the relationship between the toms and their heads the same. I generally do the same on my larger or smaller toms, though sometimes on the smaller "micro" kit with the 10 & 13" toms, I find that that I need to use an interval smaller than a major third in order to be able to the tune drums low if that's the sound that I want.
I like the concept of this video. It’s helpful in my ways
The first tuning was pure nirvana to my ears with a decent set of headphones.
always a very good lesson
Thanks! Great as always 🤘
Over the course of about 30 years and several different kits I experimented my way to a sound/feel that I preferred - almost always a double ply batter and always with reso tuned slightly higher. Then about 2 years ago I purchased a new kit and long story short I recently discovered a sweet spot in the toms when the resos are tuned slightly lower (so I still get the pitch bend I like). Moral of the story is to always experiment because for any given kit the tuning that works best for your ear (and hands, and the room) may not be where you expect.
PS: I note you have kept those Superhoops on instead of the original Pearl Mastercast hoops (die cast)… I’m seriously considering that same swap myself.
I use almost the same method. But I use a double ply batter head on the bottom. Like the way they die out quickly and don't ring as much. Remo pinstripe on the top and Evans hydraulic or Onix on the bottom. Top tuned higher than the bottom.
You are fantastic
Thanks for the helpful video. I've found that vintage drums seem to prefer higher reso's to come alive.
For me matching the reso and batter on my rack toms really makes them stand out individually when playing as a whole. The floor Tom resos definitely need to be a little bit more cranked. I put a half inch ring on my 16 floor tom and full inch wide ring on my 18 floor tom to deaden just a bit so they’re not so goddam loud. This makes all my toms kind of close in volume. IMHO
THX Cody, and Happy New Year!! I listen to your Toms on a Decent PC Speaker. I have watched all your other YT Vids on Tom Tuning. I am close on the floor Toms, But I just can't get to that Sweet Spot on my 2 Rack Toms (10 and 12) on my PDP Concept Maple kit. I use G2s Coated on the Batter heads on all the drums, and the standard Remo PDP Clear Reso heads. I tend to get too much Overtone. I use Moongels and Gatt tape and get better sound, but I am looking to get a more Ideal sound w/o the Gimmicks. It's my OCD, even at 70 year old, and only a Recreactional / Retired Hobbyist player. I genrally have my Reso heads up 1 pitch above the Batter heads. But no matter how much I tweak them , I just seem to get There... Any other suggestions? THX to All
just when I need the video thenks :)
The minor 7th interval sounded like it would be perfect for old school jazz.
I'm not sure I understand how to tune to intervals... that might be a good topic for the future. If it's been done I am sorry I missed it.
Setup #2 sounded the most substantial and pleasant to me. I wonder how Simon Phillips tunes his Tama kit, 'cuz they ring like crazy but they also have tons of life.
If I remember correctly from videos I’ve watched from Simon, he tunes his top and bottom heads to the same pitch. Clear Emperors on top, Clear Ambassadors on the reso side.
Sounds great. I’m pretty sure I have the same kit! Pearl Masters MMX in a platinum mist? 4 ply maple shells!
These are the Masters Maple Custom Extra with 6-ply shells but yep, platinum mist finish. I love ‘em! -Ben
Really enjoyed this one! Great sounding drums too!
Have you guys done a video on direct to shell mount tom tuning? Like tuning while mounted etc? Thanks
Not entirely sure what you mean. Can you clarify?
@@SoundsLikeADrum Well if you have a tom with a mount directly on the shell… The tuning range seems to change when you actually mount it under the stand. Sometimes it seems to choke the drum a bit and sometimes not. I find that you actually have to turn it while it’s mounted.
I use minor 3d on all toms, it works well for me. Maybe i will Check out 4th 5th on the Standtoms ... I love every Episode go on ..
Great video as usual. Is there a rule of thumb for choosing heads for different broad types of shells? Like, very thin ringy shell gets a thin or thick head? I have Tama Bubinga shells that seem heavy and dense - Would thinner heads help the shells open up?
My Sonor SQ2 seems to tune itself, but my Tama Superstar Hyperdrive, whilst it holds tune well, can take a whole morning to tune. Usually I like a 4th interval but it often depends on the heads I'm using as to what works!
This is likely due to the shallower depths of the toms (as I recall) on the Hyperdrive kit. Consider going for smaller intervals on the shallower drums and larger intervals for deeper drums and don't feel like they need to be the same across a set of toms.
I've been playing for over 40 years and tuning always depends on the size of room or hall your kit is in even the floor your on. Too many factors for a simple explanation. Check out Simon Phillips video for advice . I did enjoy this video.👍🏴
Absolutely! Context should always be factored into your choice of sounds. Some great stuff out there but beware of some of the information in those Simon Phillips videos (don't use your bass drum heads like a trampoline...) without the proper context and some common sense. Not all drumheads are the same and not all of them require the same antiquated approach for tuning either. Thanks for watching!
What sound characteristics happen when the reso head is lower than the batter? I feel like it's more of a thud which I really like it
The end of the note will be lower, the note will "decay"
I have found that the ONLY way I can get the tom sound I want is to tune both heads to the same pitch. If I tune the bottom head higher, I get a BOIIING and if I tune the bottom head lower I get a BOWWWW. I prefer a pure tone with plenty of sustain.
Yo, play the video back and look at his experiences hearing the toms. It’s fun to see which ones you like and dislike.
I play live with mics on the drums all the time...... the drum dial works well for me.
And that’s great! We would never claim that it doesn’t work. That said, there are quite a few places where such devices can fall short, particularly if you haven’t taken the time to develop your ear.
Awesome video. You guys are funny
I've been wanting to put coated heads on the tops and bottoms of my tom and floor tom
Excuse my ignorance, but what is the difference between sustain and resonance? I’m currently trying to tune a 14” floor Tom and it’s a little to wild for my liking.
This answer barely scratches the surface, but in very general, non-technical terms, you can think of sustain applying to time (length of note), and resonance applying to tone quality (fullness; thin vs round, etc). Not the full story, but start with that :)
@@raykingstonmusic thanks Ray.
What was the intervals for the high resonance / short sustain?
If you want an Pearl drum sound like an american, put two coated ambassador on top and reso ....and "Baaaooouuuuuum" sound !
I have achieved some of these results, but know why, was somewhat of a mystery. Now I'll have a different approach and not spend as much time on trial and error.
I thought that the shell determines the pitch that a drum should be tuned to. Is this not true? I've seen so many toms that sound rotten except at one certain pitch.
great! 12" and 16" toms, right?
"i do not ear any difference" is my mantra. just kidding guys, i have to train my ears more...
So, I've watched some of your tuning videos in the past. I always run into a lack of sources on learning how to know the difference between a minor 7th, 9th etc... How do you know when you're at the proper "distance" of separation?
This should help you get an idea
Intrigued to know why you guys didn't didn't discuss batter head higher than the reso?
Because that doesn’t yield one of the three sounds we wanted to cover in this particular episode and we have covered that approach in previous episodes.
Do you guys tune with a device or simply by ear? Excellent per usual!
Always by ear. If we ever use a device it’s a quick phone recording for reference. Ear training is imperative with this stuff as it opens up a degree of freedom rarely experienced when one develops reliance on a tuning device. They have their place in certain environments but even then, we’ve tech’d sessions where consistency and precision was paramount without the need for anything beyond our ears.
@@SoundsLikeADrum I totally agree with you on that response- Thank you!
Was considering getting the Pearl masters kit and I heard some ppl say the optimount system chokes the drum out and someone else said they removed it and they got more resonance out of the drum. Do you guys have any experience / thoughts on that?
I have a pearl reference series which I believe is the precursor to the masters series, and they sing so nicely! You can check out the sound on my channel if you want.
What model of Pearl are you using in this video...?
Pearl Masters Maple Custom Extra. All gear is detailed in the description of each episode.
pitch bend, or as i've called it for years, "laser toms". with enough compression that overtone goes PEWWwwww PEWWwwwww. you end up nuking the resonant frequencies with an EQ and there's almost no drum left.
What would be a good head choice for toms on a vintage Ludwig set?
Remo ambassador coated classic fit work well for me on my 60s Ludwig
Try coated Emperors (I like suede) on the batter side and clear Ambassadors or Diplomats on the reso. That should give you enough tuning range, sensitivity and sustain for pretty much any style of playing, with a batter head that's durable enough that it doesn't look like it woke up fully clothed in a dumpster after a couple of weeks!
@@emlix1 Thanks!
Not all viewers and subs only use 1 rack tom.
Which is fine- nothing we demonstrated or described here hinges on a particular number of toms, especially since we weren’t talking about the relationship between multiple drums but rather the tuning of batter vs. reso.
The mix will hide most overtones/decay.
Huh, I always thought tuning the same pitch meant longer sustain. Go figure.
In my humble opinion musicians, especially singers, and sound men and studio engineers DO NOT like open drums! Constantly battling for the sound that I'm hearing on a project! Nuisances!!!!
Is that a 10 inches rack Tom?
This one is a 12” diameter tom. I also have a matching 10” that we use on occasion. -Ben
Why on earth would you muffle anything on a drum kit? Bruford, Peart, Cobham, Colaiuta. They never muffled anything. If you exceed these men’s skill, then muffle away.