How To Tune Drums - by DW's John Good
Вставка
- Опубліковано 29 сер 2011
- John Good brings you into the DW Assembly Line to show you how he suggests tuning your drums, regardless of the brand.
He tunes 3 different types of drums:
Tom @ 0:40
Snare @ 5:14
Bass Drum @ 10:52
John says it best, but to summarize the key points:
-Always do one head at a time
-Before tightening the tension rods, push hard on the center of the head to "seat/center" the head. You'll hear it crackle, but don't worry, you're not damaging the head. Only breaking it in.
-First use only your fingers to tighten the tension rods, tightening opposing rods so that the head seats flat and even. Similar to how you'd tighten lugs on a car wheel. Alternating in a criss-cross pattern.
-Once all the rods are finger-tight, it's time to use a key. A couple turns on each, still following a criss-cross pattern, is all you should do per round. Each time you complete a full circle, it's good to listen to where you're at.
-Now, each time you complete a round, is when you really do fine tuning. Lightly tap your finger about an inch from the edge of the drum on each rod and listen to hear which rods are higher or lower in pitch from the rest. This is the hardest part, because it takes a very critical ear (that most guitar players don't even have ;). You'll also find that if you come across a rod that is lower than the rest, the one directly across from it is probably also lower. It's good to think of them in pairs.
-Continue making rounds with a couple turns on each rod, followed by a round of fine tuning until you feel the head is at the pitch you desire.
-If you ever feel like you made a mistake or feel like it's just messed up, you can always completely loosen all the rods on that side and start over with the finger-tightening. Practice makes perfect!
-Remember that tuning is very subjective; everybody has a different preference. Many people prefer to tune the bottom head slightly lower than the top so that the note bends down in pitch when you hit it.
-Also, be sure to replace you bottom heads about once every four time you change the top. Many drummers assume that because they don't hit the bottom head, that they can last forever. But indeed they do take a sympathetic beating.
For all things DW, visit www.dwdrums.com
To stay up to date with the latest daily info,
"Like" our Fan Page @ / dwdrums
and follow our Tweets too!
/ dwdrums
"I'll make this simple and easy to understand"
Places drum on mystical wheel. Tap tap tap....strange voodoo....tap tap tap.
"There we go! All done!"
This dude what is he listened two
Lmfao!
Jajajajajajajaja
'mystical wheel' -- made my fucking day, bro. thank you.
Phil McRackin
I roughly do know what he's doing, as a drummer myself. But re-watching the clip with that "strange voodoo.. tap, tap" comment of yours in my head, I'm laughing my ass of, mate 👍🏻🤣
If you dont have a turnable table........use your drum chair ;)
Lol I was sitting here thinking "who the hell has a turntable sitting around" then I read this comment.... mind blown
Its a throne, not a fucking chair.
Or a table.
Genius GOLDEN BUZZER!
Σταυρος Ελλας i though about the same thing
Best sounding snare drum I have ever heard and he calls it a good starting place :P. I really wanna hear what impresses John Good!
LeafBucket that's cause they are pros
LeafBucket well if you listen, he says "starting place" because he said he tuned to what he thought sounded good, but you might have a desire to tune lower or higher depending on your needs. So in essence he's saying he only showed you a good place to jump off from depending on your tastes, not that he thought he could tune it better.
Check how he uses the hand to mute some overtones...
When I went to an open house(tour) deal at DW they had one of the concrete snares on the spinny table. the guy working on the drums hit it with the stick. That was the best sounding snare I have ever heard.
The "BEST" Snare{s} I've ever heard/played are Late 50's to mid/late 60's Slingerland 5.5 Maple Shell "ARTIST" Series snares!
But that's just MY Opinion! :D
I've played drums my whole life and really struggle achieving a balanced tone. This video will helped me in a huge way because obviously I've been doing it wrong my whole life. Thank you.
I’ve been drum tuning wrong for 45 years? Now you tell me! All these years of playing and here I was thinking I’m a kick ass drum tuner when I was really a sad-sack! And now you want to break an old dog of his old tricks? Good luck...I might as well put them to sleep
@diver dave That's awesome 🙂
@@johnlopez1065 LOL 😅
more dollars more tone
Me too 👍🏻
If I may offer another tip - use the " two key method " and use very precise turns or rotations of the tuning keys to ensure getting a full 360 degree or whatever fractional increment you're trying to achieve. Also small increments can result in huge tonal differences. Start with the lowest possible tuning option and work up. Lastly always tune up to pitch not down. Good Luck and All the Best!
@Big Duke's Outdoors
If I may offer another tip- pre stretch your new heads. Use two keys, small even turns and take the head tighter than it will end up. Leave in that state for 24hrs then bring it down using the same small even turns til it goes flat then tune up. Go from large drums to small in intervals. Amazing tone this way...
@@tomrice8061 I just tighten slowly all screws equally way tighter than what I am aiming at the end and then pump the head with my hand and after that I loose the screws totally and start the tuning again, works great. I think 24h is overkill :).
"a good starting place there" sounds better than my kit has ever sounded..
I know right, it's pretty frustrating actually hahah. It's actually very useful information, but upon first impression you're like wtf he just NAILED it right off the bat this is BS.. lol
@Kaptain Kid I think you completely missed what I was saying.
@@djjazzyjeff1232 I feel for you
He was using his other hand to choke out the overtones.
You are very welcome and we are so very happy to help! Thanks so much for your feedback, too!
Thanks for coming back and stopping by!
Glad you are liking the JG tuning video! Thanks for your experienced feedback!
Put a Drum Stick between the rim and the wires from one side to the other, so you don't have to hold up the wires with one hand. Make sure you loosen the wires beforehand so that they don't get damaged.
You have invented a masterpiece.
GENIOUS!
Really appreciate this video DW. thanks John and team!
I don't even have a dw kit yet and you guys are my favorite company. not only do you make a fine product and cater to the serious musician but you make tutorials that even a drummer with years of experience can learn from and not feel ashamed.
Hello John Good, your video gives clear guidance: most important point: be comfortable when tuning! Thanks for these hints.
10:30 that's the best sounding snare I've ever heard and he says it's a good starting point, spoiled.
+q Haven could be using one of those dry heads.... try an evans hd dry and it sounds great very quick
snapascrew top or bottom?
+q Haven top.
Very good starting point
hahaha ithought the same the 10 different times i've seen this video over 5 years.
Watching your video made drum tuning a breeze! Because your video was so clear I kept hearing your voice in my head coaching me through it when I changed my drum heads for the first time. Great video.
Tuning drums used to be a nightmare for me, for many years. I was always chasing the note. Pick one lug, tune it and the one directly across from it so they match, then bring up the lug next to it to match...Now the original lug you tuned is even higher...that kind of thing. Then you're just chasing the note all over the place until you just give up and say "Good enough!!".
I can't tell you how I figured it out, but I finally did. You just have to keep doing it, then it just clicks and you start catching the note instead of chasing it down. That's what it did for me anyway, and I don't really understand why.
I actually enjoy tuning drums now, which is crazy, and I'm pretty good now, which is even crazier.
Just keep doing it, keep chasing that note and suddenly you'll start catching it, it worked for me.
I could splain it better, but it would read like a short novel
EastBay MauiBoy “Lemme SPLAIN somethin to ya” Bernard Purdie
The thing is, I hate tuning drums only because of one single reason, which was exemplified by my tuning of the new Aquarian tom heads I recently acquired.
I got them Pitch.Frickin.Perfect the first time I tuned them, JUST the way I wanted them to sound, and the heads gave me The Exact kind of warm attack I wanted - and the next day they had detuned. I tried to get the glorious sound from yesterday back by minor tweaks, but it just was Not the same. Then I thought "screw it" and started from scratch, and while I got my 10" where I wanted (at least it sounded reminiscent), the 12" just sounded like trash, and the only way to get the tone clean was to tune it higher than I like.
Oh, and dont get me started about the 14" floor head - I just couldnt get it to a good, clean sounding tone At All, and now Ive left it barely any tension, low, without a noticeable tone, and it sounds palatable.
With my earmuffs, All of them sound almost like I like them, but thats just the problem - I Know its possible to get the exact sound I want from them, but 1) for some reason the technique I used the first time doesnt work anymore, and 2) Whats the freaking point, when they are going to detune anyway, and I wont be able to get them to sound as good as before, without starting from scratch once more?
Then again, Ive never tried this exact technique, and Im desperate, so I will try it asap, but I really do think that drum manufacturers should think about some sort of way to make the tension-rods stay as they were tuned, of course, if such a thing already doesnt exist...
@@19RaxR91 Use tunerfish lug locks man. Keep them drums in tune, set and forget!
@@Jeremy_Sims Thanks for the answer. Your advice actually took me on a journey, looking for differing versions of lug locks, since I didnt know that was a thing, and I think Ive found a cheaper alternative, and in theory it should render the tension rods immovable.
@@Jeremy_Sims Also, I saw one guy talking about the tunerfish luglocks having an issue I was fearing - that they can fall off from the bottom rods if not secured, and that the security included (small rubber bands) broke quite easily.
This is by far the best (and simplest) drum tuning video I've ever seen. And I've seen many.... DW, you've proved yourself once again
🤔🤔🤨
This is by far the best!!! I've been struggling for months trying to get my snare to sound like a rock genre, I love DW!
Snare sounds so crunchy !! Awesome
Really helpful reminders after all these years! Esp. the "diagonal - skip - diagonal" routine. Thanks John :)
Thanks, John, for taking the time out from your busy schedule to demonstrate all of this!
Mike McCraw I want his job! I could be a happy man working in a drum factory!!
Thanks.John! Very informative. Not to mention important. I see/hear too many drummers who don't put enough time and thought into keeping their drums tuned.
He is SUCH a drum master. And a real blessing to all us drummers in search of great drum sounds.
Thank you DW for being such an honest company who care about their customers. It's rare these days to find such a thing!
Thanks for choosing the Performance Series! Awesome you are loving your kit! Your bearing edge should be fine. Just make sure you are doing your best to keep even tension and your drums will continue do to the work for you. Enjoy!
Thanks to this video I tuned up my snare in one take and it sounded absolutely beautiful,
Most helpful video I’ve seen 👍🏻
Yeah Me Too I Want To Be Comfortable On DW And PDP Drums To Tune It
Thank you very much for this informative video! I'm a beginner drummer, just bought my first set not long ago. Can't wait to tune it to my taste. Awesome!
Definitely appreciate the video. One of the best "descriptive" ones I have come across for "free." Pointed out a couple things I was unfortunately doing backwards while tuning. Thanks for the advice.
I need a carpeted spinny wheel.
Right? No one has lasy susans just laying around in 2017!
ipresent my father in law has made me one
Lol
@@mrlurp 149$ US seems a big steep knowing drummers are broke already buying thousands in shells skins sticks mics cymbals pedals and etc.
Use your drum throne
Back in the early 90s I attended a seminar with Sonny Emory. When it came to the question of tuning drums, here is what he said about tuning the snare drum - "Crank it til it sound good!" Like it or not, to this day there is a mystique to tuning drums that defies the logic and technical accuracy we wish to see when it comes to instructions. We may demand precise numbers but reality gives us riddles.
Very true, in my head I'm thinking, "Why don't we just measure the tension... wait the have DrumDial and it works like shit, ok so what if we just turned each lug exactly the same... well then you'd be totally off once you get from one side to the other of the drum because of the hoop moving.. so what if you had this like, thing that attaches to the end of a drill that somehow turns every lug at the same time at exactly the same rate..?" At the end of the day the best way to tune your drums is to just use your ears. As much as we desire it, there's no shortcut.
Thanks guys! Nice to see a drum company listening to its customers!
Thanks a lot, John!
Very helpful instructions.
My God... I can't tune my 10" inch Yamaha Oak Custom tom tom spending 1 hour, and that floor tom just got tuned in minutes... That's why Mr. _John Good is the man!
😀
Put a drumstick under the snares and on the two sides of the rim across the center of the snare side. Makes tuning the snare head a piece of cake.
Drum stick throws off the natural tone, minimal contact with the head is essential to a perfect tune
John Good is a god man, my concept series sounds amazing after i used the video when tuning! Thank You DW!!
Glad we could be of help! Thanks!
Thanks for watching! We actually got our Lazy Susan from a local carpenter. Maybe there is a carpenter in your area that can help you out!
I have an enormous amount of respect for John and the inovations that DW has brought to the industry. His pitch matched shells and attention to detail are fantastic and so it is somewhat difficult for me to say that I disagree with a couple aspects of his approach.
First, I always use TWO keys on opposite lugs simultaneously to get the rim tightening at an even, level over the bearing edge of the drum. The back and forth tapping and tightening is a very dated approach to this process in my experience. Each lug will afect the lug tension on either SIDE of it and so the head needs to be seated onto the bearing edge in a very balanced, slow approach - like one key turn each before you make your way around to it again.
Second, starting with the bottom head makes no sense to me. The attack head is where your drum sound starts and the resonant head tension should be adjusted to acheive the pitch and duration you desire. After tuning drums for the past 35 years I have always had to work the resonant head into the batter head tension.
An additional finsihing touch to your drumtuning can be acheived with a Drum Dial as well. Just minute adjustments to eliminate any overtones and finish the drum in tune with itself.
Just a few thoughts. Thank you DW for your superior products and one day I hope to afford one of your collector series.
Cool idea using two keys together. Will try that out sometime.
In my case bottom head is always higher than the batter head. It ends up being minor third higher. Cheers!👊🏻🍻
Cheers guys! Its nice to see a a big drum manufacturer communicate with its customers!!
Just got a 45th Anniversary Kit.... so gorgeous looking and sounding...i'm not a drummer so this video is priceless...thanks John!
333Lithium333 That is the point for sure! You want the same tone from every part of the snare drum by the tension will insure you drum being tuned perfectly!
+dw drums Thank you DW - that was the only point I was trying to make. Nothing worse than an expensive shell or rim that's been warped due to inconsistent lug rod tensioning .
dw drums a
Mm
That bass was perfection.
Damn, you have the greatest profile picture I've EVER seen:)
Eva Kuierung
Finally!!! After all these years someone mentions my profile pic!!! Thank You.
Thomas Bowen
Haha :D
You're welcome
This is an excellent guide for tuning drums. Thank you.
Thank you for posting this very informative video. I like the step of pushing the on the center of the drum head to "seat it". I never thought of doing that and it makes perfect sense, I was never taught how to tune drum heads and your video brought it all together for me, Once again, thanks!
One day, i sure hope to have an endorsement from you guys. Thank You.
As do I. Don't even own my own DW kit though... yet. ;)
Good starting point? Sounds awesome
Before, I used to tune my drums in a (slightly) different way, and it worked alright. But after following this method, my drums sound so good!!! Thank you John!
Thank you for this DW!
Richard Picard! We hope you see this! There is a new system in place so we cant comment straight back to you like before. The snare wires are a touchy installation for sure. Making sure the attachments on the the snare wires are set up at even length but loose is key. After you have the bottom head tuned you can tighten the snare wires up to your liking. Thanks for watching!
Thank you!!!
This video was extremely helpful, thank you!
Hey there! We can not stress the importance of even tension! That;s why John talks about this in the video. Starting with finger tension and moving up from there is a great start!
+Leonardo DrumVinci The top head slightly higher.
What DW Snare is that? What type?
Looks like the Steel. :-) www.dwdrums.com/snares/coll-metal.asp
fluzzy Bangbuzz DW Stainless Steel Snare drum. It's part of the Collector's Series.
dw drums ?
Zafar Baloch Yup
OMG DW DRUMS THERE ARE MY FAVORITE DRUMS IN THE WORLD
John this was a cool video. A good approach to go by for sure, thanks!
The snare was heaven , I appreciate You man!
DW are the Rolls Royce of drums in my opinion and you can see how they got to this level by the passion that they have for the instrument. Great video VP! I just hope they don't start to out source to China and lose some of the quality. I know economics sometimes make this inevitable, but I hope not! Cheers!
Well I was told by DW that they already did when I called them about some parts for a couple of my snare drums. One of my Edge snares with gold hardware has one hoop that does not match the rest of the drum. DW said I would have to buy all new hardware in order for everything to match as the plating is done overseas so every batch will be a little different.
I also have the Neil Peart snare collection and asked about hardware for the Time Machine snare as just handling it to clean has scratched the copper finish.(yes I wear cotton gloves) Was told they are built in china and DW has no access to parts for their specialty drums and dont plan on getting any.
Its sad. Of all the snare drums I own the Edge snare drums are by far the best sounding.
David Gepford ghhh though p kitty hhhuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhglllllllllllhjjjjjjjjkiiujjjjjuuiuikkkllllllll
David Gepford Hi david,
We do have access to our hardware for the Time Machine Snare drums. Since this is specialty drum Hardware they are not ordered in bulk. We can special order parts for you but you would have to wait a bit for them to get here. Hope this helps.
Why thank you. I will get in touch with my local DW dealer and see if we cant get the few items needed to keep this snare in perfect condition. Without taking out of the display cabinet I believe all that is needed is a couple of the copper lugs and maybe a set of tension rods just to have in stock.
Thank you for your responce and input in this matter. I cant wait to have it flawless again.
David...
You might need to send us your lugs for counterfeit reasons, but talk to your dealer and we'll se what we can do. Take care.
Impressive video, but I see a lot of inconsistency in the rod tensioning. Some 2 turns, others three. I've been doing this for 40 years, and the easiest trick is to
A) make sure your rods are all the exact same length
B} slowly rotate the rod after inserting into the lug until the threads just grab
C) using the same diagonal method, tighten all of the rods the same exact number of turns.
Once you approach the tone you're looking for, continue diagonally but tighten each lug only 1/2 turn at a time.
This will guarantee even tensioning all around, and more importantly - prevent warping your shell due to uneven tensioning.
+Ken Burbulak How many drums over the years have you setup? Someone with 40 years experience in say, repair, or building, is exactly the type of person who should be making these videos! Would love to see/learn your wisdom. =)
+Ken Burbulak please post us a video of your tuning
+Hugh Jafro I've been playing on field drums, not trap sets since 1963. We've switched from Remo WeatherKing, Remo ebony pinstripes to recently Black Max. My comments weren't on proper "tuning" but the attempt to have each lug rod "tensioned" equally which basically eliminates the possibility of shell and rim distortion, as well as uneven head stretching - especially with the 12 lug drums that we are using today.
talkin shit. prove ya self
LOL!!! This dude just said John Good, one of the biggest & most accomplished drum nerds in the biz of making drums, & has also been doing for over 40 years, & got pretty good at it, DW DRUMS, is inconsistent!!I love youtube keyboard killers! Wow..... Btw, there's NO way NOT to be a little inconsistent when you're dealing with tuning, because there is NO head that's perfect. The only guarantee is that there Is no guarantee when tuning drums. It's Always gonna be different.
And this is another reason why DW's sound great out of the box! Great tuning tutorial John!
😀 Thank you
Man i love the sound of DW bass drums
This guy has got such a great talent and does he sound like Bill Murray to anyone else?
10:30 holy shit i want that snare
I have just purchased a DW performance Series, Marine white, 6 piece 2up 2down. Been playing for over 22 years and they are by far the best sounding drums i have ever heard and a dream to play. This video has tremendous value for any drummer wanting to tune their kit as it not only shows you how the skins can be tuned in relation to one another to get the best resonance, but how to adapt them to your particular sound. Well worth the money. Quality work JG, loved the DVD i got with the kit ;)
Excellent video, very helpful. The drums sounded really good
I'm in a need of DW drumkit.
At 14:44 it sounds like he's playing the intro to "Why Can't This Be Love" by Van Halen lol.
14:50 the intro to "Hot for Teacher"
This is an outstanding video. My new Gretsch Kit came with no instructions whatsoever, so, when I unpacked it, I was overwhelmed with the assembly process -- let alone the tuning ritual. Mr. Wood explains the tuning procedure in a step-by-step manner that is easy to follow. I duplicated his actions exactly and the result was excellent sound, right off the bat. Thank you, John Good!
Thanks for your chiming in! This is true! We tune every kit to be ready play when you set the kit up. :)
I thought that this was going to be another generic tuning video that tried to convince me that I want a dw drum set. I really liked the video, and I want a spinning table now. I was unimpressed for a minute and then my opinion started shifting once you got into fine tuning territory. any advice on how to build a table like that?
Thank you
Re: any advice on how to build a table like that?
I just take a towel and toss it on my throne. BAM!!!! Instant turn table.
russofris BAM indeed!
russofris The easiest place to start is your drum throne. :)
A couple pieces of common plywood, scrap of carpet on top one, and this high quality "Lazy Susan" bearing assembly (selling for under $10), and you're done! www.vxb.com/1000-lbs-Capacity-12-Lazy-Susan-5-16-Thick-p/Kit8999.htm?gclid=Cj0KCQjwgJv4BRCrARIsAB17JI5btZHbUGITAPyfG9aeHy7lFK7lM9sCbwLurIAUSSAtFZOCkufCW00aAsr8EALw_wcB
Q: Why should we tune the drums? A: Because they are instruments.
because you cant tune a fish
@@6410daniel Can we tuna salad?
@@tobytoxd You will need a celery stick
Because we Care!
@@deepseadrumz1 Because we can...
That is awesome that DW prints the note on the inside for that shell. I'm so old school, drummer 50 years now. I always had to strip the drum down to the shell to find its pitch. That is much work. You wouldn't believe how many drums are in error. A 10" tom should not have a lower pitch than a 12" one. I didn't know there was anyone left on the planet that knew how to tune drums. Thanks, I'm no longer alone. Vocal Group Hall of Fame and MD entertainment Hall of Fame inductee. (2001,2014)
Probally one of the best tuning videos ive seen
"Basically, Haha Bass Drum... "Bass-ically" xD
I like to think I'm pretty good at tuning my kit, but I always struggle with the reso head on my kick. Would you have any tips on tuning a reso kick head that already has a port hole cut out? Cheers!
Tuning is completely subjective but this video serves as a guideline. You can try just finger tightening on the Reso head as a starting point.
Try using a remo muff L ring. It worked well on my 22 ludwig classic.
I think I’ve heard them say you want the reso head tuned lower than your batter head.
John Good is an amazing man! A wonderful man, a wonderful crew there, and the most important they are doing that drums with love! Think about that!
Thanks so much for noticing! We will keep going forward and we hope we can bring you a smile or 2 in the process!
Great video! I never understood why bass drums need pillows and stuff in them. They can't make them sound properly out of the factory without anything in there?
Hi Brian, Great question. It's more of a taste thing. Some drummers prefer their drums open and some prefer to have them dampened (it also depends on the style of music). The great thing is that it makes the drum versatile. 😉
Thank you! It's good to know they CAN be left open. I figure with all the engineering that goes into them they should be able to stand on their own if someone prefers. I really like this video again.
Brian Burke dggvc
my 45th Anniversary Kit came with two pillow thingies in there but they were tossed in shipping it appears and they are apparently loose and at angles to each other... any suggestions on how i go in there and get them right? (assuming taking off the front kick head is required)... hate to do that on my brand new kit!
@@MartinSoundLabs I'm 2 years late but if you've figured it out please let me know! I'm struggling with the same thing
Easy to understand? Ha! I'm a drummer. You underestimate my ability to NOT understand things.
The Internediot Alex In Halen ! D
Hahahaha I can relate so much to this. Keyboard player offered me sheet music, only use i can think of for me is to burn it for warmth
@@theflyingcrud If the music is written with 64th notes, it'll burn waaaaay too fast.
@@thesadwolf shit, didn't even think of that
Yep, John, I'm a drummer. I hang around with musicians. Boom tish!
16 years with my 5 pieces kit Maple Ddrum ... just until today I know the truly power and potential of my kit thank you so MUCH!!
You can hear the passion that John Good has for the product and company
I might of missed it, but what does "finger-tight" mean. Also what sort of tuning would i want for a Ginger Baker/Ringo type sound? Also probably need some socks or something huh?
+Melomania Regret missing school much? Finger tight means as tight as you can do with your finger....Jebus....the Zombie Apocolypse aint going to miss you much is it? If you need socks I can send you some. If you want a particular sound e.g that flat pre-sixties sound then the principle is the same - listen to what John is saying and focus on an even drum sound and then lift/drop the whole tuning to what you like (within the limitations of what you are working with). At the end of the day...being able to hit some drums is better than not being able to. Just have fun.
Finn Miller Well thats what I assumed finger tight meant but I thought it was more complex than that. Also it was about 3 or 4 am. And yea I just started to have interest in drumming and was gonna purchase a set soon, and was wondering what they did to get the sound other than tuning. Cause so far I heard they used tea cloths, socks (taped or set onto the snare/toms), taking the whole drumset outside and recording, and also placing the kick mic in special spots, AND obviously a whole lot of talent. So I was just making sure.
Ringo Starr?
Minecraftian yea
+Melomania I would say to capture a certain era of drum sound, it's going to be more about the drum and cymbal sizes, the sticks you use and your own technique more than the tuning itself. If you have a favorite drummer you want to sound like, just google their drumkit specs, and look for good videos of them playing so you can pick it apart. A lot of great drummers fall back on a few specific fills that you will see over and over again. Granted a lot of these guys might have amassed some pretty huge drumkits, you can still emulate them if you try to match a few of the basic components. Hi Hat size, Snare size, kick drum size are what I would try to copy first if I were going to build a kit to sound a certain way.
As far as dampening the drums go, I wouldn't try to use the old sock/tape methods anymore, there are easier and better sounding options. If you practice long enough at tuning, you shouldn't need to dampen much of anything, but my favorite choice is decorative window clings. You can go raid the walmart after halloween and get sheets of different sizes and shapes of gels for a fraction of the price you would pay for the more "official" drum gels. If you don't mind having ghosts and bunny rabbits and whatnot all over your kit that is!
It's great that you're interested in taking it up, I've been playing for almost 30 years and it's a big part of my life. Don't let yourself get deterred by lowly youtubers that jump on the first opportunity to feel better about themselves by attacking you for asking questions.
Another thing, it doesn't matter how long you've been playing, it's always beneficial to study the basics. I am always watching beginner tutorials and gear maintenance videos and after 30 years I still pick up new ideas and techniques.
7:00 put a stick under the snares resting on the rim.
My God!! I can't tune my 10 inch tom unless I take 2 or 3 rounds with the heads, and John Good can tune a floor tom, Bass drum and a snare in less than 15 minutes... That's why DW is on top... They sure know what they're doing!!
you just made my new PDP Concept Maple sound phenomenal! Thanks for the awesome video!
Here's what I see is wrong with this video....1) As long as there's a head on the shell, when he taps the shell to hear the pitch of the shell, you are going to hear the pitch of whatever the head is tuned to at that moment, as you can tell when he taps the shell at the start of the video and then later when he's close to being done tuning the bottom head. It's two different pitches. The shell resonance should be listened to with a virgin shell, with nothing on the shell at all. 2) The note thing doesn't really apply a lot of times. I had a DW floor tom that had a note stamped in it that was nowhere near its sweet spot. The pitch of the note was such that it wasn't able to be attained at a low pitch, it was below the pitch of the head with no tension. To achieve it tuned up, the note was way to high and choked the drum off. I think it's a nice idea, but it's not really valid. 3) Just about all the drummers that I know, or who I have read about their tuning methods, tune the bottom heads a little higher or both heads the same pitch. I find that the bottom head tighter makes the drums sound "livelier" and helps to control the sustain, especially in larger drums. Since this isn't a video about how I tune drums, I guess that point is irrelevant, but something to consider.
For reference, the note value stamped in my 14x12 floor tom was B-flat. When I finger tightened the lugs and first started to hear a discernible pitch at each lug point, with maybe 1/4 of a turn at each lug, I got a C#. It was impossible to go lower than that to get a B-flat. If I went around and tuned the head to a B flat above the C#, it just barely got there with the lugs super tight and the drum sounded like a bongo. Either it was the wrong fundamental note for the shell, or this theory is flawed. I tend to think the latter. I will say that DW drums have been the highest quality drums I've ever owned. The craftsmanship was flawless and the drums sounded great once I dialed them in. Really nice, modern sounding drums. I had the 14" floor tom tuned to a D# on top (clear emp), minor third higher (F#) on the bottom (clear amb) and the drum sounded awesome. Big, deep, fat tone with perfect sustain.
Hi Clint,
The note stamp inside of the shell refers to the shell itself with out heads. This is purely for matching the raw shells to each other for a kit. Once heads are on the drums, it's completely up to the user to tune to their taste at point. 👍
I understand that, but you are saying to tune the heads to the resonant pitch of the shell for maximum tone and resonance. That isn't possible with the drum I mentioned. The note wasn't attainable at any tension other than extremely tight.
It is a 2009 model. The note may have matched the raw shells of the rest of the kit, but it was not a note to be tuned to. It was unattainable.
I no longer own a DW kit. And for the record.....the C note was so low it barely had any tension whatsoever on the lugs. It was not a pleasing tone. I prefer my bottom heads to be tuned a minor third ( 3 notes) higher in pitch than the batter heads. I don't tune to specific notes at first, I tune the batter head to where it feels good and speaks in a full resonant tone. Then I find the pitch of the head at each lug point and then with the DW kit, tuned the bottom head a minor third tighter. For me, as with many other drummers, this method allows for a rich, deep tone from the batter, while controlling some sustain and making the drum sound "livelier" with the bottom head tighter. It worked for Bonham and most other drummers I know, and I would agree in my own experience. To each his own, but my main point is that sometimes the note stamped in the shell is unattainable and John Good going around tapping the shell as he's tuning the drum to try to tune to that resonant note is just wrong. He is not hearing the note of the shell when he taps the drum. He (and we as listeners) are hearing the pitch of the head he's tuning when he taps the shell. When he taps it again when the head is tighter, it's a higher pitch, which again is the pitch of the head, not the shell. I'm not sure why people aren't understanding this.....unless I'm missing something??
2019 and were still putting pillows in drums. lol
Yeah..and blankets...and old pairs of jeans....lol
Dont mess with what works. Lol. I have a ugly old puke green colored blanket that has been passed down from my dad and all his kits into mine. That same damn ugly blanket has probaly been in 6 or 7 drum kits over the years, cant mess with tradition.
That's a long DW family relationship! Glad our tuning video met your standards! Thanks!
Someone had their drum tuned by John Good! What a privilege.
So what do you necessarily look for when listening to when tapping it? I'm having trouble distinguishing that when tuning. I hope I'm not tone deaf!
Looking for the same pitch at each rod.
You are looking for a difference in pitch obviously you will hear a difference but the problem is some people think hi is really low when it is higher and some people think a lower pitch might have to be turned down when it really needs to be turned up by tightening so that's the problem easy to hear the difference but some people think when something is lower it needs to go even lower so you have to kind of work on whether something is high or whether it is too low in pitch that's why if you work with the indicator dial or the iPhone app it will help you learn what that is
ForDummiesLikeMe
***** use a tuner...but noone is actually 'tone deaf'...either hearing or deaf but we can all hear different frequencies the same...even real low ones for actual deaf ppl
First tapping the side of the drum shell will give a starting point for what the head should sound like.By tapping all around the head, at each lug you want to hear the same consistent pitch /tone higher or lower.At some lugs the pitch /tone will be higher or lower than the next lug.That is why tuning diagonally will keep it consistent and tune it faster than going around taking to much time chasing the same pitch /tone.
Lower head looser than top???? OK
Thanks for posting! Very helpful!
Thanks for your feedback! We very much appreciate it! We will work on our grammar in the meantime. :)
You'd think he'd show you how to hit that "magic" note that the tom is labeled with. So what happened at 4:42? He wasn't too impressed with sound. He would have hit it more than once if it sounded great and it didn't. He was expecting a great tone and he didn't get it. So after all this stuff about the pitch of the shell and the label inside with the correct note, he says it's subjective and not everyone likes the same thing. In other words don't complain if you're not happy with the sound. Keep trying and trying until you're ok with the sound. I think the label inside the tom is a bunch of bull. Otherwise, why would it be so hard to demsonstrate how to get that great tone out of the tom? Why not just tune the tom to that note and you should be good to go? It makes no sense.
wtf and i didnt like tuning my guitar lol
This is actually such a good description of how to get a super resonant drum sound, you just have to practise this many times before you can be as fast as this guy.
It's been a long life dream to own a DW kit I'm not gonna stop saving till I get mine!!
He is not very good at tuning a must say, he sometimes tightens the high one even more must probably because he is rushing very much. Although I like his drums=))
Sinan Kececi it's mainly because he only has 5 minutes to demonstrate how to tune them. Give him a full 15 minutes to tune one drum and I'd say it will sound absolutely perfect.
Sinan..Oh,ok...mr. peart...jeez
thanx so much, I got the best sounding snare drum ever! and I've watched several videos about tuning, none of them got thru to me like this one.
Very helpful for me!....I'm going to try this way real soon Thanx DW
Best tuning video I've ever seen this guy is awesome