How to Tune a Drumset.

Tuning an a-tonal (not pitch specific) instrument may sound odd but not as odd as a poorly tuned drum. Sorry you'll have to deal with my dry and corny humor. Sense drums are a-tonal they are tuned to timbre (pronounced -tam-ber-). Timbre is how an instrument sounds. A trumpet playing middle C and a flute playing middle C sound different because they have different timbre. In this hub we will go over how to tune snare drums, bass drums, and toms.

Before placing the drum head on the drum dust off the edge of the drum. After spin the head to help center it on the drum. Place the rim over the head (if it is a snare make sure to line up the snare wire slots with the snare throw and butt plate) and tighten them finger tight.

Place palm of your hand on the center of head and gently apply pressure. This helps center the head even more. Now tighten the lugs, a half turn at a time in a star pattern till a desired pitch is reached. Illustrations of the pattern for 6, 8, 10, and 12 lug drums are here.The goal of the star pattern is to distribute the tension on the head as evenly as possible, for the best possible results.

First tune the bottom head to the pitch that you want the decay to be. When tuning do not try to reach a specific pitch but rather aim for a range and find where it has the best timbre. The top head effect the pitch of the attack of the drum. Again aim for a range and find a timbre you like. Personally I prefer the top head to be a little higher than the bottom head.

The tension of the snares wires determine the amount of buzz heard. Keep in mind that if the snares are too tight they can choke the drum. For muffling resonance use Moongel pads or electrical tape.

When seating the head of the bass drum instead of pressing down with your palm sit on the head for around 20 to 30 seconds. I wouldn't recommend this tho if you weigh over, I'm guessing 200 lbs. Most all drummers except for jazz drummers put a blanket or pillow in the bass drum to keep it from resonating too much. Cutting a hole in the front head also makes the drum more staccato. Pre-muffled bass drum heads like Evan's EMAD, Aquarian's SuperKick, and Remo's Power Stroke Pro work great and eliminate the need for a pillow.

One thing to keep in mind is that the farther down the mount you attach the tom to the less it will resonate. You would be surprised how much of a difference this makes. Moongel pads, and electrical tape a good way to muffle unwanted resonance. But the more resonance the better.

There are a lot of other factors in the sound of a drum. Drum construction, head choice, mic'ing and production effects are the bulk of it.

Drum construction limits the range of the drums, the bearing edge that's cut on the drum efects the resonance. Most modern drums have a 45 degree cut. While most vintage drums have a rounded bearing edge resulting in a more staccato sound. 30 degree cut are also used and resonate more than 45's.

The drum's wood or metal also effect the sound. North American rock maple is the staple but also birch, bubinga, ash and oak exist. Popular metal snares are brass and steel.

When you hear a recording keep in mind that is like looking threw a lens or a filter. Many effects and mics give a specific sound.

With drum heads a coated head will give less attack sound while a clear head will give more. Two ply head have a drier sound compared to their single head counter parts.

I will go more in depth into drum construction, head choice, mic placement and production techniques in other hubs.

Evans Drum Heads, A Guide