As others have said, the only "instrument" I have ever used to tune my instrument (in this case my drums) are my ears and a drum key. Also, as others have touched upon, there is a sweet spot that the drum wants to be at. Once you achieve that you are pretty much done. Drum dials and the like are marketing gimmicks in my opinion. Never used one, have no use for one, so I'll never own one or buy one.
"Trust your ears"
Coffee Break2
Heck, i got my first drum key about a year ago. I was using a 6" crescent wrench to tune drums for a couple years before that. Man, does that drum key make life sooooo much easier.................
Always my ear it's never let me down yet but it mite start I can't hear that good out of my right ear next to the base Player to sinc with him so loud should of wore ear plugs in the day...
All of the above IMO.. lots of gimmicks out there but you cannot generalise..
too many variables.. Torque style keys may help in speeding up the process but at some point your ears always kick in to "override mode"..
(What tnsquint suggests is the best approach IMHO)..
Cheers
I own a DrumDial and find it to be a very useful tool, much in the same way zenstat does. It's a great numerical reference for sharing specific tuning with others and is an efficient way to get ballpark tension back on drums with recent head changes. It's not a substitute for one's ears, of course, but I've never heard of anybody that uses one say that it is.
Certainly nobody here would question that Peter Erskine is a musician of the highest caliber, with ears as finely tuned as any in the business, right? He uses a DrumDial.
Cheers,
Ryan
...and that wouldn't work regardless of the type sound you are looking for. Every drum is different and responds differently. I suggest the following:1.) Watch and really study Bob Gatzen's videos.2.) download and study the Drum Tuning Bible. 3.) Take that information and then really spend some time tuning and seriously developing that skill. It becomes far less "mystical" the more you do it, but it is a skill that one has to develop. It is amazing to me how poorly many (and possibly most) drummers are at tuning. I watch highly skilled pro players that are just clueless about how to get their drums tuned. JC, don't feel overwhelmed if your tuning skills are not what you would like. You are in awfully good company and you can certainly develop that skill.
I took a qiuck look at the drum tuing Bible, looks like a good read. I watched a Bob Gatzen Video on tom tuning, very good. I do have trouble hearing different pitches but maybe "singing them" like in the video will help, I will give it a try.
Thanks everyone for thier 2 cents.
Jeff C
I use the Tama Tension watch, I find it invaluable. I can and do tune by ear but the Tension watch gets me into the main tuning range much much quicker, Also I have and play multiple kits, I always de tune all my drums when not in use. The tension watch is a big time time saver I've used this one for over 12 years so I know what range to go automatically with it. To make a point forum member Kevins and I would be tuning drums I would tell him I knew just from the tension from my drum key what torque range I was in he would check it with the tension watch and to his surprise I would be spot on. Just making a point that from doing it so long it's automatic, I am also a hard player, during our break I can go over the drums without striking them as to interrupt the crowd hitting the drums to hear each T rod. etc, I also play Guitar and Bass Guitar and an electric tuning device is used by literally every player. pros included.
I keep a chart of the standard and optional pitches I use for my drum kits. I keep that in a computer file and on my iPhone so I have it with me at all times. I prefer that to marking the interior of drums (not that this is a bad idea) as if I happen to use coated heads on both sides of the drums it will be a little tough to see the pitch unless it is opposite of a vent hole. The latter is even more difficult with early 60's Slingerland toms with no vent holes.
A head tension device would make sense for roughing things in. I do not care for the torque tension devices as any tension rod that is a little stiff will throw off your results.
Yes, I was also concerned about using a torque device for the same reason. I did try to “sing” the pitch yesterday while tuning a tom. I think I have a problem hearing pitches; it did not go very well. But maybe that will get better with time, it was the first time I tried it. I will keep working on it and watch more videos plus read the Bible and I am confident that those resources will get me to the point where I can do a good job of tuning.
Thank you everyone for all of your input. This has been a very educational thread for me and I really do appreciate your help.
Jeff C
I also use the Tama Tension Watch. I know where to set the head tension to get the sound that I want on my drums, so I dial it in and a few quick taps and a quick fine tuning and its done. I find it saves time.
