Are You Overlooking These Issues? Blindspots in Drum Tuning | Season Five, Episode 42

[@lunarfifthstudios]

I just revitalized my whole kit with the tips from this video and channel - thanks y'all! I will definitely be posting my own new videos soon with a lot of new things I have learned! Seriously, this has been quite fulfilling as a 20-year player, I can't thank you enough. 🙏

[@brent3760]

I've been drumming for 29 years. I still learn so much from Cody and this channel! Thank you!

[@alexfreeman7979]

ur entire channel is a master's degree in everything drum related. love

[@kevthejazzer]

Once again,the common sense approach to drums and drumming.Fantastic work guys!

[@civilvt]

Great video, these are things everyone has dealt with and probably gotten really frustrated over. I definitely have spent a ton of time chasing stuff and just being disappointed in my results because I wasn’t being analytical about the drum as a whole and what I was really hearing. Going rod to rod on the rack Tom and hearing how much better it sounded overall and with the rest of the kit is the best practical example of “do what sounds good” I’ve seen! Great job!

[@joc8]

As always, great tricks and tips, that are easy to implement. Thank you Cody, Ben and crew, you post the most informative segments on all things drum related, and how to get the most out of these beautiful (but at times tricky) instruments. Look forward to what's coming up next.

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

Thanks so much for the kind words! It’s just a two-man team over here so we put in a lot of hard work to make this series on a weekly basis. Cheers! -Ben

[@tomasshannon6537]

Awesome video as always! Love Cody's vibe and how he goes through these topics

[@daltonidaho]

Another helpful video! It would be great to see time markers so we can see at a glance what issues you'll be discussing.

[@ethanm1261]

around the 11:13 mark - mind... BLOWN. Throw it out, I can't un-hear that. I have always obsessed over having the heads perfectly in tune. Sheesh.

[@drumjedi5301]

A little case-in-point to your discussion today about not following a recipe, but a methodology: I recently ordered a new round of heads for my gigging kit, and noticed immediately that the floor tom head I received was flawed. The head had a noticeable wrinkle near the shoulder before even being put on the drum. I was in a little bit of a pinch, so I had no choice but to use the head. I tried to get the lugs pitch matched, and get the wrinkle out as well, but this left the drum sounding less than useable. I started over, letting my ears decide what to do, and ended up with a very solid, pleasing result...with the wrinkle still very visible in the head. I look forward to replacing that head, but not getting too caught up in "the recipe" saved the day. Good video!

[@rix29]

Another interesting video. I’ve found that most material on tuning always has this unwritten rule where the lugs should always be in pitch with each other. Just goes to show that the sound you desire shouldn’t be hampered by a certain set of rules

[@drummercarson896]

Awesome video

[@neilmccredie1919]

After changing heads -and chasing ghost tones the same way-over and over-surprisingly with the same result-over and over…….thís video came up-now known to me as “The Best Video Ever!!”………………soooo basically-if I’m understanding--if you’re listening-you’ll be learning……wwhhhaaaatt?!?? Thanks again for all your time and energy-you guys truly rock!!☮️❤️👊🏽🖖🏽👏🏽

[@thomasfraioli361]

great Job , this is the best wisdom on drum tunning that i have come across . I cant tell you how many times in the past i messed up having a good drum sound , because the Recipe said , you then have to have every tension rod at the same pitch ,and messed it up !! Let your Ears be the Boss !! Thanks

[@johnreardon4944]

The tom recipe for me is to pre-determine the resos (half step lower from the fundamental pitch for a minor third interval and an even sound, at an octave higher, for a perfect 4th interval) and then adjust the batter head to get the desired fundamental pitch. It's all about the reso head being the master and the batter being the slave. That's where the perfect balance of flexibility is between each type of drum and / or head types. The end result always gets me the desired outcome of fundamental pitches for every tom. If the room doesn't like it, then I change the reso pitches again and go again from there. The fundamental pitches sounding good between all toms is the goal, no matter what "key" they might be in. For snare wires, assuming everything is set up properly, I tighten the wires until they're crisp. And when they're too tight, you can hear the pitch of the snare go up. So I back them off. The pitch of the snare is the same with or without the wires engaged. That's the balance. If it doesn't sound good, then change the tuning of the heads. The ruler method is still a must! Generally. Great video. Thanks! I just recently tuned a six lug vintage cheap snare at the elementary school where I work at. The result was fabulous. I took that snare to it's max potential without having to change any heads or wires. The students will like it, I'm sure!

[@Tankerbell21]

I was finding everything very helpful until you got to the Toms. This is when I almost cried out loud “I’m not CRAZY!”. I have run into the contradiction of out of tune lugs and the overall sound being lovely, but then felt I needed to keep going, chasing after something I was told to do. “Trust yourself and your own progress” is good message to hear. Thank you. Less agony, more music please.

[@ethanm1261]

I hear this. So many times; "the heads are perfectly in tune, why does the drum sound like $#!t?!!"

[@Tankerbell21]

@@ethanm1261 word brother

[@esotericgeOrge]

I really appreciate this channel so much. I always learn when I watch a video from you! Thank you thank you!!

[@zackedge2456]

When I heard those horribly tuned toms at 8:10 I said out loud, “Oh, nasty.” House kits be like 😆

[@Claes_Isacson]

Great one guys! 👏🥁🎉

[@Chinoden07]

Thank you very much for that critical lesson

[@lewybody]

Thanks for the always-useful assistance!

[@norbertrenner9364]

A very subile dampening of the BD reso head,or in some cases no dampening at all ( in unmiked situations for example) can make a big difference in sound and volume.And for the ajustment of the snare wires are cords the much better way,i think,cause they're kind of self aglining ( if this is the right word). Great work,great chanel .....thanks !!

[@handyboen]

As always... Good content 👍👍 Thanks man 👍, by the way, what's your name ?

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

Thanks! Cody is the host and my name is Ben (I produce the series and manage all of the social accounts).

[@georgebenson3826]

👍

[@LetsTalkAboutReaper]

Curious to hear options for reducing resonance on toms when hitting the kick. I imagine it's impossible to eliminate it completely but how do you intentionally control it? Is it through tuning, dampening, both, or something else? Thank you

[@WDShorty]

Were you tuning the toms with a tuner for the "tuned" toms? It would explain a lot because human ears don't hear tuning the same way tuners do, you can only get so close with a tuner and you have to adjust by ear

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

Nope, we tune by ear around here.

[@JazzyJonas]

I have an unruly 16x12 floor tom that needs to be tuned "incorrectly." If I tune the top and bottom heads evenly to the same pitch it sounds like a timpani lol

[@snickers.mcflurry]

When I first got my kit I had a DrumDial for my banjo that I used to tune my drum heads. I assume that most people don't use these. When not using one how do you quantify "low" vs "high" tension? I assume it's all relative, if that makes any sense?

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

We don’t feel the need to quantify that sort of thing, as it’s all relative. Once you experiment with the range of a drum, you get a feeling for how far it will go and you start to internalize the idea of what a “low tuning” is vs. a “medium tuning”. Some people get hung up on this because they want specifics when, in reality, their context is likely quite different from ours. Even if they’ve got the same gear in the same room, they’ll learn more by working through the range and gradually dialing in a sound than they would if we fed them some abstract numerical representation of the tuning (or even the specific frequencies, for that matter).

[@kushking420]

Different brands of drum heads can sound great on different brands/sizes/and material of drums as well

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

Very true!

[@fernandomartincom]

It would have been great to see what little adjustments you did to the muffling inside the bass drum and see step by step what you did to improve the sound on the toms 🤷🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

We understand, however this wasn’t a step by step tutorial. We have lots of those that showcase the process along the way.

[@brent3760]

The Code man!!

[@geraldware5968]

Awesome

[@nickdenardo6479]

the old 'snares are askew' problem. that's one of my first go-to solutions when the snares sound wonky at ..... basically any tension. nailed it. one of the reasons cord is better in my opinion (even though most of my snares have straps). maybe one of these days i'll buy a giant spool of cord and do a bunch of replacing. any idea what size/gauge the cord is? i want to say 1mm. but i'm not sure. on a side note, i'm tired of these drum reviews where these yahoos are telling me that 'the hoops are 2.3 mils'. REALLY? my hoops are thinner than my snare side head? i find that highly unlikely, bruh.....

[@weschilton]

So many great thoughts here, Cody. It reminds me of how I learned how to tune drums through experimentation and using my ears... because there was no KZbin or social media to give "easy" answers. And here we are today, and the so-called "easy" answers lead to the same lesson. You have to learn your instrument, experiment and use your ears. Color me shocked!

[@remedydrums2]

🤜fist!

[@jc3drums916]

I have three different 14" snares that all buzz when I hit them off-center by more than 2" or so. Within a couple inches of the edge, they buzz/rattle like crazy. At the center, they sound fine. They are all attached with different things - plastic strap, Puresound blue cable cord, polyester window blind cord. As far as I can tell, the wires aren't mounted unevenly. Any other ideas what could be causing the buzz? Or is it normal? It seems excessive even for off-center hitting.

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

That isn't necessarily out of the ordinary. Depending on the setup and tuning, hearing significantly more snare response and overall sustain when playing off center is quite normal. Still, that doesn't mean that it can't be controlled to a certain degree. We've got a bunch of videos that cover our methodology for snare tuning that can help with this.