How to Make Your Drums Sound Amazing | Drum Tuning 101

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📝 ABOUT THIS VIDEO
One of the most frustrating parts about making beats is spending a bunch of time creating only to realize that your drums still aren’t sounding as good as you thought they would. There are a bunch of different ways to get your drums to sound right but today I want to share one specific method that most people forget and that is to tune your drums!
We are used to hearing about making sure our 808s are in tune but, I am here to tell you that it’s also as important to tune your drum one-shots! In this video, I show you how to tune your drums in Studio One 5 with a free tool to help you get instant results without having to stress too much about mixing. The best part is that this will even work to make sure your kicks and 808s blend well together.

[@ImIvanCalderon]

Super important note: I don't ALWAYS tune my drums, and you shouldn't either. The main priority should always be to do what sounds good, which may sometimes require leaving things how they are. If you are making beats and you get stuck because the drums don't sound right, THEN you can use something like this to get back on track. Always use your ears, friends!

[@Alex-no3co]

Yes, I will be tuning my drums. Thanks for the advice.

[@laurentius1855]

FINALLY found the video I was looking for!! Great tutorial man! 🤙🏽

[@Cmpoonta]

Never realised how important this is. But it makes so much sense! Thank you! Will definitely be doing this from now on 🔥🔥🔥

[@ImIvanCalderon]

It’s honestly a cheat code bro. Super simple but effective!

[@mingomarrero]

Thank you Ivan! this is a so much needed video with key details on how to make drums sounds better. Producers often overlook this and they get stuck on why the kick or 808 isn't punching in the right place.

[@ImIvanCalderon]

Glad you enjoyed the video ! 🙏🏽

[@bl6c.kbeats573]

Thanks so much for explaining the music theory alongside what to do. Instantly subscribed 😁👍🏾

[@ImIvanCalderon]

Welcome aboard!

[@fuckputin890]

Dope tip, thanks bro!

[@ImIvanCalderon]

Of course, thanks for watching!

[@tunesofeleven]

This is one of those things which might seem very tedious but once you are done, it will be worth it.

[@ImIvanCalderon]

I agree! It’s not as fun as producing but doing it gives your beats that extra push!

[@swanjaymusic]

Yea i tune kicks with a wave plugin called Torque. And i use 808 samples that are tuned to center C which is C3 and that works every time.And to see the key of a musical loop I use mixed in key studio edition or serato sample. Scaler 2 is dope am going to try with that as well. And now if i want to change the key of any one shot sample i use backbone. Thanks to guys like you i have a arsenal of tools to get the right job done. I have a sound file that has every Drum kit (dry) of every popular Drum Machine ever made. 808,909,707 ect. This sound game is real and can make or break your productions.... Boy is it fun when you know what your doing......lol..... Thanks again Ivan i always enjoy your video productions about music. Learn some thing new every time...

[@ImIvanCalderon]

Nice I actually bought Torque not too long ago as well. Thanks for watching, John!

[@NIP28]

yo lemme get those drum sounds u talkin about

[@user-us5bc1ek4i]

Great video!! Thank you

[@ImIvanCalderon]

Glad you liked it!

[@calebpalmieri4111]

Bro, this is so helpful. Thank you 🙏🏼

[@ImIvanCalderon]

Glad to hear it!

[@DamamakeBeats-RnB]

Your studio looks sensational

[@ImIvanCalderon]

Bro thank you! It's slowly evolved and gotten better over the years but I love it.

[@50CalBeats]

Future: "sensational"

[@alp740]

thanks, master!

[@kingcheflos602]

Man I appreciate this I definitely did not understand why my bass and kicks didn't blend well but now I have the answer thanks again

[@justjohn2011]

This a game changer ✌️

[@GarthHumphreys]

Great tip thanks

[@ImIvanCalderon]

Thanks for watching, Garth!

[@nebyusamuel7858]

wow bro this is selflessly informative. thanks a bunch

[@ImIvanCalderon]

Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching!

[@Sanjay407umi]

I found out about this yesterday and I just want to say that you are a live saver for this. I will be honest with you, a majority of the time it does work. If I have the improper sound selection I assume I will need to change the sound selection

[@Chrisjenkinstvg]

I have to learn better sound selection

[@Wizitch]

Ok this now gets my vote for "Most Useful Video of the Week"!! Great work, brilliantly described. Thanks very much. Note: The stock Spectrum Analyser that comes with Studio One will do the same job as the Voxengo Span plugin and save you from yet another unneeded plugin download.

[@Chrisjenkinstvg]

Thanks was hoping I didn't need to download another plugin lol

[@toddwmac]

Thanks Ivan great stuff as always. I use a couple stock PreSonus effects and sometimes the ScalerAudio FX to look at tuning. With my VERY limited understanding of these topics, it seems the stock Spectrum Meter on 12th octave analysis does a nice job as does the Tuner. Sometimes I'll use the ScalerAudio FX to detect chords on drums that are layered or really processed. It is certainly an inconsistent process with Scaler like that, but sometimes if detects some pretty interesting chords to pair with particular drum sounds. One thing I noticed, if you use Scaler to detect audio and you are listening to the audio while detecting, the instrument setting in Scaler will adjust the sound you are hearing. No instrument selected will give you a clean sound...the rest will color.

[@ruffercool]

I will do this now thx

[@ImIvanCalderon]

Thanks for watching, Philip!

[@luisorengo184]

I've tune drums none the less I'll be applying your techniques. I find them to be more efficient than mines. Thanks Ivan

[@jimmymackepeace]

I will tune from nos on, it really sounded better! I always asked what for to use those settings! Thanks for the video!

[@ImIvanCalderon]

Glad to help!

[@djcj]

great. thanks.

[@ImIvanCalderon]

Glad you liked it!

[@tylerrobblee8038]

Wow great video man. Wish I knew this years ago

[@ImIvanCalderon]

Glad I could help!

[@MajestyStudioPro]

Tried it once and do do on some songs but will have to make it more prominent.

[@ImIvanCalderon]

Nice! Hope it helps more moving forward!

[@eduugr]

Great video, thanks for sharing. I'm curious about how you would harmonically combine, for example, kick, hihat and snare in different tunes on the same scale, like using 5ths, 7ths, copying the notes of the baseline on the same moments... any recomendation to experiment with? Amazing channel. I just subscribed!

[@jasonhallMUSICMAN]

Love your channel! Question: what headphones do you use (or recommend) for making music and which do you use for mixing & and mastering? Thx.

[@KasiToursSA]

Good video

[@ImIvanCalderon]

Glad you enjoyed!

[@duboracle]

Very helpfull, just the thing i searched for but i could not find it last time i searched. I just wonder if the loudest note is the one to be tuned ? you could also pick the lowest ! lower frequenties have more energy then high ones.

[@duboracle]

O, yes. Can you explain or advice some tune or pitch changing vst plug-ins, What is cents ? for example or sometimes it only indicates procents of pitch changing.

[@anonymous-hc8yp]

I'm using fl studio if i make the beat on f minor and kick already in c can i let it without change and if note in the scale how should i change it? with cents or in the midi choosing the key?

[@malineli3266]

How to sync a kick drum that goes into Studio One 5 out of timing?

[@ProdByZilz]

When i installed span it never gave me the components folder

[@sokolnushi2149]

When making a bassline for a sample.Are the route notes the only ones that have to match?

[@apoena-allnitemusic7203]

Life is too short to do that honestly hehe. But maybe I should be doing for the kicks......

[@Drumvicious_]

By tuning percussive elements 1 semitone up or down they'll always fall into scale (Except for bass, of course).

[@tilda140]

elaborate on the theory behind that?

[@cryptoinvesting8043]

hey do you need to tune your kicks,snares and hihats all to the root note of the key of your song?your answaer would help me alot aswell as alot of othere producers thanks so much for the video much appreciated.There's so much to learn about Production haha🔥🙂

[@ImIvanCalderon]

When possible I tend to tune them to the root or the fifth note of the scale. If those two notes are too far away from the sample's original pitch then I just pick the closest note from the scale the beat is in.

[@alexandergomez612]

I actually never tune my drums. I do tune my 808 tho but never drums ima try it today thanks for the advice bro appreciate what u do?

[@alexandergomez612]

*.

[@ImIvanCalderon]

I got you bro! 🙏🏽

[@9electromatic]

Just curious if the tuner in Presonus can give you the same result as the add on plugin Span that you are using

[@ImIvanCalderon]

The tuner is super unreliable for this purpose, especially when you have a sound with multiple frequencies. I’ve found that frequency analyzers are much more accurate for this.

[@timlopes9666]

You could use a fine EQ to lower the second pitch you detected making your kick sound a clear and perfect downhill slope - Careful not to kill your dynamics

[@bellsbeat3735]

Bro, it's simply a fucking kick. Are we learning physics? what's up with the entire lesson for just a kick?😵‍💫🤖

[@ImIvanCalderon]

That is precisely what you are learning, Lol. This lesson covered frequency, which in music is a property of a sound wave that determines the pitch and that physics helps us understand.

[@CondoMusic]

In studio one there is a plugin called tuner, does it not the same thing?

[@ImIvanCalderon]

There is a Tuner plugin in Studio One but it’s not as accurate for this purpose. A frequency analyzer is a guaranteed way to determine the tuning of a one-shot sample.

[@CondoMusic]

@@ImIvanCalderon got'chu

[@rowdyvenky8786]

Hello sir my bughted is low is akg k92 is good for mix and mastring beat making plzzz... Tell

[@ImIvanCalderon]

I’ve never owned a pair of K92s so I wouldn’t be able to give you an accurate recommendation but what I can say is that regardless of what you get you should always checks your mixes in as many speakers and headphones as possible to make sure it’s translating well. If you like the K92s I say go for it but also check your mixes on your phone and computer speakers.

[@rowdyvenky8786]

@@ImIvanCalderon ohk Thanks man you are great bro

[@BelliniHighTV]

Ivan no hacias vallenato?

[@ImIvanCalderon]

Ese es otro Ivan jaja

[@justinvilleneuve251]

the root is not the right word to use tho. Tonic is the word you were looking for. The tonic is the "home" of a key. When talking about the root, we are referring to the root of a chord. For example, if we are in the key of E major and we play the V chord, that chord is B and the root note of that chord is B, although the tonic of this key is E. Thanks for the video still.

[@joelchristie5179]

Unless you get your kick to change pitch each chord lmao

[@justinvilleneuve251]

@@joelchristie5179 lol i hope thats not what he meant

[@ImIvanCalderon]

Root is often used colloquially to refer to the tonic but you’re right. The correct term is tonic. And no please do not go changing the kick to every chord lol.

[@Realliedoe]

How do you determine what key your song is in bro?

[@NIP28]

yea... i think they use a auto tune plugin

[@justinvilleneuve251]

just listen to the "home" note, the tonic

[@vigilant545]

The older I get the more fun the basics/fundamentals become

[@ImIvanCalderon]

Facts! It's crazy how a lot of the times the solution is the most basic.

[@KasiToursSA]

6:13

[@steeletoeboots]

As a DJ I have always wondered why I like some tracks more than others. You like the song but there's something not quite right about it. Once you really listen to it you realize the drums are out of tune with the instruments. It makes the track sound off. Having everything blend well together really improves the experience of listening music and it's less stressful on your ears. It's so important to tune those drums. Great vid!

[@ImIvanCalderon]

100% Thanks for watching!

[@tilda140]

Too few videos on drum tuning!

[@dez5]

Now I know why my beats where Wack after all these years. Where is AutoTunes for Drums.😂😂😂

[@DietPiss]

I have never tuned my drums.. I'm so embarrassed!

[@dantea6048]

So much water ……… 3 mins of listening to hear a single idea

[@MantraBeats]

You're just using plug ins