Melodic/Intervallic Approach to Tuning Toms with Welch Tuning Systems Drums

[@pyroeuropa]

Ticks and leeches in the Beginning? :D All methods had their own vibe to em and sounded really superb! I liked the power chrod the most.

[@ryanlavinaudio3523]

My thought exactly, a half-time Ticks and Leeches.

[@JustinHubbard84]

Made me happy hear to hear that familiar Tom groove from Ticks & leaches

[@daveschenck7901]

The Tom's and bass drum sounded amazing but that snare was blowing my mind.

[@karriraisanen6145]

Power chords ARE important, damn it! All jokes aside, great video yet again, guys ☺️ I tune my 10/12/14/16 to D/A/E/C 🙌

[@alstrange6055]

Karri Räisänen Holy smoke, I think that’s an Am 11 chord with a C bass note?🤔

[@Kyp031]

I tune my kit the second way and have always loved that setup.

[@zacflynn375]

Is it just me or do these drum sound fucking incredible! Either that or your tuning skills are on point as fuck! Haha! I stumble around still trying to tune my damn toms. Thanks for the help as always.

[@samwelch6793]

That’s the best part of WTS drums - they are always in tune! It’s a single point tensioning system with one tuning knob that tunes the entire drum without a drum key. Check them out: www.welchtuningsystems.com

[@stephencshapiro]

Great video. This tuning system is perfect for demonstrating different intervals back to back. Drums sound great too.

[@tillsommerdrums]

Whaaat Ticks and Leeches in the beginning, nice that made me smile :D !

[@drummercarson896]

Thank you for this video. It is helping me with my 5 tom set up. I love having a 5 tom setup

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

So glad to hear it!

[@antonioolive227]

this is like the best drum channel in yt. hi from Brasil!

[@PabloJ1968]

The sound so beautiful.

[@loganamaral]

Ticks & Leeches!!!! Awesome video as always, I love this channel

[@georgepelekoudis]

Nice sounding kit!

[@LTDLimiTeD1995]

I have 6 toms. 3 sets of pairs are 4th, and the interval between each of the paired 4ths are Major 3rds. I'd do straight 4ths but this is the result of where the drums sound just a little better.

[@johnadams8338]

Thanks for the video! I'll be honest, the WTS tuning system sounds either thin and tinny or kind of thuddy and flat. Just not for me. Having said that, this was still a great video and it gives me a lot to think about. Especially when tuning a larger kit. Keep up the great work!

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

Thanks for watching!

[@mabrystudios5880]

I Like The Welch Tuning System Drums!

[@nathanowens3]

They sound great! Great video!

[@davidsuprenant893]

There wild.They sound good.

[@marvinbenjamin234]

I am very much an overage amateur, but I love playing drums. When I bought a 7-piece Tama Swingstar set, I also bought a DrumDial. I like the sound of melodic intervals. Interesting to me was the fact that if I tuned all of the toms to the same tension, the melodic intervals just kind of happened. I did add a 13” tom, but I am finding it difficult to achieve the same results. The 12” and 13” are too close to the same sound when tuned that way. I am really enjoying your videos and am working my way through the series. Thanks!

[@johncollins5552]

Did you know Keith Moon used two 13 inch Tom's, same size but I assume tensioned different. Funny guy! I find 12 and 13 Tom's are good provided the depths are 2inch different eg 12by 10 and 13 by11.

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

Interesting! What intervals did you end up with between the toms?

[@marvinbenjamin234]

@SoundsLikeADrum. I hate to admit my ignorance, but I don’t know my chords and scales well enough to say what the intervals are. My kit is in storage right now, so I can’t even find out for you.

[@marvinbenjamin234]

@John Collins The 12 and 13 can be tuned to a greater interval, however my goal was to tune my 8, 10, 12, 14, and 16 to sound good in any combination. The result is that the 13 becomes kind of a “3rd leg.” Interesting about Keith Moon! Thanks!

[@anth0ny_drums]

👋🏽 from 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿.. a very informative video, thanks!

[@LSAworship]

love the content of this channel.. super high quality

[@supacrispy]

I keep mine kinda in the power chord style (same configuration 2up 2 down) since my band plays so many power chord style rock songs

[@animalbeats]

You make the best drum videos, keep going!

[@Aleph_Null_Audio]

I find myself tuning toms a third or fourth apart. It's enough separation in pitch to aid clarity. When I do play lots of toms, I like to mix regular two-sided toms (12, 14, 16) with piccolo toms (8, 10). The piccolos toms are a nice contrast in timbre, but they are similar enough to regular toms that I can play melodic ideas across all the drums.

[@Hawiianlion67]

This is how Tom's should be tuned, see you can still throw out some rock jams, or you can play some old norse stuff, or you can even play some jazz if you like, and there very good for surf rock.

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

It definitely works for plenty of styles and scenarios!

[@crifox16]

ticks and leeches :D my go to lick whenever an engineer asks me to play toms while making sounds

[@rapscallion52]

Going up in 2 inches every gap between drums doesn't really lend itself to the same interval between each drum, as frequencies aren't linear. At the same tension a 10" should be an octave higher than a 20" with this in mind i've been wanting to try a kit where the gap between each drum gets bigger as you go down, like 8, 10, 13, 18, where the gaps go 2, 3, 5 (which is also part of the Fibonacci sequence, so yay nerd stuff!)

[@hannes1734]

A 20 inch drum with the same tension isn't an octave lower than a 10 inch drum because it doesn't have twice the surface area (which is what the pitch of a drum is inversely proportional to). Double the diameter = half the pitch. So a 10" drum with a surface area of 100in² is roughly an octave higher than a 14" drum at 196in²

[@rapscallion52]

@@hannes1734 hmm, I wonder since if you look at guitar string tension calculators, the same tension on twice the diameter string yields an octave difference (approximately) so there it works by diameter rather than cross sectional area. Need to do some experiments to see how it works with drums, I’m rather curious now

[@hannes1734]

​@@rapscallion52Suddenly i am not so sure anymore haha. I also did the math wrong. A 10" drum doesn't have 100in² but 78.5...

[@MrTravisAl]

@@hannes1734I need more findings! lol

[@herwansaputra4080]

The 2nd ❤

[@DrummerJez86]

race horse theme is what I always use on my 2 up 2 down

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

Works great with just three toms and a snare as well!

[@DrummerJez86]

true. it really seems like my drums just naturally tune to that interval. whatever range I'm in. might not be the exact notes but it is close enough that it is recognizable

[@ZetroDrummer]

With 3 toms I use "la cucaracha"... Never fails

[@Czyszy]

the only bad thing about the welch tuning systems is that *I* can't afford it

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

Something to save up for!

[@Czyszy]

@@SoundsLikeADrum Already saving up for a Rickenbacker 4003. You can't have everything. :)

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

@@Czyszy Another solid investment! Enjoy!

[@TomBelknapRoc]

Ok, I'm fascinated with these drums which I cannot afford. But still: IS the pitch on top and bottom the same? What happens when you make different choices for top and bottom heads?

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

Henry is spot on. The batter and reso heads on the toms are all the same pitch. Same with the kick. The snare side is higher than the snare batter due to the difference in mass.

[@doclogic]

@@SoundsLikeADrum are they really the same pitch top/bottom, or just the same tension? I figure if you have a 2 ply hazy top and 1 ply thin reso, they'd be different pitches at the same tension?

[@gabrielcruz3997]

Can you do an episode on making drums project a large distance in a situation where microphones are not an option?

[@gabrielcruz3997]

Feel free to comment personal findings on this topic

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

Yes! We're going to do a video on sonic perspective soon, which will touch on this a bit, but we'll likely do a video dedicated specifically to maximizing projection as well. Cheers!

[@anthonygrilli4919]

Ticks and Leaches!!!!

[@BCSchmerker]

+soundslikeadrum *My own TAMA®/Hoshino® poplarbuilts are quite limited in tuning range,* with the ø8" rack tom only wanting to sound at G3. The ø10" and ø12" rack and ø14" and ø16" floor toms sweet-spot at D3, B♭3, F2, and D2, respectively; I'd reckon that, were all available in the New Imperialstar™ line-up, the ø13" rack and ø15" and ø18" floor toms would sweet-spot at A3, E2, and B2, respectively.

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

That's really unfortunate. I've never known any particular set of drums to have such a limited tuning range. That seems a bit odd... -Ben

[@tracyeaves4847]

A friend of mine has a set, they were to nicest sounding drums I ever struck....

[@erictorres4889]

I’m used to playing more then just 6 pieces I play 3 on top 2 floors 2 22 inch by 18 bass drums and a snare .

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

Great! How do you tune them in terms of their intervals/relationship to each other?

[@drzflyest4]

I have very similar setup in the 10", 12", 14", 16". Is it worth purchasing a cheap guitar tuner to achieve the minor arpeggio tuning?

[@cjklz]

I seem to get a kick out of playing really soft, (so do my neighbours). I love focusing on just creating a good tone. I use a flat ride, small toms and replaced the kick with a electronic ddrum4 kick. The only thing that is still relative loud (according to my neighbours) is the snare drum. Maybe you have some tips on how to keep the volume or certain frequencies as low as possible? Thanks for all your great work.

[@BCSchmerker]

+cjklz *Ironically, most drum manufacturers catering to the pop market had the solution in drumset-depth double snares up to the 1940's,* but all are now out of production. I'm thinking of, among others, the original Ludwig & Ludwig® Super-Sensitive® models, which had an internal batter snappy on its own strainer in addition to the balanced reso snare strainer from the Super-Ludwig®. I'm pondering a commission for Ludwig®/ConnSelmer®, for what I call a Symphonic-Sensitive, with an improved version of the Super-Sensitive batter snare strainer holding a PureSound­™/D'Addario® EQ1416 under a REMO® Renaissance Ambassador® Crimplock™ batter, plus the P87 release, P34 fine-tune butt, and L-1108 fine-tension guts assembly over a REMO® Crimplock No-Collar 3-mil resonant.

[@hannes1734]

If you haven't already found a solution, a piece of cloth on the snare does wonders in terms of volume reduction.

[@kofthebaskervilles]

It would have been nice if you demonstrated how this tuning system works?

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

We have a full video on that if your visit our channel.

[@rutvegasr0cker687]

58.1.1 subs 🤘

[@alstrange6055]

Was it Tico Torres who once said he tuned his drums so he could play “Orange and Lemons” which would be a major triad?🤔 I loved the vid and as with all your content it was brilliantly presented, but as most set lists incorporate a number of different keys (both major and minor), I’m not sure how practical or beneficial note specific tuning really is...unless you play timpani?🤔

[@doclogic]

I've always done hot cross buns 😁

[@alstrange6055]

doclogic Hot cross drums?😁👍

[@MattMusicianX]

First tuning is like Tito Puente's set of 4 timbales

[@MikeMancebo]

2:06 and they’re off!!

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

I had no idea about that name! Thanks for sharing, Walter! -Ben

[@BCSchmerker]

@WALTER GURA +soundslikeadrum *Actually, I recognize this pattern as "First Call" from the U. S. Army Signal Corps trumpet manual.* On post, First Call would be sounded at Reveille minus five minutes.

[@GolddenWaffles]

B. C. Schmerker lol yes

[@russwilson2305]

Songs in different keys may sound atonal? Almost every tool song is in D minor pentatonic. This system would potentially be weird for Soundgarden.

[@bluebeavergaming]

I just ordered my WTS drums this week. How does that pearl mounting work with the rack toms? I would think being mounted to the rims like that would impact the tension and tuning?

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

Congrats! Seems to work fine with these. Didn’t really run into any issues with intonation on the rack toms.

[@brodyh2895]

my rack tom is 12 and my floor tom is 13, any advice from the comments section?

[@gt3065]

The floor Tom's sound dead to me. Is it possible because you can't tune the heads individually? The racks sounded nice. But I think the proximity to the floor hurts the usefulness of the tuning system.

[@kirjian]

Suspiciously close to Beatdown Brown's video on this LOL

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

Filmed back on April 🤷🏼‍♂️

[@rogercerdanbuil5454]

I've seen that I actually have my 2 toms tuned one octave above

[@StraightNoChaser86]

is the audio weird in this video?

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

Weird? Nope...

[@StraightNoChaser86]

@@SoundsLikeADrum sorry, I could hear a strange echo but I think it was just some setting on my laptop.

[@yolanc3876]

12 sounds kinda dead no ?

[@DoppelgangerShockwave]

I'll be honest, I'm not impressed with this Welch tuning system. The drums sounded wobbly to my ears, so I didn't find myself enjoying your playing as I normally do. And I'll continue on the pathway of honesty by saying that I have never found the need to tune to a note to fit in with a band's sound. I just make sure my drums sound good for the music being made and the variations between the toms and snare take care of themselves because of the different sizes I use on my kit. And I'm not knocking people who do, I just don't do that myself because I find it rather pointless and a waste of time, especially if I am playing a live gig where the guitarist changes the tuning all the time. Just get a good all purpose sound and keep on trucking.

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

Thanks for watching and chiming in! Different strokes for different folks. Thanks for your tactful comment rather than what we see on some occasions from other viewers. Cheers! -Ben

[@DoppelgangerShockwave]

@@SoundsLikeADrum I find no purpose in being disparaging. Music is subjective, so don't be afraid to showcase different ideas, even if others disagree. I think you're a heckuva drummer, and you do know your stuff. Just this one time I didn't care for the overall sound the drums projected with the Welch system. Not a big deal. And like I said, tuning to a note isn't my cup-o-tea, but if others do it then good on them. Have a good weekend, Ben! - Terrence

[@gosgood1973]

Just by a tune bot. Well worth it 👌

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

No need for something like this! Just use your ears. You should be able to tune to different intervals purely by ear after some practice. The ear training is worth it!

[@gosgood1973]

@@SoundsLikeADrum not with my hearing damage. And quite frankly not with my lack of patience. Buying the tune-bot has allowed me to experiment in ways that quite frankly dumbfounded me before. Turns out my ear was really never that great.