Tuning to Activate the Drum Shell | Season Five, Episode 33

It’s a frequent topic of conversation in drum tuning; what’s the “best” tuning for a given drum? We talk about certain tunings “activating” a drum shell or getting it to a point of peak resonance. Of course, being the curious and experimental type that we are, we wanted to conduct a bit of an experiment to see (and hear) what tuning would most clearly activate our faithful 22x16” bass drum. The results were quite interesting…
PATREON:
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PRODUCTION PARTNERS:
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AKG Audio (microphones): sladl.ink/AKG
Evans Drumheads: sladl.ink/Evan...
ProMark Drumsticks: sladl.ink/ProM...
Signal chain:
Mics - Focusrite Clarett 8Pre USB & OctoPre - MacPro w/Pro Tools 2022.5
Recorded at 48kHz / 24bit
Overheads: (Matched Pair in Glyn Johns - Cardioid) AKG C314 sladl.ink/C314...
Snare, Toms: AKG C518M sladl.ink/C518M
Kick Drum: AKG D12vr sladl.ink/AKGD...
No EQ or compression in use with drum demos unless otherwise noted
Acoustic Treatment:
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GIK Tri-Trap Corner Bass Trap: sladl.ink/GIKT...
Drums:
Pearl Masters Maple Custom Extra w/Ludwig 70’s Supraphonic
Cymbals:
22” Jesse Simpson clone of old Zildjian A, 15" Zildjian “Fat Hat” Prototype Hihats
Drumheads:
Snare: Evans G12 / Snare Side 300
Toms: N/A
Kick Drum: Evans UV EMAD / EQ3 Coated White Reso
Hosted by: Cody Rahn
Production & Consulting: Ben O'Brien Smith @ Cadence Independent Media
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[@jonwoods4784]

Interesting and surprising video. But I remember what one of my old teachers said: “if it sounds good, it is good.”

[@jonashellborg8320]

Wicked! Awesome proof, I needed that. I have indeed believed that at some point, the shell is moving more and that’s something to aim for. Turns out, just tune the drum until you’re happy with the overall resonance. Awesome episode!

[@renz-ey707]

Rock on guys 🤟

[@nickdenardo6479]

nicely done. i always assumed this was a thing, but not important enough to chase after. looks like my spidey senses served me right on at least this one occasion. as you said, the 'tuning to the shell frequency' episode is definitely worth checking out - it's one of my favorites of yours, actually. i actually have a set of DW collectors series drums and was/am considering adding a tom. i spent a bit of time trying to decide what note i wanted my tom pitched to. i guess that's 20 m minutes i'll never get back 😆

[@Kengaea]

Great job! Never made sense to pitch a shell stamp it and say “this is an optimum note to tune to”. The same company who still does this (I own some of their maple shells. Nice drums no doubt) then hangs hardware, and logo badges on the shell. Go figure? If it’s really that important, then why put on logos?$$$. Love the AKGs ya’ll use. Some of the best for drums in my 40 yrs of playing. Use your ear and listen, listen, listen. Heads, re-rings, shell thickness/composition, and bearing edge angles are the real agents of perceived and actual sound. Keep up the good work, we are listening!

[@geoffcowan2384]

Nice job! Thanks guys!

[@Eurodrummer666]

Very interesting video, as you use to make them. As drummers we tend to be confused about sustain, not knowing if we want it or not.

[@djjazzyjeff1232]

Sustain no, Resonance, YES! That's my answer at least.

[@brendanerazo]

One of my personal achievements has been to get 26inch X 14 Ludwig kick to sound like an 808 kick with some nice sustain. I never considered the shell in the process of gaining resonance, I think the shell only really serves a goal of creating a physical distance from the front to back head, and compressing within, and therefore there is some interval where the waves will construct interfere... but it's all done by ear. It ain't much but it's honest work!

[@bavingeter423]

Dude that sounds awesome

[@brandonlopez714]

All I gotta say is...PLATINUM MIST#151 BABY!

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

You bet!

[@BeatsAndMeats]

Thank you fine gentlemen!! I never have to worry about this again.

[@djjazzyjeff1232]

Side note, I use a Sine Wave generator for the low end of my kick drum live, and I've been using 56Hz, based on what I learned here maybe a lower one would be even better, I used 44 for a while but it just seemed like it was crazy low, maybe I'll go back to it or somewhere in the middle now!

[@dustinkirker5622]

For me, third tuning has the fullest sound which really is the heads at a good spot but also i somewhat feel like all the factors were working in optimum unison on the third.

[@anthonygrilli4919]

Dude I’m so excited to watch this. I was doing that with my new snare actually.

[@HenkJanDrums]

Experimented with tom shell tuning: With a mallet on shell. Top head and reso head same tuning and heads should sound same as shell. Tuning upwards also the shell tone moves upwards but ...i finally did get to a point where shell and head were in almost same tune. 10, 12, 14, 16, 18 Pearl Master Custom. It did give acceptable tones within acceptable pitches. The intervals were from high to low but not really exact intervals. It was possible to use/play the drums that way. However: since 1990 i tune my drum kit in a major chord 1 3 5 8 and i shift that chord around the drums as it fits best to the setup. Also use 1 5 8 for 16" 12" 10" or 16" 13" 12" A shifted chord gives 1 4 6 and that also can be used on 16" 13" 12" On 16 14 12 10 i use 1 3 5 8. Also tuned digital in major thirds ...and also in 4ths . 4th do give extended range so ...if you want deep low and also funky or latin high than tuning in 4th will help if you have 3 or more toms. With 5 toms the highest tom is getting pretty high. with 4th tuning. I also use the recommended tunings from tunebot. I only tune to fundamental tones and lugs should all be the same on bottom and top. That is most easy tuning for me. I started with 16 on C and that did sound very natural to me. However than the 16 tom does not give rebound. Raised up to D for 16 tom. That is nice drumming with enough rebound. Digital tuning gives me for every drumkit the same pitch but every drum kit does feel and sound different. But with same tuning the feeling is within a certain range. The sounds are acceptable. Playing many genres and many drumkits a standard tuning for me is a quick way to get drums where i am used to playing them. I dont use jazz or latin tunings. I alwa=ys have a tuned drum kit. Dont get compliment about it but ...drum kit always is in an acceptable range and sound. Never do get comment like ....your drums sound like trash . They are not tuned. Horrible. Stop. So i did find a way to have an accepted sound in all kind of styles.

[@ingemosh5430]

great content. as always.

[@jasonb2180]

Very interesting. Going to check out those other (past) videos you mentioned. Never really heard the term "activate the shell" before - loved hearing the different sounds and your analysis. Great video, as always!

[@uniiin]

I think in term of pitch your biggest limiting factors are size of drum and condition of drum skin. Different materials will change the timbre/tone, different hoops will change overtones/response but in terms of fundamental pitch the diameter and thickness of the shell and having a somewhat fresh drum skin is what matters most when dialing in what fundamental pitch works best.

[@sterlingpratt4901]

This was super informative! Thanks so much! 😃 I'd love to see a video comparing different size and density of different styles of drums 😁

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

Thanks! That sort of comparison would require quite a bit of support from the community that we simply don't have right now. More in depth comparison videos are on hold as part of a future comparison series.

[@sterlingpratt4901]

@@SoundsLikeADrum that makes a lot of sense, actually. I had just been learning a bit about how older 80's and 90's kits were much denser than modern shells, and that it prevented the shell from vibrating and the community seems divided about whether that's a desirable thing or not in regards to creating maximal resonance or sustain. So watching this video demonstrated that the shell resonance effect on the final sound was nearly negligible, it got me thinking about what other shells side by side would sound like. Thanks for responding and thanks for creating such cool stuff! 🤩🖤

[@BadChizzle]

Fascinating episode guys. Thanks!

[@Scott42]

Cool video as always! Think it's time you tried out a different rug though xD Even with those k-brakes, the kick is still creeping forwards with those heavier hits. I'm sure you're well aware anyway...

[@kalvinmiller8233]

I liked the second test

[@Adrian-ec7zw]

If you calculate the actual wavelength of a specific hz, you'll find that you'll have to tune to 613Hz before reaching 22" in wavelength, so this makes a lot of sense when dealing with no higher than 80hz

[@betulaobscura]

You could make an episode about vented snares.

[@user-jy8bq7vi9u]

Question: how thick is the shell? 7.5 mm? It is often claimed that thinner shells resonate more than thicker, stiffer shells due to energy transfer reasons. Any thoughts on this aspect? Great video as usual!

[@paulw.3967]

Thicker shells resonate less, so that the heads' vibrations sustain more. Mass and rigidity of the shells make it hard for the heads' vibrations to get transferred into the shells via the bearing edges, which simply can't move much, so those vibrations reflect off the bearing edge right back into the head. Resonant shells will basically suck some frequencies out of the heads, decreasing sustain at resonant frequencies, because any vibration that is transferred into the shell is lost from the head, and is rapidly converted to heat due to internal friction in the flexing material of the shell. (Flexing thick, stiff wood takes more work than flexing a thin, flexible membrane.)

[@felixm1716]

found this video about drum physics a few weeks ago. The guy talks about head vs shell resonance and I think there are some pretty interesting aspects in there. He's going through an sonor article and it suggests that the shell is idealy completly passive. The heads are the active sound generator on the drum and when vibration is passed on to the shell the head can't resonate as good. he also goes in debth about the connection to fundamentals and overtones. There is also another video about bearing edges on his channel: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qXyng3eIdtWbr5o

[@johnreardon4944]

Perhaps it's about using the right shell in order to activate the heads in a specific way that that gives one the most pleasing sound. I would love to see this same demonstration with toms. Recently, an AI told me to tune the batter to where it most activates the shell, then put on a reso and tune it a whole step up. The AI also mentioned that a Perfect 4th higher reso is the most pleasing sound. Generally, I agree with a P4 higher. Mathematically, it looks best too because of the ratio. Nerd territory, but interesting.

[@billnicholas1381]

As usual informative video but unless it was the camera angle above your head but was your bass pedal beater not centered or slightly offset to your left?

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

Thanks! Nope- beater was centered but the wide angle of the overhead can be a bit misleading with regard to alignment.

[@TAHHGREEN]

Good question, I wondered that too 👍

[@theDeathJoy]

As a continuation on this: Does isolation hardware even matter to the extent we nowadays go by? As opposed to having just a bracket bolted directly into the shell.

[@Sprawl333]

That 3rd tunning sounded like the drum opened up and rang a bit more.

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

Yep, but that was the heads. There wasn’t any noticeable spike in response off of the shell itself.

[@saltdrums]

The shell is the constant in your experiment and is never going to change unless you physically select a different resonator (shell).

[@instdjp]

I’m a Huge fan but I’m somewhat in disagreement with your statement to focus only on the heads. True it will get you the sound you’re looking for. However, shell resonance is a real factor. Were it not, would suspension rims make such a profound difference? I was very fortunate to acquire one of the highly sought after antique rope drums that were made in the early 1800’s by the Brown family. After tensioning the ropes and playing for a short period, the drum invariably “settles in” to where it wants to be. The tension self adjusts and the shell begins to strongly vibrate against my leg and starts to really “sing” and project like thunder. Now, granted, the pitch of a rope drum as part of a drum ensemble is not nearly as crucial as the pitches of a drum kit. By all means, one should tune to one’s liking. However, if one finds that “sweet spot” where the shell resonates with the tuning of the heads and if one likes that tuning then he/she will absolutely Love the fullness of tone, the sustain, the presence and the projection of the drum. Finally, I can’t help wondering what results you might have gotten had you used a contact mic or a device that actually measures the vibration of the shell. Keep up the good work you’re doing. Your tutorials are masterfully presented and provide a wealth of information.

[@NickHolum]

Middle tuning is real nice…

[@djevlhelvete]

Heads matter most; wood...not in the way we think: It's just a "container".

[@ronnyjohnston6039]

I heard somewhere around 80% of a drums sound comes from the heads alone, next shell, then a little from the hardware. I think the fact that a drum can be tuned in a variety of ways and to varying degrees (pitch sets/intervals) can cause use of ambiguous terminology or misunderstanding of commonly used adjectives in our community when trying to achieve what is pleasing to our own ears. And, "Activate the Shell" or "Shell Activation" totally comes off like a marketing gimmick, wonder if this myth was born from major manufacturers?

[@danielcohn6884]

I think the order goes like this: Heads Bearing edges Hoops/hardware/# of lugs Shell thickness Wood type

[@Bronsonau]

Wouldn’t the port on the reso decrease resonance?

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

Yes, though not likely in a way that would mask any sort of resonant spike in the drum shell. Additionally, this wasn't a variable in our comparison- it remained constant throughout.

[@ismaelmontanez4390]

A question…. In your testing, did you only tune up the batter head or did you tune up both batter and resonant heads?

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

Both batter and reso were adjusted.

[@Guitaristlife-dn9ou]

2:42 I don’t have any

[@goodtimejohnny8972]

Cody is breaking the hearts of DW players.💔

[@drumsoup1695]

I wonder if the shell would have behaved differently with a non-ported reso head …

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

From tuning to tuning, it's highly unlikely. The sound would certainly chain between ported and non-ported but the absence of a port would suddenly open up a spike in shell response at a particular tuning.

[@fredlittle8127]

We know that the tuning, tone, sustain all comes from the heads. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate quality but in reality any drum in round with proper bearing edges gets its sound from the heads.

[@DZNTZ]

That’s true for the most part. Any round drum with proper edges will sound “good” with good heads. BUT, the sounds you get from those heads will differ depending on the drum too. Think of a bunch of snare drums, all with coated Ambassadors- 1mm brass, 12mm cast brass, steam bent walnut, 3 ply maple with rings, seamless aluminum, and so on… each will have its own unique sound which is greatly influenced by the material and build of the shell. These nuances are what we geek out about, but really any properly made drum can sound good and do the job. A Ferrari and a Camry will both get you to work on time. For 99.9% of the population, a PDP kit sounds just like top of the line DW. It would be interesting to blindfold a room full of drummers and a room full of non-musicians and play say a set of Stage Customs and a set of PHX and ask both groups: “Which is more expensive?” and “Which sounds better?”

[@hatter6936]

Kinda lays to rest all the marketing bamboozlery re: wood type, ply count, etc. Hell, just consider how much glue is between the plies damping out the vibration of the wood. Just need a flat bearing edge, a shell that's round and that's it. Bearing edge profile/surface area contact may vary how much they muffle the heads to some degree but the rest is just smoke & mirrors. Try setting up your kit, totally muffling the heads and then thunk the shells with a soft mallet. How much "tone" do you get? Save your $ for cymbals & good heads.

[@Eurodrummer666]

First!

[@anthonygrilli4919]

Good job

[@Manassasjunction]

Have you ever read Rossing, Bork etc.? The sound "radiation" of the shell is abt. 1.5-2 % of the overall drumsound. Please read "Acoustical Properties Membranophones". I've been in Brunswick in the PTB laboratory and was really impressed seeing drum-myths destroyed.