Tuning your drums

• Each drum has a range that it sounds best within.
• The range is affected by:
  • Head choice
  • Whether or not the drum is on a suspension system.
  • The room that the kit is in.
  • The position of the drum in the room.

Kick - Getting Ready

• I've found that about 2 towels worth of padding works best in most situations.
• Fold the towels into squares and place them so about 2-4 inches of towel is touching both the front head and the batter head.
• The hole in your front head shouldn't be bigger than 8 inches. Smaller holes often sound better. They also sound better without the reinforcing rings that many drum shops sell.
• NO "ZERO RINGS" or "Muff-ells".
• Beater pads on kick drums are not usually desirable. They dampen the head like a Moon Gel. Try putting a Moon Gel in the center of your floor tom and hitting it. yuk.

Kick - Tuning

• Start with the heads loose. Not slack. The tension on the batter head affects the response of your kick pedal so put just enough tension in the head to make it play well. Here is your starting point.
• While kicking the kick drum adjust the tension of the front head until the drum starts to sound full. Try to evenly distribute the tension between the lugs.
• Try adding some tension to the batter head. Listen for appealing sounds as you bring up the tension. Have someone else kick while you walk around the room and listen.
• When it plays well and sounds full and low your at your destination...

Snare - getting ready

• Snares must be in good condition. Check your snappy for broken or missing strands.
• A Coated Ambassador batter head is a good choice for snare drums.
• The snare snappy should have low to medium tension.
• Some people tune the snare drum way too tight. This is ringy and it chokes the drum out.

Snare - Tuning

• Start with low tension on the batter head & medium tension on the bottom head.
• Tap near each lug and listen closely for differences in pitch.
• With the snares off gradually bring the tension up until the drum starts to have nice tone.
• Minimize the overtones by balancing out the tension between lugs. Sometimes lugs feel loose or tight relative to other lugs but the actual tension on the head is right. Don't let this mislead you. When it sounds good it's right.
• Remember that the pitch of a drum is affected by the tension on both heads.
• You might want to bring up the tension on the bottom head as well. Medium tension on the bottom snare head usually works best. Tight tension occasionally works well on the bottom head.
• Momentarily test the drum with the snares on. Listen to the general sound of the drum. Adjust the tension on the snappy if necessary.
• The tension on the snappy has a huge affect on the sound a drum. Too much tension can choke out a snare sound as can improperly adjusted snappy.
• Check the snappy's position relative to the head. They should be centered & parallel to the head. Gradually add tension until the snare has a controlled sound.
• Remember that it is normal for a kick and toms to excite the snare. Don't worry too much about this. A bit of snare rattle is part of the drumkit's sound.
• Tight batter heads are really ringy and the drum will typically lack body with too much tension on the heads. I prefer more moderate tensions and get the "pop" from catching rim shots and proper compression.

Toms - Getting ready

• Your heads must be in good condition. No dents or tape.
• The bottom heads should be relatively new.
• Remo "Coated Ambassador" heads are a good choice for just about everything. Extremely heavy players will need something more substantial like Remo "Emperors".

Toms - Tuning

• Take the tom off the stand and loosen the batter head until it is just tight enough that it has no wrinkles.
• Lay the tom batter head down on a carpet.
• Loosen the bottom head until it is slack.
• Gradually bring up the tension until it has a tone & it's not rattling.
• Minimize the overtones by balancing out the tension between lugs. Sometimes lugs feel loose or tight relative to other lugs but the actual tension on the head is right. Don't let this mislead you. When it sounds good it's right.
• At this point the bottom head should be fairly loose.
• Turn the drum over and start bringing the tension up on the batter head.
• When the top head has a tone and is not rattling put the tom back on the stand . This is your starting point.
• Hit the drum on the stand and listen. It should already sound pretty good.
• If necessary bring the batter head tension up as you play the drum. Minimize the overtones by balancing out the tension between lugs. Tap near each lug and listen closely for differences in pitch. Adjust as necessary.

Floor Toms & big mounted Drums

• Dampening of big drums is usually necessary in the studio. It can really help in live situations as well.

Other things to consider

• Hit controlled "rim shots" to get that "crack" or "pop" that we all like in rock music.
• Raise your cymbals and hats!!! The whole kit will sound considerably better.
• Use wooden tip sticks with bead or oval tips. Don't use plastic tipped or ball tipped sticks if you are a rock player.
• Hit the toms in the center!!! This is very important.
• Hit the drums hard!!! If you are in a rock band you should be rockin' right?