tom tuning

ballista · Sea Monkey Joined: 07 Mar 2004 Posts: 13

my toms sound like crap. i bought some remo pinstripe heads to replace my old heads. i thought maybe if i replace the heads it would sound better. but i cant tune them very well. Im looking for the danny carey of tool sound but just cant get it. im new to drumming so if any one can give me some ideas on why my drums sound so bad it would be great. i own a sonor 3001 just in case that would help anyone. oh soo angry #Mad

ballista · Sea Monkey Joined: 07 Mar 2004 Posts: 13

i have a drum dial to, just thought id tell you that in case it would be easier to tune my drums like carey's with the dial.

omni · Fierce Poodle Joined: 08 May 2004 Posts: 278

Ballista, those are big, nasty, thick heads. Forget about the tuning device. Crank those suckas up until you hear cracking noises all around the head. Then leave 'em for a day... even play on them like that for a couple days. Keep cranking them up when the lose their pitch, and keep doing that until they stop. Then take them all the way down and re-tune them. That's the only way to seat the heads properly so they will hold a pitch.

ballista · Sea Monkey Joined: 07 Mar 2004 Posts: 13

should i do the same to the bottom heads?

ballista · Sea Monkey Joined: 07 Mar 2004 Posts: 13

and the snare head?

d0ublestr0ker0ll · Posted: Wed May 26, 2004 12:11 pm Post subject:

Yes...and instead of letting them sit for a day you can take a hair dryer and go warm along the edge...point about an inch in to the head from the rim. Go around ehh, 3, 4 times. I've done this with my ebonies enough times to know their personality. Wink

Don't fry 'em, just warm em up a lil bit.

ballista · Sea Monkey Joined: 07 Mar 2004 Posts: 13

thanks for helping out guys. Very Happy

omni · Fierce Poodle Joined: 08 May 2004 Posts: 278

Don't be a afraid to crank those f*ckas either. You can't hurt 'em.

jak · Posted: Wed May 26, 2004 12:44 pm Post subject:

Ive got the pinstripes too.

First you will need to break the glue seal (like omni said) but instead of tuning them up high to do it, just get them to about medium tension and set the drum on a soft surface (carpeted floor does nicely) then take both hands and press down in the center of the head, you should hear alot of cracking noises but thats just the glue seal around the head breaking so dont worry about that.

You dont want to press too too hard, just enough to get the glue seal to break.

Then tune them up about to what they were tuned to before you cracked the glue on them, then repeat the procedure, this time their shouldnt be but a little of the cracking noise because the glue has already been broke.

Now your heads have been properly seated and you can begin tuning them to whatever you want, for the first couple of days they probobly wont hold tune very good so you will probobly have to retune them each day.

As for tuning them, their is really no specific way to have them tuned, you jsut tune them to what you think sounds best.

Dont be afraid to experiment with different tunings, It took me nearly a month before I got my heads to sound how I thought sounded best, so dont get in an all fire hurry to try to make them sound good because it will probobly take alot of trial and error before you get them just how you want them.

Again tune them to how you think sounds best, dont worry about how everyone elses sounds because one persons tuning may not be the right one for you.
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