video: drums heads opinion

[JonathanLR]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dam2jc0NoE

what do you think?

[yamahaboy]

That paper ain't gonna work!. If you like the Studio Rings go with em'... If want some rings, I would go with the Evans Rings! I personally don't like rings but if that is what you like, Go for it!..


And let that snare breath dude!.. Its metal, you dont have to tune it that high..lol..

[JonathanLR]

rings are the only way to stop vibration right? thats all i want to do is stop the madness.

and i know my snare is tuned high but it sounds good, well to me im gonna tune it down a little tommorow and try it out.

[yamahaboy]

Hey, Try and see what you like, Everyone is different when it comes to tuning. So how you like your snare tuned could be totally different than me.

[teflonminds88]

"LearnGospelMusic.com" my brotha!!!  How do you forget that lol 

Anyhoo, it sounds like your batter heads are way too high. Some people disagree (not many), but I think a decent sound can be achieved by tuning the reso's higher than the batter.

For reference tones I use this video...These drums sound amazing

http://www.tama.com/drums/exotix07.asp

[JonathanLR]

man that sound absoultley  nice find. i dont think mine will ever sound like that tho 

[yamahaboy]

man that sound absoultley  nice find. i dont think mine will ever sound like that tho 

Well, I agree with Tef. I tune my kits with the batter tuned a little higher! I think that it give the kit a more controlled tone! I tune my Snares that same way!

[teflonminds88]

Well, I agree with Tef. I tune my kits with the batter tuned a little higher! I think that it give the kit a more controlled tone! I tune my Snares that same way!

Haha....maybe that was a typo, but according to what you just said you actually disagreed with me lol

[yamahaboy]

Yeah that was a Typo!...lol...

[JFunky]

Well then, you have the deep toms or as we say around here, ol' skool tom sizes.  Where's the 10"??  I wish I could go to your spot and tune 'em for you and actually, set the whole kit up for you so that you and anyone else can play comfortably.

Alright so check this out cat....do the resonant heads or bottom heads say Pearl???  If so, change 'em out in about a week if you can.  The Resonant heads give the drum their tone.  It's very important to have a good resonant head.  You bought Pinstripes so the Reso's need to be Clear Ambassadors.  Okay, the next thing is that Power Toms, which looks like that's what you own, favor lower tuning.  That means that you need to tune 'em a lil' bit past the wrinkle point and try to find their natural tone.  If you're starting to hear a nice note/tone and the tom sound is comfortable with very little overtones or no overtones at all, that "may be" the drums sweet spot.  Tune a little lower on your batters and experiment with the resos. 

I learned how to tune drums by watching Dave Weckl on "Back to Basics" VHS many moons ago.  I practiced tuning a lot and still practice.  I lost my touch when I started playing a Roland E kit for 6 years so j_kay and Sabe had to take the rust off of me when I got the Pearl back at the church. LOL 



*Tuning has a lot to do with the ears and room.  A lot of guys try to tune their kits and snares to sound like X drummers kit.  What they forget is A. The type of kit that they have is not what X drummer has or what X drummer is using in the recording.  B.  The location or room that the kit is located in is very important to the tuning process.  C.  They forget that many times we hear the "Final" sound of a kit or snare after it is processed, compressed and eq'ed and they try to replicate a sound that is not the proper sound for the drum that they're trying to tune.*

This is not a complete clip but it offers a lot of good advice on how to tune.  This method is also on Back to Basics.   

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pH_RoUQyv5A

[JonathanLR]

10 inch is there, its a six piece. and about the resonant head which i think is the bottom head, i havent touched that thing in years.. that could be the problem. i did tune the toms very low just barely past the wrinkle like you said. and thats how they came out. i think the bottom heads are tuned really high. they arent pearl but i think what happened was the last time i bought new heads i just put the old ones on the bottom instead of replacing them. that could be it also. well i gotta go back to samash to get the right sized bass drum head anyways, i got a 20 when it was supposed to be a 22. so ill buy new ambassadors and a new snare head cuz mine has taken quite a beating. thanks for helping me remember these things i had totally forgoten. and when you said set my kit up, thats the best way i found to set it up, and i havent changed it in like 3 years. could you possibly explain how YOU would set them up?

[JFunky]

10 inch is there, its a six piece. and about the resonant head which i think is the bottom head, i havent touched that thing in years.. that could be the problem. i did tune the toms very low just barely past the wrinkle like you said. and thats how they came out. i think the bottom heads are tuned really high. they arent pearl but i think what happened was the last time i bought new heads i just put the old ones on the bottom instead of replacing them. that could be it also. well i gotta go back to samash to get the right sized bass drum head anyways, i got a 20 when it was supposed to be a 22. so ill buy new ambassadors and a new snare head cuz mine has taken quite a beating. thanks for helping me remember these things i had totally forgoten. and when you said set my kit up, thats the best way i found to set it up, and i havent changed it in like 3 years. could you possibly explain how YOU would set them up?

Dawg, setting up is personal but at the same time, if you have different drummers play at your church, you'll need a versatile type of set up.  I can tell you that at my church it's somewhat versatile.  A lot of guys can't play the toms how I have them set up now. LOL  So, I'll be redoing the set up at church and I'll try to post a video or pictures whenever I can get a hold of J_kay and his great camera with the million mega pixels. LOL

The October Issue of Modern Drummer talks about set ups.  I suggest you pick it up when it hits the bookshelfs.

As for the Resonant heads, wait about a week to put them on the drums.  If you put brand new Batters and Resos. at the same time, it will be a tuning nightmare.  Seriously.  I went through it on a full house Sunday Morning Service.  I spent all morning tuning and retuning between songs and my pastor talking and giving the church announcements.  It was a true headache.  Then I read on an article that's located in the "Must Read" Thread at the top of the page that what I did is a "No, No".  LOL

When you buy them, you really don't have to change 'em out for about a year.  Even though you don't hit them, they stretch.  I have to change the one's on the church kit next month but it really needs it now.

[fretai03]

This thread needs to be stickied. Good advice here & alot of drummers are missing it.

[JFunky]

This thread needs to be stickied. Good advice here & alot of drummers are missing it.

...well the thing is that all of this info is located in the "Informative Threads".  I just summarized some of it and gave my own personal experience and errors that I've commited due to the fact that I didn't know what I was doing.  The article that this is in helped me which in return has helped a lot of church drummers that I've spoken too and adviced.

One other thing to remember is that it's okay to say, "I don't know how to tune these drums."  The next thing you should say is, "I need to find someone that does."  I said the same thing and j_kay and Sabianknight came to the rescue and pimped the church drum kit.  I remember everyone flipping out on how great the Pearl kit sounded.  If you don't know, seek help.  It's okay.  We're all here to Learn, aren't we?  Most of you guys have heard the MP3 of the Pearl kit at my church and have agreed that they sounded great.  It's not because it was a Pearl kit, but it was the fact that I had two bro's that know their craft and were willing to help.  Many kits sound great when they're properly headed and properly tuned. 

It's all about Brotherhood my brothers and sisters.  We need to seriously get back to that.  One Love.

[SabianKnight]

10 inch is there, its a six piece. and about the resonant head which i think is the bottom head, i havent touched that thing in years.. that could be the problem. i did tune the toms very low just barely past the wrinkle like you said. and thats how they came out. i think the bottom heads are tuned really high. they arent pearl but i think what happened was the last time i bought new heads i just put the old ones on the bottom instead of replacing them. that could be it also. well i gotta go back to samash to get the right sized bass drum head anyways, i got a 20 when it was supposed to be a 22. so ill buy new ambassadors and a new snare head cuz mine has taken quite a beating. thanks for helping me remember these things i had totally forgoten. and when you said set my kit up, thats the best way i found to set it up, and i havent changed it in like 3 years. could you possibly explain how YOU would set them up?

Yes the Resonant head for toms is the bottom... for kicks its the front head. You should replace your resos at least once a year. You should replace your batters (tops) at least every 6 weeks at which time you should retune the kit. NEVER TAKE OLD TOPS AND PUT ON THE BOTTOM -- the head is already stretch out and gone. I suggest you invest in a Drum Dial to help you develop consistency.
I also suggest you use a soft mallet to strike the head while tuning. Tune your resonant heads fist without the batters on then tume the batters to the resonant head's pitch. Invest in Bob Gatze's DVD Drum Tuning. Different oods, sizes, rooms, genres, mics require different head combos.

[JFunky]

...hey, I saw that Russ Miller has a tuning DVD as well for $19.99.  Is that any good? 

[SabianKnight]

...hey, I saw that Russ Miller has a tuning DVD as well for $19.99.  Is that any good? 

I was told not close to as good as Bob Gatzen's

[Eccentric-Rhythm]

I have yet to see Bob Gatzen's DVD. I own the Russ Miller one and must say its not as in depth as I wish it would have been.

[Hotsticks1]

Dude first of all...You gotta realize, just like guitar strings, and bananas before you put it into banana bread, they have to rippin before they reach there full potential.

Keep em a while, stretch em, beat on them a little, and keep tuning them, and I'm sure that after a while they'll be fine...

[fretai03]

...well the thing is that all of this info is located in the "Informative Threads".  I just summarized some of it and gave my own personal experience and errors that I've commited due to the fact that I didn't know what I was doing.  The article that this is in helped me which in return has helped a lot of church drummers that I've spoken too and adviced.

One other thing to remember is that it's okay to say, "I don't know how to tune these drums."  The next thing you should say is, "I need to find someone that does."  I said the same thing and j_kay and Sabianknight came to the rescue and pimped the church drum kit.  I remember everyone flipping out on how great the Pearl kit sounded.  If you don't know, seek help.  It's okay.  We're all here to Learn, aren't we?  Most of you guys have heard the MP3 of the Pearl kit at my church and have agreed that they sounded great.  It's not because it was a Pearl kit, but it was the fact that I had two bro's that know their craft and were willing to help.  Many kits sound great when they're properly headed and properly tuned. 

It's all about Brotherhood my brothers and sisters.  We need to seriously get back to that.  One Love.

Yeah, I like the personal spin you've put onto the information already in the Information Thread. It gives sense of realism applied to the knowledge in that thread. That's why I think this should be stickied.