sizes

[palmerlouie]

when ordering new drums which sizes does anybody??? think is best for tuning and sound.

currently i am thinking (we write the sizes backwards in europe)....8" (diameter) x 8" and 10"x8" and then 12" by 8" or 9".....i dont know which. i have been told that 12"x8" is difficult to tune well and doesnt give u as much ummmphh as a 12"x9" but everyone seems to have the 12"x8"........anyone have any advice

[Derek DeFields]

I've owned both. The 1 inch doesn't really make a difference.

I'd say 8x12 just for the extra inch above the bass drum of clearance.

I've also had 10x12 and didn't like that size. It feels too soft for me.

[JosiahM]

hey..

I personally love the sound of what DW calls "fast" sizes, they tend to be slightly squat sizing.. you can check out the size chart on dwdrums.com

[chris perra]

for me, any size is fine. as long as the drum is good quality, and the bearing edges are cut right.

i can tune pretty much anything. where the trouble starts is when the toms don't tune well with each other.

for me, i like to tune to the resonant pitch of each induvidual drum. if the pitches don't work together well, you try to tune one out of it's range and wind up fighting the resonance of it's natural pitch.

i find that the sizes need to be at least 2 inches apart from each other to do this easily. you are already doing this so you probably won't have any problems.

high end custom drums like dw have the pitches stamped on the inside. that totally helps you figure out what you're gonna get in the end.


chris perra

[PencilZ]

Chris,...Serious question this, do you believe in DW's shell theory?

The part that i find hard (and others over the net it seems) is, When you put a wrap on a shell and the lugs/hoops and rims mount connected, these all have their OWN resonant frequency too which, will alter and add too, the fundamental of the shells Natural frequency.

For example two notes vibrating together are not one pitch
(think shells freq + lugs freq)

I think its a good concept but does it hold true?

Unless the wrap (laquer) and lugs,hoops ect are all in D (say for example), would you really be able to tune it to the note inside the shell?
(the shells pitch WILL alter when the lugs are tightened to it as its not in its ORIGINAL state)

I much prefer your other example of, tuning to the resonance of the drum as a whole, as this would include the frequencies combined, the Actual resonance of the drum, Not, the shell itself.
--------
Pearl have an opinion on their site about wood thickness and different sizes for shells and on their alleged effects. Might be worth looking at, to pass the time.

[chris perra]

i would imagine that hardware and all the other crap you stick on a drum would definitly effect it somewhat.

i used to take off the skins and tap the shell to figure out the pitches that way. it worked somewhat but in the end for me i just go for where it gets the most tone.

chris perra

[PencilZ]

Yes chris the resonant frequeny of the WHOLE drum, thats what i said i agreed with, when you made the point.

I once was lent a video set on jazz Guitar Building by a friend which went into some of this, it was made by Bob benedetto.
This guys arch top guitars go for a fortune.
(I mean fortune!)

It covered the Tap tone test for tonewoods where by, at one point and one point only you would hold the wood at a specific point, which would show the TRUE tone of the piece of wood, its NOTE, where it would also be at its most resonant frequency.
This is what he would do continuously while making/carving the archtops. Pretty amazing to watch.

This is what the noble and cooley "Nodel point" system and, also used by yamaha on there custom series drums.
I have more belief in this system, than the one spouted by DW
(even though they make fantastic drums).

Canopus a japanese company state on their website after research that, a wrap will change the shells sound and that they actually alter the drums specifically, to compensate for that difference made by the wrap.
Company claims or hype, they all make great drums.

[chris perra]

i think the thing with dw is that if you have a 10 inch drum and it's pitch is say "b" and you have a 12 inch and for some reson it's a "c" or "d" you're probably going want to stay away from those 2 together regardless of hardware ect.

the actual pitches may be different but they would be close enough to cause a potential problem.

for me the hardest thing was finding a 10 inch tom that didn't freak out my snare.

that's something i wish drum companies would look at more is gettin the snare to resonate well but not have issues with the first tom.

half the studio time spent on drums is dealing with issue like that.

if someone made a guitar that everytime you hit an "e" you got a "d" with it people would complain.

chris perra

[PencilZ]

Isnt Bozzios DW kit practically tuned like that though, close in pitch?

[chris perra]

i haven't heard his kit since the early days but he had many pitches 8 to 12. for me, on a five peice kit i would want intervals of 3rd's or 4ths.

half and whole tones wouldn't do me any good. if you have all the pitches there you can pick and choose what you hit.you would have everything you need.

on a five peice i like to have as wide a sound spectrum as possible for effect. tiny intervals wouldn't cut it.

chris perra

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ December 31, 2002 05:09 AM: Message edited by: chris perra ]</font>