drum tuning question

[DeSeipel]

Just wondering everyone's thoughts on tuning snare, toms, bass drum. I typically tune the snare with a tighter bottom head and the snare really tight, but I'm trying to get a better sound out of my snare. I can really tell it needs tweaked, when i do a buzz roll, i don't hear "the sound of sand raining down on the drumhead".

So, basically I was wondering how you guys tune the snare drum and how tight is the snare? Toms also. All of my toms have coated heads and I've had good luck tuning the bottom tom heads real tight and the top head not so tight. I wish I had a tension watch, but I've always thought using one of those was a cop out or it meant you couldn't tune your own drums. I hope no one out there muffles any of your toms or god forbid the snare.

[Lee Collins]

Regarding the snare drum, a tight batter head is fine, more bounce. But if the snares are too tight, they'll choke the drum and you won't get that smooth roll you're looking for. So just loosen off the snares a bit until you can hear more buzzing and it doesn't sound choked.

[XNavyDrummer]

Rudy is right. You could loosen the snares and then tap the batter head while slowly tensioning the snare strainer. You'll hear the snares rattling and then you should hear a decent snare sound prior to the choke sound. Keep experimenting!

[Rhythmatist]

Toms, tune both heads to the same pitch for the most resonance. You need to find the drum's sweet spot to get the most out of this. You can get real drastic and remove all the hardware from the drum and determine the "pitch" of the shell in much the same fashion as DW does and then put the drum back together and tune the heads to this same "pitch" so the heads and shell are all vibrating to the same frequency. I found that to be a good reference point with my Gretsch kit but had to tweak a couple of the drums up or down to get a better pitch differentiation from one tom to the next as the "pitch" of a couple of the shells were too close to each other for my taste. I've found being within a major second up or down from that sweet spot will allow for a pretty decent tone. Once you get out of that range too tight will just get choked and too loose will be mud.

Bass drum very simple for me. I use 2 of the Remo/Weckl bass drum mutes and start by having no tension on either head. Slowly tighten the front head till the wrinkles are gone. Then give each key about a half turn. Do the same with the batter head adjust the mutes for the amount of ring you prefer or require. Adjust from there if you want a higher or lower pitch.

Snare, bottom head tight but not too tight. Batter head medium tight. I use a Rhythm Tech snare "carriage" that allows me to go from very loose snares to tight snares without sacrificing the overall feel of thrdrum.

I once tried a torque wrench and found that tension does not equal pitch at each individual tension rod. It's best to develop your ear and learn to get a feel for how each drum in your kit tunes to itself and then find the optimum relationship from one drum to the next. When you play the kit wide open it should resonate and sing as a single instrument. The most important thing is that the pitch at each tension rod be the same in order to eliminate the wavering that occurs when the head is out of tune with itself or with the other head.