What should each drum of a kit be tuned too?

[storm-01]

I know that it is important for a drummer to tune his drums before recording (or anytime), but I don't know the exact notes that each individual drum should be tuned too. What do you guys tune each drum too?

Thanks,
Stormy

[stewie]

i usually tune them to how i like the sound. but sometimes on certan kits theres a letter on the inside of the shell and thats what note they are suposed to be tuned to. use your ear though, sometimes those drum dials come in handy to make sure each lugs in pitch.

[iceblueD]

This is a big question alot of people ask ( not necessarily here, but in drum forums). Drums are all unique, just because this one set has the same size drums as another, doesnt mean that they should necessarily be tuned alike. Alot also has to do with personal preference. Some people do tune drums so the notes match with notes in a song, which honestly seems unrealistic to me since whos going to tune their drums for every song in a live show! Just make sure the top head is in tune first, then tune the bottom. You can ask several different drummers how they tune their sets, and they will probably tell you ALMOST a different story from the other, but not always. If you would like to know the best way that I have found and have been taught by a professional drummer, you can email me at [email protected] , or just ask me on here to post it.

I do have a few questions for you though:

1) Do you know what sound you want?
2) What style are you playing?
3) What heads are you using?

Hope I am able to help you!!

DJ

[where02190]

Every drum has a "voice", a tonal range that is the sweetspot of the drums tone. That is IMHO what they should be tuned to.

[EricFuller]

I'm not a drummer, per se, but I feel I can tell a well tuned kit when I hear one. My personal opinion is they should be tuned so that they resonate well individually and so if you play two drums together they blend well, implying tonal harmony. If you do that then it should sound almost like a scale when you play from one tom to the next (kinda like congas should sound, but not necessarily so precise for a trap kit). This is just how I personally like drums to sound. I wouldn't ever tell a drummer how to tune his/her drums though as it is more important that they are happy and comfortable. Unless I was producing an album, then I might make requests. Otherwise it's not going to matter tonally when you've got guitars, bass, and keys going as they are much more prominent tonally. As a result the drums won't cause things to sound out of key, especially in a live setting (unless you're talking about congas being played w/in a complex lating groove). If you're playing rock or blues or funk or something then the only thing that's really important is that they don't sound dead and dull.

All imo, of course.

[Calvin]

I'm not a drummer at all. In fact snare is one of the hardest things for me to get sounding good. With that in mind I'm not sure whats wrong with some of the drum sounds that i'm getting. Are Toms sapposed to drop in pitch after they have been hit? I would understand a little drop in pitch, it makes sence, but some of these drums sound like they almost drop a 4th after being hit. I know that I can get rid of some of the resonance, but that just seems to make it sound worse. Is this a drum tuning problem, or could this be something more? Would it happen from just having a really cheap set?

[EricFuller]

My guess would be that they are tuned too low, or have gotten out of tune. In other words it sounds like the heads aren't taught enough. Like maybe when the drum head is struck it pulls it a little more taught, creating an intial pitch, and then as the head loosens back up the sound chamber gets a little bigger and the pitch lowers? This is totally conjecture.

If that's not the problem, or if tuning the drums higher doesn't help, there are little rubber squares that are kinda sticky that drummers put on their drum heads to prevent excess vibrations. If the drummer(s) isn't (aren't) using those, maybe suggest them? That will help lessen the vibrations and may kill the resonance before it has a chance to draw out that long.

All that said, hopefully a real drummer will come along and tell us the answers ;-)

[storm-01]

Every drum has a "voice", a tonal range that is the sweetspot of the drums tone. That is IMHO what they should be tuned to.

I understand what you mean and it makes sense. I can hear when a drum head is out of tune and when that "sweetspot" has been met. I guess my more specific question is, should there be a certain interval such as a P4th between the two rack toms, or the floor tom for that matter? It wouldn't be appropriate to have every drum tuned to a specific note for every kit, but are the intervals between each drum (or at least between the toms) kept constant?
I suppose the old saying, "if it sounds good..." applys here.

By the way, I'm recording a lot of alternative rock and another band that has a classic Beatles, Beachboys, blues mixed sound. A very interesting blend. I aslo find it very interesting that half of the drummers that I have worked with don't tune their drums at all. Once in the studio, I have to take a tuner and go through each drum on the kit.
Thanks for the replys.


Stormy

[where02190]

It is advisable to tune to pitch, so there is no interference with tdrum pitch and tunign of other instruments, however there are no rules as to the intervals, this is dictated by the size of the drums and their associated sweetspots in tuning.

[EricFuller]

>Once in the studio, I have to take a tuner and go through each drum on the kit.

Do you mean a person or a tuning fork/electronic tuner?

If you mean a person, maybe they have your answer.

Tuning to P4 intervals and stuff is something I associate with congas and bongos and the like more than a trap kit. It would sound really good if you had a trap set like that, but I'm not sure it would be worth it. If you have the time and the means, though, and the drums don't sound out of key on some songs, go for it. Of course if it doesn't sound out of tune in some cases than that has implications re: whether tuning them to certain notes was worth it.

>It is advisable to tune to pitch, so there is no interference with tdrum pitch and tunign of other instruments

If you tune a drum to C and play a song in A maj or anything with a C#/Db preceded by a whole step the interference will still be there (unless you mean microtone interference specifically, in which case that wouldn't be a problem). But whether you will really notice is a different story - I usually can't tell on a trap kit because the notes are so short and so low.