The choice of tones, timbres and relative tensioning is a separate issue and discussed here the method that i advocate here is one that works for me, however i recommend you experiment and take other advice. Diameter has a greater impact on tuning that does depth. Scott johnson for providing this incredible guide to the drumming community. But seeing as i dont play guitar or something similar, i wanted to apply it to my drum kit. Starting with the bottom skin or drum head of your smallest drum and always tuning diagonally. His explanation of the moeller is great and of course the playing is solid, but you can download them off youtube for free. Great this is a perfect description, totally useful for the drummer. Tuning for latin music here mike explains the adjustments needed for playing along with a variety of latin music styles. Drums addict that the music remains a free pleasure.
How to get more articulation, volume, crack, sensitivity and warmth from a snare drum. Everyone can hear the note and a pitch from that sound. Also you can experiment with other tunings and try some. As well as tuning, the tightness of the snare wires will reflect the tone and resonance so experiment with this. Ive learned a great deal from bob s many videos on drum tuning. Other percussion tips in ableton live download online. With this dvd, youl get the sound out of your instrument that youve been looking for. Tuning is a purely mechanical exercise and therefore there are many varied ways of delivering an appropriate tone from a drum. I dont know if ill be able to help much here, but a couple of good online resources are bob gatzen s videos and the drum tuning bible.
You want the pressure of each lug to be the same so that the rim isnt putting more stress on the head in some places than others, and this produces a more even tone with the drum and sounds better in my opinion. Starting with the bottom skin or drum head of your smallest drum and always. How to tune your bass drum in this free drum lesson, jared falk goes over some tips and tricks for getting an awesome sounding bass drum. Probably one of the best guys to learn about tuning from is bob gatzen, who is i think a very well respected figure in the drum world, and he has a lot of videos that hes done, promotionally for evans, and also his own dvds on tuning. Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the world. With this video, you will get the sound out of your instrument that you have been looking for. Get a low price and free shipping on thousands of items.
A good starting point is to tune the lugfrequency of the resonant head a perfect fifth 1. With the newsletter, company history, news, and partners pages you can keep up with the latest in the world of percussion. Tuning procedure, step by stepbatter side tipsresonant side tipssnare, tom, and kick drum tuningcommon issues and how to fix them. Diameter determines the note of the drum, depth influences articulation and resonance. The secret of a great drum sound production advice. Aug 12, 2015 as well as tuning, the tightness of the snare wires will reflect the tone and resonance so experiment with this.
If you can get past bob gatzen s personality, you can find some good but conventional information such as. With the bass drum we follow similar rules to the toms, but we are trying to find the lowest possible pitch in the batter head the first head to start tuning on the bass drum. Found out that i preferred the reso to be bit looser at around g, and batter bit higher at around d. Tuning procedure, step by stepbatter side tipsresonant side tipssnare, tom, and kick drum tuning common issues and how to fix them. A good visual demonstration of tuning the drum skins diagonally.
Knowing how to properly tune your drums is vital to having a great sounding drum kit. Bob s new dvd includes his original bestselling warner bros. Bob gatzen shows us how to tune toms to perfection. Tuning for rock music this section includes important tips and tricks on how to tune your drums for various rock drumming situations. Hq percussion is a manufacturer of snare drum practice pads, practice pad stands, drum mutes, cymbal mutes, and drum set mute packs. Even if you are a novice drummer, having a welltuned drum kit will make you stand above the rest.
Gatzen could have been much more conscise in telling us these things. Bob gatzen has carved out an amazing career as a drummer, educator and inventor. Bob has also worked on several dvd projects for warner brothers with the likes of dennis chambers, tony royster, jr. Tuning a bass drum doesnt mean quite the same thing as tuning other instruments. Bob gatzen shares his vast knowledge of sound production and design in this comprehensive and practical.
Bob gatzen tonal tuning part 1 watch the latest videos by subscribing here. He worked closely with designer bob gatzen and pulled out of retirement a. Tension rod the bolt that goes through holes in the rim, used to pull the head down across the bearing edge, and tighten or loosen for tuning. This is really worth the money, even if you have the drum tuning bible. In this video bob gatzen talks us through the process of tuning the tom toms.
The link below is a great handson tuning reference. The tunebot tuning calculator will help you determine the notes and frequencies to reach your perfect sound. Much of what i have shared with you, on this page, was learned from watching a video by bob gatzen, drum tuning sound and design. The method is simple, straightf orward and effective for all styles and all levels. As a kid i used other brands, but soon after i heard evans and had the privilege of meeting bob gatzen in my. Bob gatzen shows us how to tune a snare drum to perfection.
Calculate your drum kit interval and define drum sustain in a flick. Warner bros bob gatzen tuning maintenance video musician. The difference material and construction make in the tuning and overall drum sound. Warner bros drum tuning sound and designsimplified dvd.
We start part 1 of our 3 part series on drum tuning by discussing all of the considerations for the snare drum. Russ miller teaches drum tuning in an easytounderstand way, with how various sticks, heads, and drumbody materials affect drum sound and tuning. Nov 11, 2009 bob gatzen is the king of drum tuning. With this dvd, youll get the sound out of your instrument that youve been looking for. When it comes to pitch separation between toms, again its down to personal preference, but a pitch separation of thirds is the most common setup. Its a good idea to seat new drum head before tuning. Tuning drums can be enormously frustrating if youre new to it, especially if you have no one around to work with you. I tuned them to what bob gatzen refers to as the lpf lowest possible frequency search youtube for bob gatzen bass drum tuning and you will find a video. I dont necessarily agree with 100% of his techniques, but this guy knows his stuff. Drum tuning is the process of adjusting the frequency or pitch of a drum. He creates and develops cuttingedge innovative products for drum, cymbal, and accessories companies. A few friends always want me to tune their kits and i will show them how and do it once only, then i print out the tuning bible link below and force them to read it.
You can then use the tunebot drum tuner to tune your drums to these exact settings. The drum tuning bible says remember its the pitch at each lug, not the evenness of lug or head tensiontorque that counts. Hi all, recently ive been wanting to learn more about notes and other music theory. Youve tried bob gatzen s method, drumdial, but after using the evans torque key for your drums you say they have never sounded better in all your 9 years of playing. Dont put the drum with face or bottom on a carpet as suggested on most guides, that raises the pitch of the free head and corrupts the tuning.
Warner bros bob gatzen tuning maintenance video musicians. Listen carefully to all the different harmonics each head is producing, at each and every lug. The tiniest of movements on the tuning lug will make huge differences in pitch and resonance of the drum, more so with a rigid hoop, such as cast. Oct 22, 2015 tuning toms is similar to snare drum tuning, but some people recommend tuning the bottom head higher than the top in order to get a more controlled sound. See more ideas about drum tuning, drums and drum lessons. The size of the drum and the type of heads you place on it determine the pitch, and tuning begins by properly seating the heads on. If you can get past bob gatzens personality, you can find some good but conventional information such as. So what i want to do, and i need your help on this, is to make this a sticky with all the.
Feb 21, 2017 i dont know if ill be able to help much here, but a couple of good online resources are bob gatzen s videos and the drum tuning bible. Drum tuning an introduction basics and objectives of drum tuning tuning a drumset is a mechanical exercise with the aim of ensuring that the tensions across a head are as equal as possible. I dont know if ill be able to help much here, but a couple of good online resources are bob gatzens videos and the drum tuning bible. The docking station is a small clamp that you put on your bass drum hoop where you would normally clamp the pedal. Sep 27, 2007 bob gatzen explains how to tune your bass drum to perfection. The interval between drums is more important than many realize and size is the key to get even resonance and the incremental notes between drums. A pedal and numerous other products for dw, zildjian, evans and now puresound snares.
Promark bob gatzen signature drum sticks musicians friend. Video, drum tuning, sound and design plus an hour of new footage featuring his simplified method of drum tuning. With any tuning aid like the drum dial, your ears will be the final tool used in tuning. Now 45 residing in indianapolis, in usa, played since. Bob gatzen shares his vast knowledge of sound production and design in this comprehensive and practical approach to drum tuning. For example, if you tune your top head to an a, tune your bottom head to a d. May 14, 2017 sounded great with really distinctive pitch. From there all you have to do is slip the male locking mechanism on your giant step into the docking station and pull the lever on the bass plate of your pedal.
There is knowledge around there about the subject, tuning drums to notes in scales, but its very little and really scattered. Bob gatzen explains how to tune your bass drum to perfection. Part of the daddario percussion line of products, evans drumheads provides. Drum head round membrane which stretches across a drum to produce sound. In the video youll find the different steps he follows to tune his bass drum successfully, and some cool tips on muffling techniques and gear, drumheads, and tuning for the resonant head. This written drum tuning guide explains the steps to successfully tune a tom tom.
I highly recommend this video, because you can watch and listen to bob s tips and techniques. For this piece we consulted renowned drum tuning guru and modern drummer pro panelist bob gatzen for some gems on the subject. Although most drums are unpitched instruments, they still require tuning in order to remove unwanted overtones and produce the sound that the drummer prefers. Others online have written tutorial guides who explain in simpler terms how to get a sound out of your drum. The drum tuning bible pdf steve such drums ss drums. Warner bros bob gatzen tuning maintenance video in this video, bob gatzen shares his vast knowledge of sound production and design in this comprehensive and practical approach to drum tuning. Having been established in 1854, it is the oldest drum company of the united states and one of the oldest in the world. Tuning for jazz music mike shows exactly how to get a kit ready for swinging along with some fun jazz tunes.
A drum will usually be happiest if the heads are in tune with each other, and with the drum itself, and the closer you can get to that, the happier the drum will be. The hq percussion website offers many resources in addition to be able to shop for these items online. The method is simple, straightforward, and effective for all styles and all levels. The method is simple, straightforward and effective for all styles and all levels. The batter tuning procedure is the same as the seating and tuning procedure advocated above. We removed the bottom heads of the toms and resonant head of the bass drum. A lot of factors go into tuning your bass drum such as, the type of heads, use of cutouts or kickports in the resonant head and the type of damping, eg. Ive been playing drums for 17 years i would highly recommend tuning to pitches than pressure. Once youve got it on the way you like it you just leave it on. The 1hour program includes performances creative practice techniques and drum set design. Sound and design simplified free and other lessons from our site register or login to view hidden content. Resonant bottom head the resonant head of a snare drum is much thinner than a batter side head do not mix them up. Drum tuning bible single 1 or 2 vents in the shell have little effect on tone.
Steve maxwell vintage drums drum tuning seminar featuring steve maxwell sr. Based on your drums and your personal preferences the tunebot will provide recommended settings based on musical intervals. Bob gatzen is one of the foremost sound and product designers in the drum industry. Drum tuning bob gatzen for evans youtube videos practice. Artist detail jonathan dowling artist details evans drumheads. Tuning drums efficiently while promoting tone, resonance and projection can be a complicated affair, but our essential guides to bass, tom and snare tuning will give you the tools you need to get started. Drums are tuned by tightening or loosening the tension rods or ropes, which control the. His latest endeavoroutbox is a unique clinic presentation for drummers at all levels. Join facebook to connect with bob gatzen and others you may know. Bob is a bmi artist and publisher producing dvd projects for warner bros. Jan 07, 2018 steve maxwell vintage drums drum tuning seminar featuring steve maxwell sr. Tuning toms is similar to snare drum tuning, but some people recommend tuning the bottom head higher than the top in order to get a more controlled sound.
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