I've been playing drums for around 45 years and I've taken away so much from Sounds Like A Drum over the last few years in tips, tricks/hacks, tunings etc. ALL my drums (3 kits) have never sounded better, so thank you Cody & Co! And thanks for demonstrating the pitches on the individual heads here too. Great stuff, keep it up!🤩😎
I have 17 drums and I just switched over from pinstripe clear to emperor clear heads on 8 of my tom toms. It's always a trip trying to get them all in tune with one another. Keep doing what you do man.
my batter heads stay in great shape tunning them lower and having my reso heads higher tuned. I play for about 2-3 hours a day, and they sound and look great, even after almost a year and a half getting new heads all around. I also moved my rack toms going 12, 10, (14, 16 floor toms) a few months ago. Really feels like having two drum sets in one. Coming up with many ideas. Bill Bruford was the inspiration for many years.
Fantastic! Always learning. The more I’m blessed to play throughout my lifetime, the more I discover how little I know - & I love this. Thank you 🙏🏻 Happy New Year!
Great video, guys! I usually tune all my toms with the reso heads higher, to lessen the sustain, as that's my preferred sound. Plus, I use coated batter heads, to me they have a less plastic sound than clear batter heads. But, that said, there are lots of variables, and personal preference. Thanks again for the video. Cheers. PS : The pitch bend you demonstrated was quite significant!
This was ( as i am used by now) a verry well explained tutorial, you guys make unbelievable quality videos! There is one question that remains and that is: what is the difference between sound impact heard in a room (by the changes made by the mentioned techniques) and the impact on sound as recorded by a close mic? i would expect the sound, tuning and attack of the batter head to provide 80% of the recorded sound? or am i mistaken?
I have a Slingerland kit from 1978. I had a friend come over and tune it, and it was just marvelous. I was never able to get it to sound that way again. What bugs me about trying to learn how to tune the drums is that I'm always afraid I may scrap the heads and have to start over with a new set. If it costs me 100$ just to try, maybe I should let my friend do it. On the other hand, I know I can't own a studio if I don't know how to tune them properly. Every time I sat down and tried, I failed miserably.
Ask your friend to walk you through his method. It’s not rocket science but it is music math. You might need to revisit musical intervals and ear training.
@@artysanmobile Thanks for the tip. I wrote everything down as he was doing it. Tried it on my own later and the results were disappointing. Learning my intervals is a great idea.
@@orphic-trench Learning intervals is a two-stage process. Identifying them, and learning how they make a scale. 1. Play them on a purely tonal instrument (piano, online synth) to train your ear and know the names. Knowing the names allows you to discuss them with other musicians, and your tuner friend. UP examples to start. Learn the sound of each in the pairs I’m noting, then hear the difference. semitone vs whole tone m3rd (minor third) vs M3rd (major 3rd) 4th vs 5th (tonic) Once you know these the instant you hear them on a purely tonal instrument, you can learn to identify them on your instrument, only slightly more difficult. Also remember that intervals exist in either direction, UP unless specified, and DOWN when specified. Every musician should know these by heart, and many don’t. Ones who don’t have no way to communicate with a song writer, and that’s a huge disadvantage. 2. When you can recognize intervals, it’s a natural step to learn how they are used to build scales and chords. Then, and only then, will a Key Signature have full meaning. Most untrained musicians learn Key first which is totally bass-ackwards. Knowing a song is in A Maj will typically lead an untrained player to just start with the note A. The trained player will know the intervals that make the song, such as the M3rd vs the m3rd. The lessons go on from there, but you will be well armed for battle once you know Intervals and how they make Scales. Best of luck to you and enjoy the music.
I liked all the tones you got out of your rack tom . Loved your floor tom. I assume from tone you're using all single ply heads . Have you tried Evans G 12's ? I like my rack tom nested in tight and low to bass drum . Reason I use a stand .
I have always thought you setups sound terrific, but I attributed a lot of that to you, the player, and not so much the drums or tuning. For a few years now, I've followed Rob Brown's recommendations for tuning. It's quick, it's perfect for getting drums calibrated after moving them for a gig. Not sure if you've seen his video(s) on tuning, but you may find them interesting. Oh and BTW, all the best for the holiday season!
I have learned so much about batter and reso tuning from yall! Since i now have an old ludwig that had both heads. Even after most of my 38 yrs playing drums (almost 30 yrs) i still have problems with my snare tuning! I have a g1 on bottom....can i tune it real low to make the snare wires less reactive?
Sure! Some of it depends on positioning, some depends on options for controlling tone (we love being able to make adjustments to sustain/resonance simply via the use of the TnR TrueVibe isolation mounts on a snare stand). Positioning independently of other stands/drums is a huge benefit as well. Remember, "more" isn't necessarily better when it comes to sustain and resonance. We covered this a bit in an older episode here: th-cam.com/video/GnUz9LM--lQ/w-d-xo.html
Great video, full of concrete examples of sound. I’ve found it’s important to yes have a default tom sound, then be able to tweak that to the room and context. You can achieve similar effects on the floor tom too. I often find, on shared kits, those tuned way too low on the batter side, and you just get attack and no “tone” = no low end.
(1) Low cost, low fuss. (2) A tom resting in a snare basket doesn't move when I hit it. Rim-mounted toms wobble. Through the course of a gig, they inevitably start to angle away from me, forcing asymmetrical strokes.
Yet another great video. Thanks, guys! I'm unashamedly an "attack" guy. I relish that sound of the stick striking the head, and though of course I want the tom to sound good after the attack, it's that beautiful sharp noise at the start that makes me happy. Gavin Harrison did this to me, and I'll always be grateful. And yeah, I agree with brent3760 down below--bring back the ponytail, Cody!
I enjoy your scientific approach and just watched Ep 30 and I don't understand why you always seem to put a 10" or 12" on a snare stand. I have a Pearl Masters Studio with I guess OptiMounts, (the set is about 24 yrs old). I usually play it as a 5 piece and 10/12/16/22 and it's ergonomic for me, and the toms are open and singing. Tom on a snare stand never made sense to me.
it would most likely get to a point where it sounds like something other than a drum before the tension is liable to do damage. the things are remarkably resilient. also the tension from the head would make the tension rods hard to turn, but this is also something you don't usually need to worry about, unless you're using some mechanical means to tune your drums. the torque you can apply with your fingers and a standard drum key should keep you within the bounds of safety.
I've been playing drums for around 45 years and I've taken away so much from Sounds Like A Drum over the last few years in tips, tricks/hacks, tunings etc. ALL my drums (3 kits) have never sounded better, so thank you Cody & Co!
And thanks for demonstrating the pitches on the individual heads here too. Great stuff, keep it up!🤩😎
Simon Phillips has the best tom sound without doubt.
Single head concerts? No way man
Superb, as always. Only complaint is I'm watching this when I should be practicing 😂
I look forward to the day when Cody has his ponytail back. 😢
Just having fun! 😁
You guys are great! Thank you for what you do!!! 🥁❤️🥁
Thanks for showing us the different tone / intervals of both tom heads - it's been something of concern to me in the past. Greetings from Australia.
I have 17 drums and I just switched over from pinstripe clear to emperor clear heads on 8 of my tom toms. It's always a trip trying to get them all in tune with one another. Keep doing what you do man.
my batter heads stay in great shape tunning them lower and having my reso heads higher tuned. I play for about 2-3 hours a day, and they sound and look great, even after almost a year and a half getting new heads all around. I also moved my rack toms going 12, 10, (14, 16 floor toms) a few months ago. Really feels like having two drum sets in one. Coming up with many ideas. Bill Bruford was the inspiration for many years.
Fantastic! Always learning. The more I’m blessed to play throughout my lifetime, the more I discover how little I know - & I love this. Thank you 🙏🏻 Happy New Year!
Thank you so much for all you do to help all of us out here that can always use a little help.❤️❤️❤️
Great video, guys! I usually tune all my toms with the reso heads higher, to lessen the sustain, as that's my preferred sound. Plus, I use coated batter heads, to me they have a less plastic sound than clear batter heads. But, that said, there are lots of variables, and personal preference. Thanks again for the video. Cheers.
PS : The pitch bend you demonstrated was quite significant!
This was ( as i am used by now) a verry well explained tutorial, you guys make unbelievable quality videos! There is one question that remains and that is: what is the difference between sound impact heard in a room (by the changes made by the mentioned techniques) and the impact on sound as recorded by a close mic? i would expect the sound, tuning and attack of the batter head to provide 80% of the recorded sound? or am i mistaken?
I have a Slingerland kit from 1978. I had a friend come over and tune it, and it was just marvelous. I was never able to get it to sound that way again. What bugs me about trying to learn how to tune the drums is that I'm always afraid I may scrap the heads and have to start over with a new set. If it costs me 100$ just to try, maybe I should let my friend do it. On the other hand, I know I can't own a studio if I don't know how to tune them properly. Every time I sat down and tried, I failed miserably.
Ask your friend to walk you through his method. It’s not rocket science but it is music math. You might need to revisit musical intervals and ear training.
@@artysanmobile Thanks for the tip. I wrote everything down as he was doing it. Tried it on my own later and the results were disappointing. Learning my intervals is a great idea.
@@orphic-trench Learning intervals is a two-stage process. Identifying them, and learning how they make a scale.
1. Play them on a purely tonal instrument (piano, online synth) to train your ear and know the names. Knowing the names allows you to discuss them with other musicians, and your tuner friend.
UP examples to start. Learn the sound of each in the pairs I’m noting, then hear the difference.
semitone vs whole tone
m3rd (minor third) vs M3rd (major 3rd)
4th vs 5th (tonic)
Once you know these the instant you hear them on a purely tonal instrument, you can learn to identify them on your instrument, only slightly more difficult. Also remember that intervals exist in either direction, UP unless specified, and DOWN when specified.
Every musician should know these by heart, and many don’t. Ones who don’t have no way to communicate with a song writer, and that’s a huge disadvantage.
2. When you can recognize intervals, it’s a natural step to learn how they are used to build scales and chords. Then, and only then, will a Key Signature have full meaning. Most untrained musicians learn Key first which is totally bass-ackwards. Knowing a song is in A Maj will typically lead an untrained player to just start with the note A. The trained player will know the intervals that make the song, such as the M3rd vs the m3rd.
The lessons go on from there, but you will be well armed for battle once you know Intervals and how they make Scales.
Best of luck to you and enjoy the music.
@@artysanmobile Thanks. This is great!
@@orphic-trench you’re very welcome. Happy new year!
I liked all the tones you got out of your rack tom . Loved your floor tom. I assume from tone you're using all single ply heads . Have you tried Evans G 12's ? I like my rack tom nested in tight and low to bass drum . Reason I use a stand .
I have always thought you setups sound terrific, but I attributed a lot of that to you, the player, and not so much the drums or tuning.
For a few years now, I've followed Rob Brown's recommendations for tuning. It's quick, it's perfect for getting drums calibrated after moving them for a gig. Not sure if you've seen his video(s) on tuning, but you may find them interesting.
Oh and BTW, all the best for the holiday season!
I have learned so much about batter and reso tuning from yall! Since i now have an old ludwig that had both heads. Even after most of my 38 yrs playing drums (almost 30 yrs) i still have problems with my snare tuning! I have a g1 on bottom....can i tune it real low to make the snare wires less reactive?
I love the pitch bend... I try to get it.
Explain to me why some people mount toms on a snare stand when rim-mounted technology has come so far?
Wanting to choke the tone or looks cooler?
Sure! Some of it depends on positioning, some depends on options for controlling tone (we love being able to make adjustments to sustain/resonance simply via the use of the TnR TrueVibe isolation mounts on a snare stand). Positioning independently of other stands/drums is a huge benefit as well. Remember, "more" isn't necessarily better when it comes to sustain and resonance.
We covered this a bit in an older episode here: th-cam.com/video/GnUz9LM--lQ/w-d-xo.html
Great video, full of concrete examples of sound. I’ve found it’s important to yes have a default tom sound, then be able to tweak that to the room and context. You can achieve similar effects on the floor tom too. I often find, on shared kits, those tuned way too low on the batter side, and you just get attack and no “tone” = no low end.
(1) Low cost, low fuss.
(2) A tom resting in a snare basket doesn't move when I hit it. Rim-mounted toms wobble. Through the course of a gig, they inevitably start to angle away from me, forcing asymmetrical strokes.
Gigging.
Yet another great video. Thanks, guys! I'm unashamedly an "attack" guy. I relish that sound of the stick striking the head, and though of course I want the tom to sound good after the attack, it's that beautiful sharp noise at the start that makes me happy. Gavin Harrison did this to me, and I'll always be grateful.
And yeah, I agree with brent3760 down below--bring back the ponytail, Cody!
I'd say wood type and head type (coating/plies) would have an enormous effect on smonta of attack, on top of actual tuning.
best video so far!
That's very kind- Thanks so much! We're glad you enjoyed it.
Would you often tune your floor tom with a lower reso ? It can get rumbly
I enjoy your scientific approach and just watched Ep 30 and I don't understand why you always seem to put a 10" or 12" on a snare stand. I have a Pearl Masters Studio with I guess OptiMounts, (the set is about 24 yrs old). I usually play it as a 5 piece and 10/12/16/22 and it's ergonomic for me, and the toms are open and singing. Tom on a snare stand never made sense to me.
How to know when head is tuned too tight.
Dont want to damage anything.
it would most likely get to a point where it sounds like something other than a drum before the tension is liable to do damage. the things are remarkably resilient.
also the tension from the head would make the tension rods hard to turn, but this is also something you don't usually need to worry about, unless you're using some mechanical means to tune your drums. the torque you can apply with your fingers and a standard drum key should keep you within the bounds of safety.
@@nickdenardo6479 thanks...