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Step 6Life Savers
So you may have just read this, my first, instructable about how to tune a drumset. I have been playing for about 12 years, which now that I think about it is more than half of my life. Damn, thats crazy. Anyway, it took me those 12 years to find all of these invaluable add-ons and gadgets that have made life and drumming a whole lot easier. So take my advice, and invest in some of these. I am not endorsing specific brands or models over others for any reason other than that I have found these to be superior. I certainly haven't tried all of the available options, so shop around and ask others for advice.
Muffling:
There are three types of muffling.
Interior muffling:
The idea of placing items such as pillows or blankets inside kick drums has been exploited for decades, but recently there have been alternative methods for adding some (occasionally) much needed muffling into the shell of a drum. Items such as the Remo Muffs slip onto the drum shell before putting on a head and kill a lot of the overtone and sustain of the drum.
Exterior Muffling:
So there are a ton of different items you can use here. Remo rings have been around forever, and putting one or two of these plasic rings on your snare or toms can bring out an awesome tone. Clip-on muffling pads are also a good choice for those pesky floor toms that ring forever or if you want to get a super sharp crack out of your snare. I cant go into all the options, just look at this. Moon gel is awesome by the way.
In-Head Muffling:
Many drums heads for kick drums are available that offer muffling attached to the head. Aquarian Super Kick II is my favorite kick head, but the Evans EMAD II is another good choice.
Drum Keys:
You will find just about as many types of drum keys as you can find drum heads. Just to list a few, there are ratchet keys, torque keys, speed keys, drill bit keys, this list goes on and on. Happy hunting. Don't worry though, a basic drum key is all you ever need.
If you need a little help:
If you have trouble getting your resonant head tuned to a distinct pitch, or if once both heads are on you just cant get your drum to sound any good, check THIS out. It is basically a tension tuner that you can use to read the amount of tension that you have at your drum head along the rim. It not only tells you how much tension you have on your head, it will actually tell you the desired tension for various head types and drum sizes. I feel like it takes a bit of the fun out of the tuning process, but if you just cant get it right or need to tune up some drums really speedily, this can be a life saver.
Well, thats it. If you have any suggestions or advice for me, seeing that this is my first instructable, please let me know. Thanks for reading, and enjoy those great sounding drums.
Muffling:
There are three types of muffling.
Interior muffling:
The idea of placing items such as pillows or blankets inside kick drums has been exploited for decades, but recently there have been alternative methods for adding some (occasionally) much needed muffling into the shell of a drum. Items such as the Remo Muffs slip onto the drum shell before putting on a head and kill a lot of the overtone and sustain of the drum.
Exterior Muffling:
So there are a ton of different items you can use here. Remo rings have been around forever, and putting one or two of these plasic rings on your snare or toms can bring out an awesome tone. Clip-on muffling pads are also a good choice for those pesky floor toms that ring forever or if you want to get a super sharp crack out of your snare. I cant go into all the options, just look at this. Moon gel is awesome by the way.
In-Head Muffling:
Many drums heads for kick drums are available that offer muffling attached to the head. Aquarian Super Kick II is my favorite kick head, but the Evans EMAD II is another good choice.
Drum Keys:
You will find just about as many types of drum keys as you can find drum heads. Just to list a few, there are ratchet keys, torque keys, speed keys, drill bit keys, this list goes on and on. Happy hunting. Don't worry though, a basic drum key is all you ever need.
If you need a little help:
If you have trouble getting your resonant head tuned to a distinct pitch, or if once both heads are on you just cant get your drum to sound any good, check THIS out. It is basically a tension tuner that you can use to read the amount of tension that you have at your drum head along the rim. It not only tells you how much tension you have on your head, it will actually tell you the desired tension for various head types and drum sizes. I feel like it takes a bit of the fun out of the tuning process, but if you just cant get it right or need to tune up some drums really speedily, this can be a life saver.
Well, thats it. If you have any suggestions or advice for me, seeing that this is my first instructable, please let me know. Thanks for reading, and enjoy those great sounding drums.
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Dec 10, 2011. 5:48 PMski4jesus
says:
Yo, I don't play drums, but most other normal instruments I do. Anyways, I bought a used cheap drumset, And I've been learning more bout tuning them(You), And I was wondering for toms, I have a kit with two of the small toms and a floor tom, Wondering what the drummer preferred pitch/sustain/attack is around. The reason I have this kit is for my band, once I get my little "Jam room" done. So what is the "norm" for these three toms?
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![WORLDS CHEAPEST VIRTUAL DRUM at $10 [ Rs.500] - using pc ( no drum module required )](http://img.instructables.com/files/deriv/FA7/71UR/GUI0ZWAC/FA771URGUI0ZWAC.SQUARE.jpg)
