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d2jsp Forums > Off-Topic > Entertainment Room > Musicians Chat > A Question For The Drummers > Involving The Toms
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Jul 9 2011 04:21am
ok so i have a 12" high tom, a 13" mid tom and a 16" floor tom
all are single layered heads

my question:
im looking for the right pitches for these toms, ive heard people say "tune them to your liking, since there isnt a designated tone"
but when i do this, the toms just dont match really well

please tell me your opinion on the pitch of the drums, or if you have toms of your own , lmk the tones :)

thanks
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Jul 9 2011 07:10pm
Are you tunning the bottom reso heads aswell?
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Jul 9 2011 08:16pm
Quote (GreatOdensRaven @ Jul 9 2011 09:10pm)
Are you tunning the bottom reso heads aswell?


yes i am.
just iso pitches
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Jul 10 2011 10:09am
Quote (DoH_Gator @ Jul 9 2011 05:21am)
ok so i have a 12" high tom, a 13" mid tom and a 16" floor tom
all are single layered heads

my question:
im looking for the right pitches for these toms, ive heard people say "tune them to your liking, since there isnt a designated tone"
but when i do this, the toms just dont match really well

please tell me your opinion on the pitch of the drums, or if you have toms of your own , lmk the tones :)

thanks


First tune the first tom (the 12" for you) to your liking. Tune the batter head to where you want it, while either having the reso off or muffled so it doesn't mess with you. Then I like to tune the reso slightly higher than the batter. I think it gives a more focused sound. Basically, you're just going to have to keep fucking with it until you find what you're looking for.
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Jul 10 2011 10:29am
Quote (Ghost_Smoke @ Jul 10 2011 12:09pm)
First tune the first tom (the 12" for you) to your liking. Tune the batter head to where you want it, while either having the reso off or muffled so it doesn't mess with you. Then I like to tune the reso slightly higher than the batter. I think it gives a more focused sound. Basically, you're just going to have to keep fucking with it until you find what you're looking for.


ill try :mellow:
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Jul 11 2011 09:03pm
The general rules of drum head tuning are:

The top head (batter side) is the pitch. Tightly tuned gives a higher pitch. Loosely tuned gives a lower pitch.

Bottom head (resonant head) is the sustain. A tight head gives a short sustain and a loose head gives a long sustain.

The pitch relationship has a remarkable impact. I, like Ghost Smoke, tune my resonant head higher than the batter head, usually a semitone to a tone higher, (smaller head smaller step, bigger head, bigger step.) This gives the pitch bend effect. By doing this, you lose the tone of the drum and it becomes more percussive. If you tune the bottom head to the same pitch, you end up with the purest tone. The problem with tuning drums to tones is what if the pitch of your toms are C,E,G, a triad which is what I hear sometimes. And lets say your guitar player tunes down a half step to Eb, then the whole guitar down and starts playing a guitar in the key of C. Well...to him he's in C but to your drum kit, he's in B which has 5 sharps. Now your toms are chromatically out of tune with the entire song. Furthermore, even if he plays in E or A which are common guitar keys, two of your perfectly tuned drums are still out.

If you want tones, get a timpani unless you want to tune your drums every song.

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Jul 26 2011 05:55pm
tune from the lowest drum up. starting with the floor tom

these have the lowest tuning range so get it to how to want it.

tune the next lowest tom so it sounds good with that tom and so on
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