Drum Dial tuning

judochop87

Junior Member
Hello Fellas,

Just picked up a Drum dial to get my new drum set in the ballpark range as I have never tuned a set of drums before. A couple of questions.

1. Do you place the drum on the floor when tuning?
2. Tune bottom or top skins first?
3. Do I have to tighten and push on the new skins in before tuning? That's the jist I got from another reading, just wanted to make sure.

Thanks
 
Watch all of the Bob Gatzen YouTube videos that explain drum tuning at least 5 times. That will keep you busy for a while but you will learn great things.
Tune your drums from the videos that you learned from and then use the Drum Dial to see how well you did :)
This is not a joke, I am serious. The Drum Dial is a tool. It has a function but it should not be used as a benchmark. It is the instrument that I use as a quick reference while tuning because I already know how I like to tune. Do not attempt to use it like an electronic guitar tuner. Drums don't work that way.
I own numerous drums and drum kits. I tune every drum that I own to suit the drum, the music style, and the head choices that I have made for the aforementioned.

In other words; You are not going to simply set the bottom head to 74 and the top head to 78 and have a great sounding tom.
 
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Cool, take your time, relax and have fun while you experiment and learn. Drum tuning is an art that is just as important as learning chops, etc.
 
Are there no instructions with the Drum Dial to get you started?
 
Are there no instructions with the Drum Dial to get you started?

They give you a list of suggested turnings, BOBDADRUMMER gives some great advice as after using it a while I have found that I will adjust further once I have applied the usual settings I got used to; so tuning by ear and then fine tuning makes sense to me.
 
I have used the Drum Dial for over a year. I use it more as a fine tuning tool than a total tuner (does that make sense???). In other words, I know how to get my drums tuned up, I just use the Drum Dial to check myself, and fine tune as necessary.

I like the Drum Dial!
 
Drum Dials are really useful for putting on fresh heads.. The first couple turns can be funky and it helps to check the tension every half turn so you know that the head is going on straight.

I also use it for bass drums and larger floor toms, because hearing the lug pitch is difficult... for me at least.

Its also helpful between sets at a gig if you stuff seems out of whack. Bars aren't the greatest place for hearing the nuances of lug pitch...
 
I picked one up about two months ago. So far I really like it. Like others have said, it is a nice tool to use, but trust your ear as well. I use it to get the head in the ball park and then use my ear to fine tune after. I have always felt, and others have told me, that my drum tuning skills have been pretty good over the years. I can say that since I got the DrumDial, my tuning has gotten even better. It really woke up some of my drums!
 
Drum Dials are really useful for putting on fresh heads.. The first couple turns can be funky and it helps to check the tension every half turn so you know that the head is going on straight.

I also use it for bass drums and larger floor toms, because hearing the lug pitch is difficult... for me at least.

Its also helpful between sets at a gig if you stuff seems out of whack. Bars aren't the greatest place for hearing the nuances of lug pitch...

These are all fair points. I have one, rarely use it, but still consider it money well spent.

It is also a good training tool for the new drummer. I found I would get myself into trouble tuning by ear at first, the overtones all blend together when something is really out of whack. Using the DD will diagnose a grossly mis-tensioned head, and you start to learn the specific sonic consequences of having one or two lugs ridiculously loose or tight.
 
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