cdrums21
Gold Member
Hey all,
If you have ever read any of my posts, you know that I'm a tuning fanatic and have used a certain technique involving tuning my drumheads to specific pitches via the use of a pitch pipe. To make it clear, I'm NOT tuning the entire drum to a pitch or trying to get a drum to speak out in a certain pitch. All I am doing is tuning the drum by ear and feel, and then finding out what the pitch is when I tap the head at each lug point. Then I tune in intervals from there, making sure each drum is in its sweet spot. It gives me a reference point that I can dial up every time in seconds.
Anyway, the point of this thread is to see how many of you tune their drums differently in each venue. I myself do not. I know that there are different acoustics in each room that affect the sound of the drums and enhance or diminish certain frequencies, but I don't find it beneficial to tune one or all of my drums differently to adjust to the room. For me, it messes up the intervals I tune to, it changes the feel and may take the drum out of its sweet spot. For example, if I am playing in a room that is very bright sounding, I don't detune my snare and toms to make them sound lower in that room. I just deal with the fact that my drums may sound a bit brighter in that particular room, knowing that the drum is in its optimum tuning range already. I have them dialed in to their sweet spot and in a musical interval and that's where I leave them. If I'm playing mic'ed up, the sound engineer adds what I am lacking in the house.
Anton Fig, the well known drummer on the David Letterman show told me via email that he does tune differently in each room, while others, such as Gavin Harrison, do not. What's your take on this issue?
If you have ever read any of my posts, you know that I'm a tuning fanatic and have used a certain technique involving tuning my drumheads to specific pitches via the use of a pitch pipe. To make it clear, I'm NOT tuning the entire drum to a pitch or trying to get a drum to speak out in a certain pitch. All I am doing is tuning the drum by ear and feel, and then finding out what the pitch is when I tap the head at each lug point. Then I tune in intervals from there, making sure each drum is in its sweet spot. It gives me a reference point that I can dial up every time in seconds.
Anyway, the point of this thread is to see how many of you tune their drums differently in each venue. I myself do not. I know that there are different acoustics in each room that affect the sound of the drums and enhance or diminish certain frequencies, but I don't find it beneficial to tune one or all of my drums differently to adjust to the room. For me, it messes up the intervals I tune to, it changes the feel and may take the drum out of its sweet spot. For example, if I am playing in a room that is very bright sounding, I don't detune my snare and toms to make them sound lower in that room. I just deal with the fact that my drums may sound a bit brighter in that particular room, knowing that the drum is in its optimum tuning range already. I have them dialed in to their sweet spot and in a musical interval and that's where I leave them. If I'm playing mic'ed up, the sound engineer adds what I am lacking in the house.
Anton Fig, the well known drummer on the David Letterman show told me via email that he does tune differently in each room, while others, such as Gavin Harrison, do not. What's your take on this issue?