I'm at a loss. I can't tune a drum to save my life.

B

BobTheBlowfish

Junior Member
So I have a huge problem. I have a Sonor Force 1007 kit from 2009-10 that I purchased used from my Local drum shop for a good price. For the past five years I have never been able to to tune it. I have seen all the YouTube tutorials, but there are certain things I just can't grasp.

Problem #1: My lugs are unevenly stiff. Is this a regular occurrence on most kits? Or is it from lack of proper care, and aging? I cannot finger tighten my lugs properly because they become unbearably stiff before the head of the rod contacts the hoop.

Problem #2: When I have the heads set and I'm tuning each tension rod tuning one rod changes the entire set of the other rods always keeping the tones/pitch uneven. How do I fix this? Is it possible my hoops are bent?

Problem #3: What is the definiton and how do you "Finger tighten" the lugs on a drumset? I have heard multiple definitions and multiple ways, but I can never seem to do it properly either way.

Please help me!
 
We can tell you lots of things just like the YouTube videos, but I don't think you will learn how to tune until someone actually helps you in person.
You need to find someone in your area that can come over and work with you.

It sounds like your drums might have some problems, making it a little harder for you to tune them. A knowledgeable drummer needs to look at them for you.

What country/city do you love in?


.
 
I agree you should try to get some help.

From what you described, my first step would be to lightly lube the lugs.
You Should be able to start off a lug tightening it just with your fingers, and if you can't, they either need light lube or they are stripped.
 
Regarding #2:

You have to tell us what you Do know about tuning. I assume you are aware that you should be tuning in small increments, in a crossing pattern.
[see the image]

lug-pattern.jpg
 
BobTheBlowfish said:
Problem #1: My lugs are unevenly stiff.
Problem #2: tuning one rod changes the entire set of the other rods
Problem #3: What is the definiton and how do you "Finger tighten"
Click to expand...

1: Inspect/clean/lubricate each rod, washer, and swivel nut. Give consideration to nylon/composite washers.
2: Work in smaller radians and more frequent taps.
3: When the head of the tuning rod catches the hoop. When that happens, your fingers will begin to slide along the rod's shaft (Don't death grip it).

To fix my tuning woes, I forced myself to tune once a week.

I grabbed a tension watch and iPhone app to help me out at first. After a time, I began using them to check my work. Now I use the tension watch for documenting tunings. I'd use the iPhone app if I needed to match a particular pitch.

I also agree with the above. Find an experienced drum tuner and have him sit down with you.
 
Last edited:
Hollywood Jim said:
We can tell you lots of things just like the YouTube videos, but I don't think you will learn how to tune until someone actually helps you in person.
You need to find someone in your area that can come over and work with you.

It sounds like your drums might have some problems, making it a little harder for you to tune them. A knowledgeable drummer needs to look at them for you.

What country/city do you love in?


.
Click to expand...
Edmonton AB Canada. I mean I'm also considering a new drum set (TAMA Superstar maple hyperdrive) and I want to be able to tune that really well and get a great sound, however what's the point if I'm literally getting to angry and I breakdown. I have some friends/colleagues who play drums as well, sadly none of them know how to tune either.
 
Frank said:
Regarding #2:

You have to tell us what you Do know about tuning. I assume you are aware that you should be tuning in small increments, in a crossing pattern.
[see the image]

lug-pattern.jpg
Click to expand...

I know that you should always clean the bearing edge, stretch the head by firmly pressing down on the center of it as it rests on the drum. Finger tighten each lug nut, and then tighten in a cross pattern as shown in the diagram. Always diagonal across the drum in a star pattern. As soon as you remove all the wrinkles by evenly tightening each lug nut, Tune each one to match in tone.
 
Lube.

Sometimes it's just necessary.

That being said... I've heard lug lube mentioned in other threads... So, what it a good lube to use on lugs? I have some that are kind of crusty and could use a hit, and I always wondered what's good. Graphite? Oil-Based?
 
BobTheBlowfish said:
I have some friends/colleagues who play drums as well, sadly none of them know how to tune either.
Click to expand...
1st up, don't beat yourself up too much over this. I'd say 75% + of drummers don't know how to tune drums, & maybe only 1% or 2% really know what they're doing. It's a learning curve just as steep as many playing challenges, & the remedy is the same - practice.

You may have an issue with your drums that you're unable to identify. Certainly, checking bearing edges are reasonably flat is a key thing to do. If your bearing edges are all over the place, you're effectively pissing against the wind.

If you're super frustrated, it's time for a Bob reset. Sure, there's all kinds of tuning aids that can help you on your way or simply provide a reference point to give you continuity, but let's start with a brutally simple method. This is a method I used back in the day when I had to tune a drum from scratch in an environment where I couldn't hear the drum (backstage).

Take a tom. From completely loose, place your finger in the centre of the batter head & press firmly (not too hard). Now use your other hand to tighten the screws with your fingers, always working opposites, & at 90 degree pairs (or as near as you can get). Do this until all the screws feel like they're at the same tension. Remove your finger pressure from the centre of the head, & repeat the finger tightening task until all feel even. Next, place your finger back in the centre of the head, only this time, press hard. You should see some wrinkles in the head. With a drum key, slowly loosen the screws where there are no wrinkles until you have even wrinkles all around the head. The pattern should resemble the spokes on a wheel, with even alignment of the "spokes". Once that's done, whilst still pressing hard in the centre of the head, work in opposites & tighten each screw until all the wrinkles disappear. Do this slowly, & do not over tighten.

Now, repeat the same with the resonant head, but once you're finished - working in opposites - turn each screw a further 1/4 turn. Try to be as accurate as possible with your 1/4 turn - applied evenly around all screws. This should place the resonant head at a higher pitch than the batter head.

You should now have a very basic low tom tuning with both heads seated correctly. Ok, it won't be perfect, but it should sound good enough, & more importantly, provides a foundation to fine tune from.

Good luck :)
 
SEA said:
Lube.

Sometimes it's just necessary.

That being said... I've heard lug lube mentioned in other threads... So, what it a good lube to use on lugs? I have some that are kind of crusty and could use a hit, and I always wondered what's good. Graphite? Oil-Based?
Click to expand...

I use LP lug lube. Works as expected. Might help with a gunked up or poorly made lug insert.

As for concern #2, it's very hard to listen to individual pitches on a head and changing one rod will change the pitch of the whole head, and thus the other rods' "pitches". Also, sometimes you can get weird tuning behavior when the head or bearing edge is not functioning as intended. Maybe a different brand of heads than what you usually get could behave better with your drums.

Related, I'm just gonna confirm that you're not using stock/old/beat heads. That would be a fast track to crap city, especially if the drums themselves have construction issues.

Perhaps you could measure their roundness & evenness of the edges, as a precaution. Roundness is obviously just a ruler/meter stick job. For evenness, you can just set the shell (no hoops/head) on a true flat surface and shine a light from the inside so you can see if/where it escapes.
 
keep it simple said:
1st up, don't beat yourself up too much over this. I'd say 75% + of drummers don't know how to tune drums, & maybe only 1% or 2% really know what they're doing. It's a learning curve just as steep as many playing challenges, & the remedy is the same - practice.

You may have an issue with your drums that you're unable to identify. Certainly, checking bearing edges are reasonably flat is a key thing to do. If your bearing edges are all over the place, you're effectively pissing against the wind.

If you're super frustrated, it's time for a Bob reset. Sure, there's all kinds of tuning aids that can help you on your way or simply provide a reference point to give you continuity, but let's start with a brutally simple method. This is a method I used back in the day when I had to tune a drum from scratch in an environment where I couldn't hear the drum (backstage).

Take a tom. From completely loose, place your finger in the centre of the batter head & press firmly (not too hard). Now use your other hand to tighten the screws with your fingers, always working opposites, & at 90 degree pairs (or as near as you can get). Do this until all the screws feel like they're at the same tension. Remove your finger pressure from the centre of the head, & repeat the finger tightening task until all feel even. Next, place your finger back in the centre of the head, only this time, press hard. You should see some wrinkles in the head. With a drum key, slowly loosen the screws where there are no wrinkles until you have even wrinkles all around the head. The pattern should resemble the spokes on a wheel, with even alignment of the "spokes". Once that's done, whilst still pressing hard in the centre of the head, work in opposites & tighten each screw until all the wrinkles disappear. Do this slowly, & do not over tighten.

Now, repeat the same with the resonant head, but once you're finished - working in opposites - turn each screw a further 1/4 turn. Try to be as accurate as possible with your 1/4 turn - applied evenly around all screws. This should place the resonant head at a higher pitch than the batter head.

You should now have a very basic low tom tuning with both heads seated correctly. Ok, it won't be perfect, but it should sound good enough, & more importantly, provides a foundation to fine tune from.

Good luck :)
Click to expand...
The problem with this method is my lugs are stiff and all have varying degrees of tension. I have tried the same with even amounts of turns per lug in a 90 pattern but that didn't work either.
 
porter said:
I use LP lug lube. Works as expected. Might help with a gunked up or poorly made lug insert.

As for concern #2, it's very hard to listen to individual pitches on a head and changing one rod will change the pitch of the whole head, and thus the other rods' "pitches". Also, sometimes you can get weird tuning behavior when the head or bearing edge is not functioning as intended. Maybe a different brand of heads than what you usually get could behave better with your drums.

Related, I'm just gonna confirm that you're not using stock/old/beat heads. That would be a fast track to crap city, especially if the drums themselves have construction issues.

Perhaps you could measure their roundness & evenness of the edges, as a precaution. Roundness is obviously just a ruler/meter stick job. For evenness, you can just set the shell (no hoops/head) on a true flat surface and shine a light from the inside so you can see if/where it escapes.
Click to expand...

Brand new even, remo Powerstroke 3 black dots
 
SEA said:
So, what it a good lube to use on lugs? I have some that are kind of crusty and could use a hit, and I always wondered what's good. Graphite? Oil-Based?
Click to expand...

A dry graphite, PTFE or molybdenum disulfide lubricant should work. I'd recommend a PTFE when working with steel for its corrosion inhibitors. The main benefit of Graphite and MolyD, their resistance to extreme temperatures, probably won't be realized on tension rods. All three should perform similarly otherwise.

I used to have this big 1980-era poster from General Electric of a big chart that matched lubricant types to certain use cases. I know Popular Mechanics had a couple similar charts available.

Andy, what do you use?
 
Last edited:
BobTheBlowfish said:
The problem with this method is my lugs are stiff and all have varying degrees of tension.
Click to expand...
with a drum in good condition, this method (as a very basic starting point) works every time. The message is clear - sort your drum condition issues out then try different tuning methods. If your instrument is in poor condition, you're wasting your time.

KamaK said:
Andy, what do you use?
Click to expand...
I always use a dry lubricant, simply because it stays in place longer, & doesn't attract dirt to the same extent as a wet lubricant. I usually use an especially good ETFE/moly blend.
 
As the man said above, eliminate variables.

Strip the kit down and lube the tension rods to they can be moved using fingers only. Check the bearing edges for obvious damage or roughness. You could even rub a little candle wax on the bearing edges as this should help the head slide when tuning, even on a rough edge. Check the hoops are reasonably true, just lay them on a kitchen worktop, even that will show if they are seriously bent. Check the shells are not wildly out of round.

Use decent heads, not pitter or dished. Be sure to seat the heads properly, ie once finger tight press the centre of the head, firmly, to make sure its evenly seated on the bearing edge and the hoop, then finger tighten again.

Now you have the variables sorted, try an advised tuning method and see if there is an improvement.
 
You've already gotten great advice here, so I can't add much. I would just say this: Drums aren't meant to be easy to tune. Any instrument that a majority of the people playing it don't know how to tune is not meant to be easy. Take some comfort in this. E-kit manufacturers sure do :)
 
Use 2 keys opposite each other and tune it by feel.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top