Goodbye, old friend...

Outside of playing drums I like to spend quality time with my handheld vacuum and antibacterial hand wipes…so, yes, yes they are!! :unsure: 😂 (y)
I even vacuum my garage on a regular basis. I guess that places me pretty high on the scale of radical cleanliness, but now that I'm not playing brilliant-finish cymbals, my bronze-scrubbing days have happily ended. I'll just sit back and watch as patina does its thing.
 
I even vacuum my garage on a regular basis. I guess that places me pretty high on the scale of radical cleanliness, but now that I'm not playing brilliant-finish cymbals, my bronze-scrubbing days have happily ended. I'll just sit back and watch as patina does its thing.
You’re a good man @C.M. Jones , as we all know cleanliness is next to drumliness…I imagine @mattmc3287 will be giving his beautiful new tubs a damn good buffing on a regular basis… :unsure:
 
 
So, FedEx kind of ruined my whole plan of having a day to myself to unbox and set up before rehearsal yesterday. They delivered about an hour before rehearsal and I set up in a bit of a rush and didnt get to change out the stock heads. Sweetwater forgot the 10 and 12 inch batters heads anyway so it really didn't matter. All that being said, I AM IN LOVE!

First and foremost, I was really impressed with the way the stock heads sounded. I didn't really have time to tune them much at all and they still sounded really good. I can tell it is going to be easy to tune them up with the new heads and get exactly the sound I am wanting. Gonna go by my local shop and pick up the 10 and 12 batters today and lunch and get them all changed out tonite. The finish, hardware, attack, and the sweet sweet smell of mahogany.... gah it's all just so much better than what I am used to. You get what you pay for and I have zero complaints!

The redline eliminator is also amazing. Still have to make some adjustments to it and try out the other cams to see if I like any of them better. But, out of the box it is so damn smooth. I came across a lot of hate on A-customs watching review videos. My mind was made up on A-customs a long time ago, though so this was just watching out of excitement and not market research for purchasing decisions. I just don't get it, these cymabls sound, look, and feel amazing. The stick just feels better hitting them and it's exactly the sound I have always wanted. To each his own, but no matter what your preference, I just don't get these people saying A-Customs sound like trash. You sir, sound like trash :ROFLMAO:

Still may do a review video if I can find the time. Super bust week, though and going out of town this weekend. Going to see Here Come The Mummies Check them out if you aren't familiar. Crazy amount of talent in that band!

Excuse the barage of pictures. #sorrynotsorry

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Update: I changed out stock heads for EC2 batter and EC resos last night and OH. MY. GOD. 😁
The lack of need to use muffling rings and/or moon gels means you get to actually hear the tone of the drum. What a novel concept!

I am having a tough time tuning the snare, though. Very frustrating. I think I may have the reso head too tight, but comparing it to my old snare tells me otherwise. As I am typing this it occurs to me, though: different snares, different woods, different plys. So, I reckon this is an apples to oranges comparison. I am just getting a lot of buzz and overtone within an elongated sustain. Any tips on how to determine a good reso tone without a tuner?
How close to the same tone do ya'll recommend tuning the batter and reso. I am tuning the batter just a bit lower than the reso currently.
 
I am having a tough time tuning the snare, though. Very frustrating. I think I may have the reso head too tight, but comparing it to my old snare tells me otherwise. As I am typing this it occurs to me, though: different snares, different woods, different plys. So, I reckon this is an apples to oranges comparison. I am just getting a lot of buzz and overtone within an elongated sustain. Any tips on how to determine a good reso tone without a tuner?
How close to the same tone do ya'll recommend tuning the batter and reso. I am tuning the batter just a bit lower than the reso currently.
There's so much at work with the sound of a snare drum that formulating a strict tuning strategy and applying it with rigidity can be a tenuous process. As you mention, every shell has its own idiosyncrasies, and certain head combinations can either highlight or disguise those traits. Minor changes (and I do mean MINOR) to your head tension (especially to your snare-side tension), as well as to your wire tension, can make a dramatic cumulative difference. Over-tensioned heads can cause buzz and odd sustain, but so can under-tensioned heads, and those terms have different meanings on different drums. Also, ensuring that the heads are in tune with themselves (i.e., that each lug is evenly tensioned) is critical to achieving a clean result. It's really a matter of exploring until you've found the range that works for a specific snare.

I don't use dials or bots for tuning, but others here do and will probably tell you to go that route. That's fine if you want to. Regardless, you'll discover a sound you like by staying patient and working with the drum. Again, minute adjustments can lead to major changes.
 
How close to the same tone do ya'll recommend tuning the batter and reso. I am tuning the batter just a bit lower than the reso currently
IIRC, the closer the reso is to the batter tone, the more resonance (ie ring) the drum has. The user manual for Tune-Bot has all the lug frequency numbers (assuming you don't mind tuning with a tool that uses/displays numbers).
 
There's so much at work with the sound of a snare drum that formulating a strict tuning strategy and applying it with rigidity can be a tenuous process. As you mention, every shell has its own idiosyncrasies, and certain head combinations can either highlight or disguise those traits. Minor changes (and I do mean MINOR) to your head tension (especially to your snare-side tension), as well as to your wire tension, can make a dramatic cumulative difference. Over-tensioned heads can cause buzz and odd sustain, but so can under-tensioned heads, and those terms have different meanings on different drums. Also, ensuring that the heads are in tune with themselves (i.e., that each lug is evenly tensioned) is critical to achieving a clean result. It's really a matter of exploring until you've found the range that works for a specific snare.

I don't use dials or bots for tuning, but others here do and will probably tell you to go that route. That's fine if you want to. Regardless, you'll discover a sound you like by staying patient and working with the drum. Again, minute adjustments can lead to major changes.
I think sometimes we just need reassurance that we aren't alone in our struggles. And, my expectations were unrealistic and foolish (i.e. It's an expensive drum with the word "Masters" on it so it will just sound good with minimal effort on my part). I also don't use a tune bot but am not opposed to it. Though I was able to tune my toms with relative ease and they sound amazing (to my ear anyway). I do have each head on the snare in tune with itself. I just need to be patient with it and enjoy the process of learning the intricacies of these new instruments rather than get frustrated that I am not able to tune it to my liking on my first go-round. Also, I have a coated pinstripe batter and clear Ambassador reso on it just because that is what I have played for years. Maybe I need to check out some other head options/combos. I did get it sounding pretty good with just making lots of tiny little adjustments. Just not quite the sound I have in my head. Thank you for the response!
 
Welcome aboard to THE best drumming forum, ever!
Our good friend and Pearl Ambassador, CM, should be greeting you shortly.....
The best forum, ever! Or certainly in my experience!

Hey @mattmc3287 !!! I don’t know if you’ve seen my Exports, complete with violently practical and universally adored Tom mounts? :unsure::D(y)
View attachment 109188
Beautiful! And 'Drumliness' is gonna frequent my vocabulary from here on.
So, FedEx kind of ruined my whole plan of having a day to myself to unbox and set up before rehearsal yesterday. They delivered about an hour before rehearsal and I set up in a bit of a rush and didnt get to change out the stock heads. Sweetwater forgot the 10 and 12 inch batters heads anyway so it really didn't matter. All that being said, I AM IN LOVE!

First and foremost, I was really impressed with the way the stock heads sounded. I didn't really have time to tune them much at all and they still sounded really good. I can tell it is going to be easy to tune them up with the new heads and get exactly the sound I am wanting. Gonna go by my local shop and pick up the 10 and 12 batters today and lunch and get them all changed out tonite. The finish, hardware, attack, and the sweet sweet smell of mahogany.... gah it's all just so much better than what I am used to. You get what you pay for and I have zero complaints!

The redline eliminator is also amazing. Still have to make some adjustments to it and try out the other cams to see if I like any of them better. But, out of the box it is so damn smooth. I came across a lot of hate on A-customs watching review videos. My mind was made up on A-customs a long time ago, though so this was just watching out of excitement and not market research for purchasing decisions. I just don't get it, these cymabls sound, look, and feel amazing. The stick just feels better hitting them and it's exactly the sound I have always wanted. To each his own, but no matter what your preference, I just don't get these people saying A-Customs sound like trash. You sir, sound like trash :ROFLMAO:

Still may do a review video if I can find the time. Super bust week, though and going out of town this weekend. Going to see Here Come The Mummies Check them out if you aren't familiar. Crazy amount of talent in that band!

Excuse the barage of pictures. #sorrynotsorry

View attachment 109266View attachment 109267View attachment 109268View attachment 109269
View attachment 109270
Beautiful kit, and welcome to the forum!
 
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