Post your Tune-Bot settings

Hey, just bought & used Tune Bot Studio version. Those are my settings:
Tama Superstar Exotic Maple:
BD 22x16: Top lug 66 Hz, Reso Lug 76, Fundamental 1E (lower tuning wasn't that well for me)
SD 14x5,5 Top lug 299 Hz, Reso Lug 398 Hz, Fundamental 3G# (I like it high for metal setup)
TT 8x6 Top lug 275 Hz, Reso Lug 293 Hz, Fundamental 3E
TT 10x7 Top lug 218 Hz, Reso Lug 232 Hz, Fundamental 3C
TT 12x8 Top lug 173 Hz, Reso Lug 184 Hz, Fundamental 2G#
FT 14x12 Top lug 137 Hz, Reso Lug 146 Hz, Fundamental 2E
FT 16x14 Top lug 115 Hz, Reso Lug 123 Hz, Fundamental 2C

I think about tuning floor toms a bit higher, this 16" is kinda low for me, but still fits the composition.
 
Ronni7th said:
Hey, just bought & used Tune Bot Studio version. Those are my settings:
Tama Superstar Exotic Maple:
BD 22x16: Top lug 66 Hz, Reso Lug 76, Fundamental 1E (lower tuning wasn't that well for me)
SD 14x5,5 Top lug 299 Hz, Reso Lug 398 Hz, Fundamental 3G# (I like it high for metal setup)
TT 8x6 Top lug 275 Hz, Reso Lug 293 Hz, Fundamental 3E
TT 10x7 Top lug 218 Hz, Reso Lug 232 Hz, Fundamental 3C
TT 12x8 Top lug 173 Hz, Reso Lug 184 Hz, Fundamental 2G#
FT 14x12 Top lug 137 Hz, Reso Lug 146 Hz, Fundamental 2E
FT 16x14 Top lug 115 Hz, Reso Lug 123 Hz, Fundamental 2C

I think about tuning floor toms a bit higher, this 16" is kinda low for me, but still fits the composition.
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Major third intervals between the toms. One thing you might try, if you drop the 12" tom to a 2G fundamental, then your toms will form a Cmaj chord, which might sound more harmonious overall. But I also find that 2C is a little low for my 16x14 floor tom, it has low end rumble but doesn't project the tone very well. On another kit I have a 16x16 and it seems to work better at lower tunings.
 
I was just messing with my tunebot last night on my Ludwig Classic maple toms (13,16)...haven't decided yet on what I like. :rolleyes:

But side question...I have found that max resonance (tuning both heads the same) does not really equate to max resonance. Anyone else find that to be true?

Another side question: does constantly loosening and re-tuning wear out heads?
 
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ricky said:
I was just messing with my tunebot last night on my Ludwig Classic maple toms (13,16)...haven't decided yet on what I like. :rolleyes:

But side question...I have found that max resonance (tuning both heads the same) does not really equate to max resonance. Anyone else find that to be true?

Another side question: does constantly loosening and re-tuning wear out heads?
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I think the theory of maximum resonance also includes using identical heads top and bottom. If you use different heads, this might no longer be the case. A double-ply head will take more energy to vibrate at the same frequency as a single-ply head, for example, because it is heavier. So if you run a double-ply head on top and single-ply on the bottom, then a different interval might get you the most resonance. I think you'll get the most resonance when both heads absorb the same amount of energy as one another. This is just me postulating based on my knowledge of physics as an engineer, but I'm not an expert so I could be wrong.

I don't think loosening and re-tightening will wear out the heads appreciably. They're getting far less force applied to them than they would be while being played.
 
EricT43 said:
I think the theory of maximum resonance also includes using identical heads top and bottom. If you use different heads, this might no longer be the case.
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I agree. I would do identical single-plys if going for truly maximum resonance. Whether I really got a preferable, usable drum sound in the end would be a different question.
 
Thanks for the replies on that...I am using identical plys...coated ambassador on top and bottom.

Oh well, I've decided not to tune them to the same pitch regardless. :rolleyes::)
 
EricT43 said:
One disadvantage of this, that I've noticed when I have them mic'd up at home, is that the bass drum causes sympathetic vibration in the 16" floor tom, since they're tuned to the same pitch (an octave apart). In a mix with other instruments, I doubt it would be that noticeable, but I might try tuning the bass drum to an E (61/91) to try to avoid this.
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This is something else I was wondering about...people tend to go for "notes" that would increase sympathetic resonance...notes that relate...and then use moongels or whatever...wouldn't going against that help with sympathetic resonance? Instead of toms at C, G, and E, for example, why not C, F# and C# or D#....the basic high, mid, low is there, but less chance for too much sympathetic resonance.
 
EricT43 said:
I think the theory of maximum resonance also includes using identical heads top and bottom. If you use different heads, this might no longer be the case. A double-ply head will take more energy to vibrate at the same frequency as a single-ply head, for example, because it is heavier. So if you run a double-ply head on top and single-ply on the bottom, then a different interval might get you the most resonance. I think you'll get the most resonance when both heads absorb the same amount of energy as one another. This is just me postulating based on my knowledge of physics as an engineer, but I'm not an expert so I could be wrong.

I don't think loosening and re-tightening will wear out the heads appreciably. They're getting far less force applied to them than they would be while being played.
Click to expand...
Never thought about it.

Unfortunately I'm not able to test it, but: With the same shell, keeping constant top and bottom lug frequency (not necessarily the same) and by simply changing heads, do you think you would yield a different fundamental or the resulting note would be the same and the variations are only on timbre and resonance?
 
EricT43 said:
I agree with this, the Tune-Bot suggested frequencies get you close to the fundamental note, but not quite there.

I don't have my frequency numbers with me, but I can talk all day about the fundamentals I tune to...

First, the snare - I have settled on a G# for the snare as a good, all-purpose tuning (299/398 I believe). I'll go higher or lower for special situations, but for the most part I tune all my snares this way. It has enough cut, while still retaining some warmth and punch.

For the kick, I usually tune to a E for 22" and F# for 20".

Fundamentals of the toms depend on what configuration I'm running. Here are the most common setups I'll play:

1-up/1-down I'll usually tune to a perfect 5th interval.
12/14 A#/D# (but sometimes I'll tune to a 4th since they are so close in size, A/E)
12/16 A/D
13/16 G/C

1-up/2-down, perfect 4ths
12/14/16 A/E/B would be ideal, but B is pretty floppy for a 16, so more often I go A/E/C

2-up/1-down, a power chord (root/5th/octave)
10/12/16 D/A/D or C/G/C
10/12/14 D#/A#/D# (Dave Weckl's tuning)
10/13/16 fifths all the way (D/G/C)

2-up/2-down, I try to stick to 4th's but sometimes it's too low for the 16
10/12/14/16 D/A/E/B (D/A/E/C if the 16 is too loose)
A major chord also works well (C/G/E/C or D/A/F#/D)
Some folks like the "call to post" intervals (D/G/B/D), and this is good for getting good tone from the 16 without cranking the rack toms up too high.

3-up/2-down, I've tried two different tunings, and I like them both
8/10/12/14/16 G/D/A/E/B, same as the string tunings on a 5-string bass
I also like Phil Collins's tuning, which is a Dm7 chord (D/C/A/F/D)

All this is just for mid-range pop/rock tunings. Many more possibilities when you consider tuning very low or bop tunings.
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EricT43 said:
For the bass drum, it depends on the size. If you are using a 22" bass drum, then go with a D or an E.

Do you have the TuneBot app? It really goes part and parcel with the device. There is a calculator where you can tune a tom, snare, or bass drum for a specific note and resonance. You get maximum resonance when the batter and reso heads are tuned to the same pitch, so if you choose maximum resonance in the app, you will get the same tuning for both heads. Greater differences in pitch between the batter and reso result in less resonance. I think a good starting point is to use the "high" or "medium" resonance settings and see how they sound.

Here are the specific pitches I'm using right now, batter head frequency first, then reso head frequency. I'm tuning to a D-minor chord, similar to how Danny Carrey tunes his drums, and it sounds good with various styles of music. I like this tuning because the floor toms are high enough to have some tone, rather than just thud and rumble, and the rack toms are not so high that they sound tinny.

22" bass drum (D) 55/82
16" floor tom (D) 117/139
14" floor tom (F) 139/165
12" rack tom (A) 175/208
10" rack tom (D) 233/277

One disadvantage of this, that I've noticed when I have them mic'd up at home, is that the bass drum causes sympathetic vibration in the 16" floor tom, since they're tuned to the same pitch (an octave apart). In a mix with other instruments, I doubt it would be that noticeable, but I might try tuning the bass drum to an E (61/91) to try to avoid this.

This tuning has a minor third interval between the batter and reso on the toms, which is somewhat in between the high and medium resonance settings in the TuneBot calculator. If you want more info on how I came up with these numbers, let me know.

For my snare, I've found that tuning the reso head a little lower than I previously suggested seems to give the snare a more open sound. 398 Hz on the reso head starts to choke some of my snare drums. So these days I've been tuning it to around 370 or so, and then tuning up the top head until I get to a G or G# on the fundamental. Usually ending up around 310 or so on the batter head. For me, a tighter batter head is usually a good thing, as it makes double strokes that much easier to pull off.
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Eric you are amazing!
can i ask you something? if the song key is tuned to D ( sad but true metallica for example) how would you approach on that drum tuning?
 
Ghede said:
Never thought about it.

Unfortunately I'm not able to test it, but: With the same shell, keeping constant top and bottom lug frequency (not necessarily the same) and by simply changing heads, do you think you would yield a different fundamental or the resulting note would be the same and the variations are only on timbre and resonance?
Click to expand...
Very late reply here, sorry. No, if you keep the same frequencies on top and bottom, then the fundamental frequency will also stay the same. But if you change heads, it will change the tension on the heads required to reach those frequencies (heavier heads requiring more tension than lighter ones to reach a specific frequency), and will also affect the resonance.
 
Mauro said:
Eric you are amazing!
can i ask you something? if the song key is tuned to D ( sad but true metallica for example) how would you approach on that drum tuning?
Click to expand...
For Sad But True I'd probably use the D minor tuning I mentioned, it should harmonize quite well with that song. And with a lot of other hard rock and metal songs as well, since drop-D tuning and minor chords are pretty common in that genre.
 
EricT43 said:
For Sad But True I'd probably use the D minor tuning I mentioned, it should harmonize quite well with that song. And with a lot of other hard rock and metal songs as well, since drop-D tuning and minor chords are pretty common in that genre.
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Hi Eric THANKS! My Kick drum is 24. would you recommend in this case a C?
 
Mauro said:
you are right! C but minimum sustain maybe? Batter 50.5 Reso 70.0 ?
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Yeah for that style of music, you want lots of attack and a short sustain. So that seems like a good place to start. And then if you find the batter to be too loose at 50Hz, you could gradually increase it until you get the sound and feel you like. Low bass drum frequencies are hard to hear in a mix, so I don't feel like the tone of the bass drum is that important in rock music. Jazz is a different story since it's often used as a tonal instrument.
 
robertgarven said:
All,

Not to change the topic but how do all of you attach to your bass drum? Just got a tune-bot studio to try working on our next album. Saw some guy on you tube used a stick another held it. Seems like the Overtonelabs would have taken this into consideration?
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I just hold the bot in my hand over the bass drum lug I am tuning and go from there. Occasionally I will clip the tuner to a drum stick and lay it across the hoop but holding the device in my hand works well and gets me where I need to be.
 
Mapex Saturn V. Listed first is the batter head. Resonate head is second.

10: A-D
12: F-B Flat
14: C-F
16: G-C
Snare: B-F#

10: 233 - 293
12: 185 - 247
14: 139 - 175
16: 98 - 139
Snare: 306 - 370
 
Hi all, great thread thanks a lot for all the shares!

I recenly bought a Ludwig Black Beauty 14 x 5" (8 lugs). It sounds great but I feel I can get more out of it.
I'm curious to find out the 'sweet spot' tuning-bot frequencies for this snare to get a recording ready medium sound (arounf F#, G I guess).
I have triple flanged hoops and original Ludwig head, a heavy on the batter side.

On other forums I see enough settings for 14 x 6,5" but nothing for 14 x 5". I would be grateful if someone that has experimented with it and has found satisfying settings (also for recording) would share them here. Thanks!
 
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