When I watch drummers on TV and live, the drum set sounds beautiful -- in tune and perfect. Sometimes the set has a high-pitched sound, low-pitched sound, or maybe even dry, or extra thumpy. Electric drum kits usually come with a module so you can customize your sound. But I have an acoustic set, so tuning is a nightmare for someone like me who can't tune drums by ear.
So I bought a DrumDial, which measures the tension of the drum head next to each rod. The instructions inside recommend specific tensions for the snare, tom-toms, floor tom, and bass. Basically, the tension should be even. The resonant (bottom) head should be looser than the batter (top) head.But my kit still sounded crappy to me. I did some research and decided to buy different drum heads: Remo Ambassador (Fusion Clear), Remo Emperor (Fusion Clear), and Aquarian (which I use now). For the snare (the most difficult to tune), I bought Evans.
For whatever reason, my kit still did not sound professional.
When I brought the issue up to my teacher, he told me that I probably needed mufflers, so I bought several sets of studio rings -- Aquarian and Remo, clear and coated. See the ring around the drum head? The ring is supposed to dampen the ringing noise.
I use "moon gels" for my snare. I position them differently to experiment with the sound, but it still doesn't sound clear and crispy. Instead, it rattles too much. Some drummers use tape as a dampener, which I've also tried. No success.
The last thing I bought for tuning is an Evans Torque Drum Key. The handle on the knob has numbers on it for tension, so you can select a number, place it on the tension rod, then turn it until the handle clicks, which indicates the tension is set. I use the Key after using the DrumDial to ensure the tension is perfect.But the sound is still off. My drum teacher told me to bring my floor tom in, my snare in, or whatever else in, so that he can tune it himself.
One of these days, I'm going to have to.
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