NWB - Community Blog

12 Sep 2009

Drum kit tuning

Filed Under : Music , Gear

Posted By : ST Photography - VIVA LA COMMUNITY! | Comments : 5

Help is available

We played a gig last night at The Flamin Galah and I was paid a compliment from a fellow drummer - a guy who I consider to be exceptionally talented. He complimented me on the sound of the kit. He asked if it was ok to have a go, and I duly obliged. Very often, drummers don't get to hear the sound/mix out front., so it was nice to sit in the audience and hear someone play my kit.

I have put a phenomenal amount of time, effort, research and money into finding my "sound" and I think I've finally cracked it. I don't have the most expensive drum kit in the world, but it's now sounding huge. And I mean HUGE. The bass drum comes powering through. The snare cracks. The toms thunder. It's an exercise that has been frustrating, time consuming and now (eventually) very rewarding.

Has anyone else had a similar experience? Is there anybody out there in NWB land who is struggling with drum sounds/tuning and would like some help? Does anyone have any tips and tricks they want to share?

Comments

# Posted by Alyerpal - 12/09/2009, 16:21 (GMT)

I would love some help tuning my toms - I've got fusion sizes 10",12" rack and 14" floor. Got my bass sounding great and my snares pretty dramatic aswell, but I just struggle getting a clean sound from the toms, and even using a touch of blue gel doesn't get it quite right.

# Posted by ST Photography - VIVA LA COMMU... - 12/09/2009, 18:03 (GMT)

@alyerpal I think you're local to me (south Manchester). I'm more than happy to come and take a look at your setup and bring some tools with me. PM me.

# Posted by Markk (Vankwish) - 12/09/2009, 23:22 (GMT)

i have spent many years tuning my sound, I hate playing other peoples kits and will not let other people play mine (unless personal close friend).
I have invested lots of money and time in creating a full range sound, that in my opinion - is great !

far too often, the drums sound sh*t in a band, as the drummers seam to think that drum amplification has to be done by everyone else - not the case.

after using other peoples pa to increase and emphasise my sound, i decided i needed to buy my own, so i did, admitadly, everthing i bought didnt work first time, but after a few differant amps/mic'c/desks i now have a setup im fully compliant with, and does the job. ; )

# Posted by ST Photography - VIVA LA COMMU... - 13/09/2009, 00:30 (GMT)

I'm with you on the first point - no-one touches my kit unless I know them (as was the case here).

It's shocking, but from personal experience of playing in originals bands (where backlines are shared), very few drummers actually know how to tune a kit well.

Amplification is another minefield. Never assume that what you hear behind the kit it what is going out through the PA. I always stand out front and get someone to hit each drum in turn to check for tuning.

@Markk - How does your setup work then? Do you have a seperate mixer which feeds into the bands PA or do you have a completely seperate system?

# Posted by Markk (Vankwish) - 14/09/2009, 20:48 (GMT)

After years of trying to get the sound i wanted through a pa essentially set up for/by a vocalist.

I have my own desk, 2.5k amp and subwoofers, in all fairness its not mega loud (although if i wanted it could be) but the power and the headroom gives a great sound.

I dont use the main vocal desk, the top cabs sit on my bass bins for the reat of the band vocals/keyboards etc althoug i can output into the tops if we need to.
i do take a line from the main desk to monitor into my earpieces for vocals and keyboards, and also bring lines into my desk for guitars and a boost for the bass guitar if required (i have 12 channel inputs on the desk)

regards mark

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