A thread for drum tuning/drum heads/drum recording tips

I can't say that I really have much concept of dealing with studio drums. There's so much you can do after the fact, if you are so inclined, that the input can be considered a legitimate source or a mere trigger (hello, Combat Rock!) I guess I tend toward the GI/GO philosophy, but in reverse: A good live drum sound makes a good recorded drum sound, if you have good hardware to record it.

If you want a really funky, earthy, round drum sound and you have cash to blow, get calfskin heads. They sound truly amazing: No annoying overtones, and a full, soulful sound. They're to plastic heads as K Zildjians are to Paistes.

I'm mostly worried about the toms. I always use single ply coated heads (Ambassadors), but that's for jazz stuff. I was thinking about getting some clear Pinstripes for recording, just to get that wet, dead-ass DW pop sound. Or maybe I should just mess around with the moongel?

[here]is a good thread about perfect pitch.

If you want a really funky, earthy, round drum sound and you have cash to blow, get calfskin heads. They sound truly amazing: No annoying overtones, and a full, soulful sound. They're to plastic heads as K Zildjians are to Paistes.

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Remo makes fiberskin heads that sound pretty great, but I find they lose their character with louder volume music. Never tried the real calfskin heads (where do you get them?) but I'd be hesitant because they'd probably shift a lot based on temperature and humidity.

As for your first point, I no longer subscribe to the "sweet spot" idea. I do think there's a "sweet range" or perhaps multiple sweet spots, but it really depends on what sound you want. There's usually one or two pitches at which the shell of the drum resonates most, but that's not automatically the best thing for every song. Plus I find that better drums tend to sound good at a wider range of pitches. Also I feel like it reduces listener fatigue if the drum sound changes a little over the course of an album, but like you said a lot of that can be done with production.

I think some would disagree:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absolute_pitch

They do. They're also not very useful in hi-volume "clubland" scenarios: The character of the drum is lost among the amplified instruments, and they're too expensive to withstand the beating a rock drummer will give 'em. (Jazz is a different animal, if you aren't Elvin Jones.) I think the only real use a rock musician would have for calfskin heads is just for studio recording. As far as where to get 'em, follow that link I posted. I'm sure those folks would be happy to give you a quote. You can also look up some classical percussionist supplies: My first exposure to calfskin heads was when I was training to be one.

When I was behind the kit, Remo coated were my heads of choice. They're cheap, and they sound decent in performance or in the studio. Their sound is "live" without a tremendous amount of those ugly single-ply clear-head overtones. I always used 2 heads, too, 'cause it gives the sound a lot more round tone. I really, really hate what 98% of dampening devices do to the character of the drum. I'll take a few overtones any day over an Evans hydraulic.

I do think there's a "sweet range" or perhaps multiple sweet spots, but it really depends on what sound you want. There's usually one or two pitches at which the shell of the drum resonates most, but that's not automatically the best thing for every song.

I agree, in principle. Just like the chamber for a vibe key must be one of a discrete collection of lengths to properly amplify the source, so also the depth of a drum shell resonates well with only a discrete collection of head pitches. (Thus, tuning a drum resonantly for a particular song is a very dicey proposition.)

Personally, I don't find pleasing the non-resonating pitches, and of the others, the lowest I've always found to be the best. The next tuning up makes the drum sound like a wholly different instrument. Instead of listener fatigue, you get the "why is the drummer changing sets?" syndrome. Better to actually switch kits, I think.

I like the Remo Coated Ambassador heads.

I agree about built-in muffling systems usually sucking. The only exception is on kick drums, were I find an Evans Emad ring immensely preferable to sticking fabric or a pillow in the drum. On this particular recording I used an Evans EMad for the batter but a regular coated ambassador on the front, and then I just loosely taped the other Emad ring to the front. No hole, mic back from the drum a few inches. Beautiful sound - not as much attack as some might like but I much prefer that.

I've had the same heads on my (non-jazz) Pearl kick drum for years)...I think it's a coated ambassador with a hole in it for the resonant head and a Fiberskyn for the batter head, plus a small pillow. It sounds really attack-y and short when I'm behind it but records with a lot of low end.

I'd like to be able to experiment more with different heads for recording but that shit gets expensive!

http://home.earthlink.net/~prof.sound/

I used it for a while and stopped. Although I don't really go to the extremes this guy suggests anymore, I think spending all that time trying to follow his methods was what finally forced me to learn to pay a lot of attention to drum sound and tuning.

I try to for this with toms and sometimes kick (unless I'm going for a deader kick sound, in which case the resonant head is much looser). Snare, I don't know...I just try to get the top head to feel good rebound-wise and then tighten up the bottom until the snare response is crisp.

Really I'm a crap tuner though, it's a lot of trial and error -> letting things settle in -> not changing heads for years.

You should pick cymbals in this order. Hi-Hat, Ride, Primary crash, Secondary Crash, special effects (china, splash, etc.) This too is important. If you intend to ultimately replace all your cymbals, first pick a new set of hats because you need to blend from there. Otherwise, move through the above list in the order given. If you blend from a current setup, then you'll never achieve your long-term goals.

"Long-term goals", eh? He sounds more like a Scientologist than a drummer.

I don't necessarily agree with that. Snare definitely not (I usually like the bottom head lower than the top). Toms maybe, but I also find a major third apart can sound really good (again I prefer the bottom head lower).

Regarding Prof. Sound: like I said, I don't actually go to those extremes, but I did find it helpful to try his methods outa few times because I learned to be more sensitive to drum tuning in general in the process.

BTW, tuning in small increments when you're using a new head is a good idea, otherwise it's really really easy to get it way out of tune with itself and then it gets hard to find your way back.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmP9z-xTRz0