The only times I've had much success doing this was to recordings that sound open and use mostly room mics. I've tried to match some old recordings, but I think the microphones and other studio effects make it difficult to really nail it. The closest I was able to get was to some John Bonham drum sounds.

I like getting tuning ideas from recordings, especially classic 70's dub reggae tracks, where you can hear the cool syncopated tom fills that often open these tracks. The thing with vintage tracks though is that are not often in A 440. Technicians from that period seemed to speed up or slow down the tape, causing the pitch to change too. So I get ideas, then fine tune this to fit harmonically. I love listening to Garibaldis snare tuning and recently have been listening to (Roy Hargroves') Rh Factor stuff. Fine playing and great snare tuning for funk. Not vintage, but within an old school genre. Steely Dans' Aja album has 4 of the worlds best drummers on it, is well recorded, and has been a source of inspiration for tuning for sure. Funny enough, some of the classic emulated kits in XLN's Addictive drums Plugin have also been a source of tuning inspiration. I look forward to what others have to say. Nice thread Blairndrums!

I like ringing toms, so my models have been Keith from "Live at Leeds" and Mitch on "Are You Experienced?"

I understand that many outside factors can affect the sound, such as head choice and playing style, but that's what I'm going for. I'm rarely mic'ed, so the ring disappears when other instruments are present.

My guitarist, who has been on me for several years to muffle up, is finally starting to understand what I'm trying to do: He heard my (walnut) drums yesterday at a jam from 20 feet away instead of his normal position about three or four feet away from my floor tom, and said they sounded like the '60s.

Yes I did some tuning,

Toms to Mitchell's "are you experienced?", Bill Brufords supra on Yes "Fragile" - quite easy to achieve, Michael Clarke snare on Byrds fifth dimension, sound of drums from Crosby's track "tamalpais high".

It's fun, adventure and great ear training