Justin, thanks to your link to the you tube videos I know what to do now. I did watch the first three and saw how a bad edge or rim can affect the tuning. I am glad that I got this instrument, it is doing a great job for me.
I am so impressed with you gigging drummers and how you know how to tune your drums to sound good on a particular riser and or room, very impressed!
I am so impressed with you gigging drummers and how you know how to tune your drums to sound good on a particular riser and or room, very impressed!
Jeff, in my case it's just been a matter of walking around the kit and tweaking until each drum "opens up" and becomes bouncy, as opposed to sounding like a cardboard box - sometimes it's a matter of detuning a single lug to get the bounce, strange but works.
I'll typically stand in front of the kit to tune the rack tom, since the audience is out front. Also sometimes reach over the kick and use a stick on the pedal to hear the drum from that angle. The weird thing about the rack tom is you can get it sounding great from the front, but from the throne, with the same tuning, it's choked. Oh well, audience wins.
Years ago my dad mentioned a type of wood that if you made a ping-pong table out of it, the ball wouldn't bounce! In fact I think a friend of his did just that and they all had a good laugh. Anyway I think some drum risers are made with this wood lol.
...all of which is a tick off topic I realize, with apologies to Purdie Shuffle. It must have been very rewarding to have the precision tool justify your ears :)
Mitch
I don't use a drum dial myself for my local gigs because I have all the time I need to tune around till the drums are in (a bit like what DownTownFarmer said). But my tech uses one to keep on top my touring kit. it helps him maintain the agreed tuning level whatever the circumstances.
Also useful in the studio too. he set my gear for a week long session I did last year. I used 3 kits. At the end of the session the guys where like "mate can you do that first tune again we have a new idea for the choruses! Aarghh! That was 5 days ago! But because my man had photographed the mic placements and took note of the drum dial settings it took half an hour and I was back! Did the re-run and the blend between verses and choruses to mid 8 sounded just like it was done at the same moment. These gizmo's have they're uses.
> These gizmo's have they're uses.
I agree! There is nothing wrong with my ears, I've been tuning drums for 50 years and even when I first bought the drum dial my own (by ear) tuning was not very off drum dial readings. Not 'THE' perfect tuning tool, but it's good and it has its uses.
John
But because my man had photographed the mic placements and took note of the drum dial settings it took half an hour and I was back!
Now *that* is impressive! If I was working at your level professionally, I would have a drum dial! No wait, my tech would! :)
Purdie Shuffle it's ever so slightly possible you mistook my compliment for something else. Not sure but just in case...
Mitch
> mistook my compliment
Mitch - Not at all! I said so myself about the dial and my own tuning in my original post.
John
