Tom-Tom Drum Tuning - How To Tune Your Toms

[DrumminGaming]

@charlesisgayerthanyo It can be couse of the camrea to dude im sure the tone would be great if we all where there and its not that bad srsly.

[admiralkts]

i use 10..12 and 16 also.

[nickyoyo7474]

idk why but i find tuning a floor tom relaxing

[75Tatanka]

bob gatzen's better!....gotta try yet!

[HolyDeth]

Much better than Bob Gatzen. I don't like his "singing" technique. This is much more simpler. Reso side higher than the batter side. But not too much higher, the pitches should be very close.

[cardinalcrush]

in my opinion; you had the perfect balance of commentary and tuorial... this video has been the most heplful to be by far. Keep posting the videos...PLEASE!

[cardinalcrush]

haha our old friend mr. pillow...

[Vagitariansheep]

@charlesisgayerthanyo Fuck Bob Gatzen

[outermostgravy]

"A nice cardboard box"  hahaha xD

[DrinkingRoses]

12 Inch Tom is my porn name

[SkadetKevin1994]

wait so are you suppose to tighten the top head and the bottom head together or just set the bottom head as a sound you like and adjust the top head for the rest?

[outermostgravy]

@SkadetKevin1994 Tuning is very complicated, and we all learn a way that works for us. But I'll tell you what I know. What this guy did is very basic, he didn't even discuss intervals (pitch difference between the top and bottom head). When you are tuning, you will most likely switch from head to head and do a lot of adjustments to get the right sound. I get the top head in a comfortable range that is combination of what I want, and what pitch the drum wants to be at and will sound good in.

[outermostgravy]

@SkadetKevin1994 I'm long winded, sorry :p after getting the top in a good range, tune it to itself (each lug). Now the tricky part. The bottom head has the biggest affect on the sound of your drum. Top=pitch, bottom=quality. You do want the bottom head higher. If you wanna get fancy, tune the bottom to a harmony like a third or fifth (that's where knowledge of intervals is important). If you do so, fine tune first for accuracy. If you want to know more about harmonies, let me know!

[theinck]

looks and sounds so nice. what kind of kit is this? great tutorial. thank you.

[ToMaTt247]

very helpful, Thanks!

[kev01993]

how do u get rid of the buzz noise of your drum when u hit it?

[6669689]

@kev01993 Moon Gel! You can find them on any music shop! :))

[Tyler2908KU]

@kev01993 no moon gels are for overtones.. example when this guy was tuning and says something like its close but i dont like that woo sound. moon gels would help that. the buzz youre probably getting is due to your heads not being seated completely on the edge of the drum. so make sure all your lugs are snug.

[outermostgravy]

@kev01993 That could be your snare wires vibrating from the sound of the other drums. if you're talking about toms...

[MrRabbitBlack]

@charlesisgayerthanyo bob gatzen is just showing off too much and doing nothing

[realcucus]

ok so there are drum tuners and drum players!!!

[188metalhead881]

Question: Bottom head should be really tight, compared to the opposite head?

[xxxnityninexxx]

They sound awesome in the beginning but at the end of the video, they sound awful.

[STATUSthesleepers]

@xxxnityninexxx theyre pretty shit at the start too lol

[Chavacito32]

lol his voice cracks at 1:52! "Put it on a table or a couch, whaTEver you're going to do." LOL!!!

[TheTman5487]

@charlesisgayerthanyo the pillow idea is cool, never thought of doing that. but, it's pretty damn hard to do tuning videos as good as Gatzen.

[igot2wordsuckit]

sounds better tahn mine when i first put my heads on

[guttedfable]

lol "a 'nice' cardboard box"

[edjorthebeast]

do you need the same drum heads on the bottom and the top?

[jsgervais1991]

@edjorthebeast  nope

[edjorthebeast]

@jsgervais1991 ok

[atreyu101101]

i really like that 12 inch.

[Somedrummer4]

@atreyu101101 That's what she said! haha no I know what you mean

[runepkr855]

@Somedrummer4

lol you beat me to it

[physchohead24]

@runepkr855 Thats what she said

[runepkr855]

@physchohead24

Lol? how does that one work?

[physchohead24]

@runepkr855 he finished before her

[trainmandan05]

Ohh It's not just you Mike, I can't stand that flat choking sound on my drums. If one of my toms sound like that, I will instantly start tuning up.

[whophead007]

@charlesisgayerthanyo "like if agree" how cute.

[4ntiIvIon]

0:32 sounds like i slapped someone's ass with a trash barrel

[drummerguy4321]

see when i tighten mine it just sounds rubbish

it's either not tight enough or too tight

could u help

[jakoe3000]

your untuned heads sound better than mine... mine sucks.

[drummerguy4321]

@jakoe3000 same can't get the hang of it

[joaoa13portugal]

What Evans is he using??

They sound great with no muffler like Remo's or moongel

[bugplayer]

lol the dislike bar is the size of justin beirber dick...oh and nice video! u helped me so much! :D

[avant105]

its all about 1 up 2 down:) (no offense to the 2 up 1 down people) hahahaa

[8836608]

what tuning should i put each drum in

[connorpatmore]

"High Quality Yamaha Drums" Thats an oxymoron if ive ever heard one.

[4thwatcher777]

Evans batter head, Remo resonant head.

[strokesday]

this guys snare drum and bass tom tuning were really helpful. but this video wasn't that helpful. it showed me how to do it. but i already know how to tune, i just wanted some advice on how to get a good tone, without a lot of resonance. and this video didn't show me that. and no offense but his tom sounds like shit when he's done.

[Binxes11]

@strokesday It sounds perfect for a 10 inch tom. You must not know what a 10 inch is supposed to sound like then

[strokesday]

@Binxes11 if that sounds perfect, then my toms must sound amazing. haha. cause, im sorry, but in the end, his tom sounds terrible. its also got a strange resonance to it.

[arlopez23]

@strokesday hey just go to expertvillage and you will find what you are looking for. this video is only for beginners. since you are not, then shut up your big mouth. thanks!

[arlopez23]

@strokesday or else put your own vid.

[strokesday]

@arlopez23 wow. ur extremely mature. why don't u grow up and stop trying to start fights. i didn't say anything bad about the video except i don't like the way this guy tunes his drums. so why don't u just fucking chill out. u fucking douchebag tool. oh and next time u flip out for no reason. maybe u should just shut the fuck up.

[KSMSProductions]

@strokesday Duude. calm down. Your just making a fool of yourself.

[ChrisPanagoulopoulos]

i want a drummer in my house to tune my 10 x4 inch tom tom

[rock0god]

im not a drummer but i take care of my drummers drums better than he does.. just want to know do you have to have fairly decent skins that aren't beat to hell. like i mean if they're beat up (and mean dented well) can you still tune them? an answer would be nice

[strokesday]

@rock0god when ur heads are dented well it is still possible to tune them, when it comes to the point when its very hard to tune them correctly, then new heads is probably ur best option.

[Meykuhh23]

Please help me! At the beginning, do you have the resonant heads fingertightened or tighter? please answer!

[strokesday]

@Meykuhh23 it doesn't really matter cause in the end u have to have the resonant head tuned to the same pitch as the top/batter head. u can also tune the resonant head tighter than the top head if you like a little less resonance. hope this helped you.

[musicfrk20]

@strokesday so ur saying by tightning the bottom head you can get a more short type thud but still keep tone? ur reply would be appreciated im a new drummer lookin for info befor i begain trying diff things. thanks

[strokesday]

@musicfrk20 yes, but don't tighten the bottom head too much higher than the top or u get a pitch bend, which some drummers like, but i think sounds bad. tune the bottom head about a quarter or half turn more on ur drum key than the top head. other options are moongel, which works very well, and mylar 0 rings also work very well. so its up to you.

[inimicalODDITY]

@strokesday Tuning the resonant head higher than batter head does nothing but bends the pitch, it does not mitigate resonance. I tune this way on all of my drums, it sounds amazing.

[strokesday]

@inimicalODDITY if you tuned ur resonant head a a lot tighter than ur batter head than you would be right, there would be a pitch bend, but im talking about tuning it just a little tighter than the top head. think about john bonham from led zeppelin. he used the technique im talking about. and his drums sound great.

[KungLaoMK]

Is it just me, or does the voice at the beginning sound like the guy from America's Most Wanted or Cops? (Not sure which...)

[grjjboy]

3:36 wtf kind of face is that

[whophead007]

@charlesisgayerthanyo this guy tunes completely different from bob. i hate it. lol he doesnt even use to (OTT)

[skateazzz]

his voice sounds like Ross from friends xD

[TheAndrumming]

@skateazzz lol, exactly

[masterdrummer19]

good idea to play the heads with no tension.. dont do that guys... he also should have talked about seating the heads... not a good vid really

[Zynpar09]

Would that be considered tuned rock or jazz?

[grjjboy]

@Zynpar09 jazz cause it sucks

[MikePostDrums]

@grjjboy If you were serious when you said that, you seriously have no clue.

[yarqgc]

I'm starting to like that...

[Gennady100]

nice cardboard box XD

[durrusman]

How do u prevent the echo noise?

[hoopz2598]

Do the lower toms have to be tuned an octave lower, or does it matter, just as long as they're lower pitched??????? And is the tom too high if I'm having to use a lot of my strength to tighten the bolts???

[Meatlooaf]

love the first sound

[chambers1013]

''at the moment they sound like cardboard boxes, not like CUSTOM DRUMS, so i want to make them sound, like CUSTOM DRUMS'' what a prick, could he wana brag any more? lmao

[TheNoseJR]

@chambers1013 not bragging, custom drums cost more so they should sound better than they did.

[chambers1013]

@TheNoseJR well i have a custom kit, but im not bragging lmao

[Jamobra]

thanks, this will help me tune my 16" floor tom, it sounds like crap c:

[drummer4life54]

i would like the tom a little lower tuned

[ben80s08]

this guy is missing the point you dont need a stupid high end drum set to have fun

ppl really lost site on just plain haveing fun on the drums now ppl are just being rude and bossy like if you dont do it there way you wont get a good sound plzz dont mind those ppl do what you like and only what you like you can ask for imput just look for your own sound

[SOULSOFDARK]

they make Drum dial tuners just if you hate tuning by ear

[WillEyeAmz]

i feel like at 8 minutes he was just like okay fuck this ahaha

[iSlinkyyyHoldThaD]

i have never heard of a 10 12 and 16 tom set? lol, anyone elseconfused by that?

[MegaDrumRoll]

@iSlinkyyyHoldThaD dude thats like the most popular setup.

[iSlinkyyyHoldThaD]

@MegaDrumRoll no usually 10 12 14 and/or 16 or 12 13 14 and/or 16 10 12 16 is just to outta range 4 me..but i might be wrong.

[miffy126]

It seems weird to me that everyone thinks he's being too slow. I'll spend a few hours tuning my toms. I make sure to have a piano our guitar nearby and tune my toms in a D major chord. In the studio I'll tune them to the key each song is in. It takes a while, but having toms in tune with the song sounds 10 times better. Patience pays off when you know people are going to be listening to your tuning for decades to come.

[iSlinkyyyHoldThaD]

@miffy126 hahah dude when i get my new heads i spend more time "tuning" them then actually "playing" too! lol. but yeah your right thats the way to doit.

[cashmerestaten]

lol they sound better before he tuned them

[iSlinkyyyHoldThaD]

@cashmerestaten when he first puts them they will, but once you start hitting them they strt to dent and then the sounds goes bad unless you buy moongels AND dampening rings, so its better ust to listen to him.

[inimicalODDITY]

@cashmerestaten With all due respect, that was a ridiculous statement.

[WillEyeAmz]

i'm starting to think that pillow is this poor bastard's only friend haha

[scrunge99]

he sounds kinda like mr Mackey from South Park :P

[WillEyeAmz]

@scrunge99 YES

[skatrdude13]

how can i get rid of that like "Bwang" sound right after i hit it? it happens right before it resonates it sounds like the head is vibrating?

[ultimate0death]

@skatrdude13 tighten the rim a little bit further. im a metal drummer, and personally I think this method is WAY too complicated. I can ear tune it in 2 minutes, this old man needs to cut the crap and tune the drums. I just tighten them until they all feel the same around the edge when you push on it with a finger, then strike it with a drumstick, then maybe they all need tightening, so just tighten them a bit further. itll never be perfect and you cant spend 10 minutes on one.

[hollowmedia]

@skatrdude13 If it goes high to low, your top head is tuned higher than the bottom. The reverse is also true.

[MonkeyMan214]

Awesome video man! dont listen to assholes saying you suck. your awesome for helping, keep making video's! :D

[teargas30]

the head on the bottom is remo, top is evans but that doesnt make any difference, just be thankful for him, cause he is doing this for free

[ned2one]

Mate thank you so freakin' much for this... I hated my toms because I could never tune them... now that I watched this, I did it exactly as you did and they sound brilliant thank you sooooo much!!!!

[ned2one]

I usually finger tighten the lugs before tightning

[carabata64]

con esa bata y esos parches afina hasta un mono....

[drk9six]

this guys is such a fag . lmfao but this helped me out so i cant really talk

[188metalhead881]

Ok so the bottom head has to be tighter than the upper head?

[WChammer]

me too!! xD

[jaskajr]

The lugs on the bottom head weren't the same lol

[jpkfox]

@jaskajr Ye, I heard that as well... after the tuning

[abovetheelement]

What are those white things in the head I know they are are dampners of some sort but what brand are they

[DylanLFS]

@abovetheelement well most dampeners will make the same difference, like you can buy Evans E-Rings, or Aquarian Studio Rings, both will do the same thing.

[Snorkelsson]

I have a problem, when i hold one of my toms in my hand and hit it with a stick, it sounds really great and have a big nice sound, but when i put it on the theng that holds it on the basedrum it sounds empty and have no deph at all.

[DDrummr41]

@Snorkelsson When your holding it in your hand, you hand doesnt hold it completely still, so the drm kinda moves when you hit it, and lets it ring more so to speak, But when you put it on the stand, that holds it much steadier, so the drum doesnt vibrate as much i guess.

[Snorkelsson]

@DDrummr41 That sucks, im gonna chop someones arm of and put it on my base. :)

[DDrummr41]

@Snorkelsson Haha :P great idea.

[JordanWieber]

hot tight do u have the bottom?

[666AHEAD666]

what evens heads r they?

[BeneathTheShadows95]

lol he says the yam in yamaha at 0:22 like the yam that you eat hahah

[toujames]

so he happens to have a tuner in his pocket? :D

[DDrummr41]

at 6:40 ish, he gets the tom to that point where the heads are so close, its dampening out, then he goes, "im starting to like that" your retarded dude..

[ToOlOGT22]

@DDrummr41 thats exactly what i was thinking, i thought he was going to say he has to start over again or something like that

[DDrummr41]

@ToOlOGT22 yeah. this guy is such a horrible drummer.

[thesockknocker]

@DDrummr41 wow you think he's "such a horrible drummer" for making a tiny, hardly noticeable tuning mistake? he hasn't even played a beat or anything, he's just tuning his fucking drums!!!! and i wouldn't be talking if i were you. it doesn't matter how much stuff you have on your kit, it's how you play it. you have a big kit but you can't play for shit

[DDrummr41]

@thesockknocker i said hes a horrible drummer because ive watched all of his other videos. i know he didnt play anything in this video, im not retarded. and you cant say anything about my drumming, youve never seen me play...so Just shut your mouth. i have like 1 fucking video up, and its from last year, and it was 1 song and i was filling in for a friend. so dont be so quick to judge. i have watched many of this guys videos and i dont think hes great. so whatever.

[thesockknocker]

@DDrummr41 okay okay sry or taking your comment out of context. no hard feelings dude

[jazzmanlondon]

Yes .... right .... put the tom on the snare drum ... that will keep the right tuning of the snare. Great idea!

[LinkinPark771]

what is the circle thing on inside of the tom?

[VisionsBurn]

@LinkinPark771  The circle thing comes with that particular drum head. It's a built in dampening ring.

[iandrummer07]

@LinkinPark771 Its a evans pinstripe head. Its built in with the head. Check it out its a really good head in my opinion

[CrackedB8s]

They're Evans EC2's clear.

[BeneathTheShadows95]

@iandrummer07 its not an evans pinstripe. the pinstripe heads are made by remo. these are evans ec2 heads. i use them and i love em

[iandrummer07]

@BeneathTheShadows95 Dude im so sorry. I know pinstripe is remo and ec2 are evans cause i have ec2 on my floors and idk why i said "evans pinstripe" lol pretty stupid haha

[BeneathTheShadows95]

@iandrummer07 haha its all good man

[70359hb]

how do you get it to sound how it did in the begining

[steauaovi]

The video is very good...the only hard thing you got to do is to find the pitch of the resonant head...and that is not very hard...and on the batter head do what he does

[JToomer]

Dave Weckyls video on Tuning is way better than this even though its out of sync.

[Themos6]

is "snug fit" finger tight?

[VisionsBurn]

@Themos6 Yes it is.

[FractureTheBand]

1:52 voice crack looool

[neilcaraher]

Does tightening the rivets (turning them clockwise) make the tone higher or lower?

[SMstikx7]

Tightening makes them higher

Loosening makes them lower

[soudek]

higher

[austineatsbagels]

i love how theres evans heads on the top and remo on the bottom :D

[davonwav]

Yea been using the o rings on toms for many years and there is really no better sound. In a pinch you can make your own rings by cutting old heads right at the outside collar & in about an inch at most. The best drummers I have known ( 2 famous) can all tune their drums extremely well and musical in pitch. It is so sad to see a descent drummer pounding on 'no tune' flabby heads. Of course moon-gel on snares.

[bagwellbry]

awsome vid helped me out alot since im a begginer.

[colaiutachambers]

Bad sound :(

[ielinsano4]

@ymmashus94 you should use drum rings, o rings or whatever you call them. even if my drums sound good i always put them on

[pfoltz10]

do they help with echo? i think i know what you're talking about.

[ielinsano4]

i'm pretty sure they do. and they enhance the sound a bit (that's what i think).

[pfoltz10]

ok i'll have to try them out

[ymmashus94]

can someone help me, my tom toms are tuned but sound like they echo.  I want a flat deep sound and not that loud, someone help me!!!

[bog72]

get some o-rings...like 9 bucks for a basic set....will clean that after sound right up

[lordoscarrr]

anyone recomend these heads? the seem awsome

[ttsk2437]

yea, i have them they're the evans ec2 i think, if you tune them just right with the right resonant heads, they sound nice

[liontamer6969]

i use those heads haha

[17liamoo17]

i prefer them at the beginning tbh

[useounceanddestroy]

do u do the same rutine for the rest of the toms

[xXFatalAttemptsXx]

yes u do . just dont set the rest of the toms tone to ur 1st tom

[Geeljasjes]

Great vid, however I'm still puzzled.

How do you know you're not overtuning the top head?

How much more tight should the bottom head be?

How do you know when you get most sustain out of the drum?

I find tuning drums tedious. Also hate it when other drummers do it on stage before they start playing. I don't do that, that's why my drums sound shite. I'll keep trying.

[MrMusicman1819]

dude the beginning scared the crap out of me

[simeco92]

@MrMusicman1819 haha,lol :D

[katyssexysk8er]

shit ima do this to mine because mine are loose LOL thats what she said too :P

[lessmann009]

daamn borrieddd zzzZZZZ

[justcallmeFREDok]

"our old friend the pillow" ..

WHAT DID YOU USE THAT "OLD FRIEND" FOR WHEN YOU WERE A KID MISTER??

[vacantsniper]

it sounds good when he first hits em lol

[TheHalo3creed]

but if he wre to leave his heads at that tension they would be more likely to rip and wouldn't be able to carry rolls

[whytrytribute]

@vacantsniper

i agree

[pyromaniacsband]

i prefer a low tom sound

[Giblets12]

you just waste so much time man

[PenguinRTFdrummer]

yea i no mine sound pretty good now but not good enough

[McYdys]

dude please make a video about tuning intervals between toms

[Ectica]

uff! its kind of hard tuning the damn toms; sounded cool though