DrumDial Calibration from Drum Dial Inc.

[Rturner201]

I have a Mapex Pro M kit and im having a little trouble getting the sound i want out of the snare. The snare is 14x5.5. What settings do you reccomend for a medium fat sound. Not too low but kinda midrange I guess. This kit is played only in church.

[DrumDial]

85 top batter and 80 bottom resonant.

[diegloke911]

I want to tune my toms high any suggestions? And what should I tune my snare to to make it sound good with the toms?

[DrumDial]

For a high tom sound, 77 top and bottom is a good starting point. Snare batter at 87 , snare resonant at 80-82.

[Jonno689]

@DrumDial I want to tune my toms to a lower tuning for the heavier side of metal, my toms range from 10", 12" and 13" rack and 16" floor. Do you have any suggestions?

[DrumDial]

Standard tuning will work, but we suggest thicker or 2 ply heads. For a very low sound, you will need to use a thicker head on the bottom resonant as well. Remo, Ebony style heads work well for the bottom head to get the lower sound you are after.

[Karrnic]

what drums does this work on? just the snare or the toms and bass aswell? im kind of a beginner:p 

[DrumDial]

Drumdial works for all drums from timpani, bass drums, toms, snares and even banjos to djembes, congas and timbales.

[PianoManGuitarHero]

When I put my drum dial on glass, it is alway perfectly centered at 50, NOT 0 like it says in the video. Should I just recalibrate it so that the needle is on 0?

[DrumDial]

Recalibrate to zero. Your tuner will still function acurately, but will be a little difficult to read as the new zero point will be at bottom center instead of top center. Repair service if ever needed, is $30.00 to bring your DrumDial to new condition with another 1 year warranty included.

[KingandQueens12]

Also what's a good amount of pressure if you want your snare to be hi-pitched. Kinda like mike portnoy style?

[DrumDial]

87-89 top batter and 80-82 bottom resonant.

[KingandQueens12]

If you can't find some glass to calibrate on what is some other things?

[DrumDial]

Any hard flat surface will work. A mirror, picture frame glass, hard counter top, smooth flat tile, etc...

[russ1234123]

do you have to calibrate it out of the box or does it come pre calibrated

[DrumDial]

Drumdial is pre calibrated at the shop before it is shipped. It never hurts to double check and is very easy to do.

[killerproctologist88]

@drumdial what about a 14x7 brass pork pie snare with remo weatherking heads? (batter and resonate)

[DrumDial]

A very good starting point for your snare drum is 85 top batter and 80-82 bottom resonant.

[lank880]

when you say tune it at 75 u need to get 75 in the center or in the lugs?

[DrumDial]

At the lugs, always. The center only gives an average. For example, a 6 lug drum can be out of tune at each lug set at 73, 74,75, 75, 76, and 77. The average at the center would be 75, but the drum would not be in tune with it self.

[lank880]

hey... i tune my mapex meridian maple with your tensions of 10 12 toms.. 75 75 14 floor tom.. 74 74 14 snare 90-82 but i got a problem with snare buzz... i hit the 10 tom and it dont sound very much... i hit the 12 and it sounds a lot and the 14 floor tom dont sound why it happens? can u say me why plz

[DrumDial]

You are getting sympathetic overtones or frequencies that are close to the snare and 12" tom. If you do not like this and want to eliminate the buzz, tune the bottom head on the 12" tom up a little higher to 76 or lower to 74. The other option is to leave the tuning at 75 and place a piece of paper or thick cloth string between the bottom snare head and the snare chain. Be careful not to dampen to much. Many find the natural buzz and vibration desirable and would not change anything.

[LotharOfDaHillPeople]

I have a Ludwig-Supra Phonic 6.5 x 14 chrome snare drum, suggestions?

[DrumDial]

A very good starting point for that size and style snare drum is 86 top batter and 82 bottom resonant.

[Playlistamac]

oops my bad it's a 13x61/2

[Playlistamac]

got a joey jordison signature snare series 13x7 got any suggestions?

[DrumDial]

84-86 top batter and 80-82 bottom resonant for a 13" x 6.5"

[4thwatcher777]

@Playlistamac The Joey Jordison snare is 13x6

[Lazio91]

my snare drum is a Chad smith signature.

It is 5" X 14", a little different than a standard snare which is .51/2 X 14

what tension should i set it at?

[DrumDial]

A very good starting point would be 85 top batter and 80-82 bottom snare resonant.

[Lazio91]

is it ok if the 0 is not in the 12 o ' clock position? the 0 on mine is siiting in a 1 o'clock positon...when i do put it on a peice of glass however it does go to zero

[DrumDial]

The dial does not need to be at zero when there is no pressure on the tuner. There is always a little give from the cap screw o-ring bumper that protects the internal mechanism from bumps and jolts, especially if the plunger is allowed to snap back. Never loosen the top cap screw.

[metalhead465]

So the little needle has nothing to do with anything when tuning the drum?

[DrumDial]

The small needle is part of the DrumDial logo and is not used for tuning.

[skinsandsticks]

I have a question. if the drum dial isnt set to zero without it sitting on any surface then how can you be sure youre tuning it to a set number when it is sitting on your drums?

[DrumDial]

Do not try to calibrate your tuner without any pressure. Calibration for the DrumDial is done by preloading the internal spring, by setting it on a flat glass surface. Without any pressure on the tuner, your DrumDial is not measuring anything. For example, if you were visually checking for a flat tire, you wouldn't put the car up on jacks to see if a tire was flat, you would let the weight of the car rest on the tire. Drumdial measures the distance that the drumhead flexes at different tensions.

[glitchhacker101]

what tensions do you recomend for a heavy metal thrasher sound?

[DrumDial]

The tuning chart will get you close. Please forward your drum sizes and head types to the drumdial website and we can find a more exact range for heavy metal.

[mattsonaboat]

What tensions do you reccomend for 16 x 15 floor toms? Batter and reso.

[DrumDial]

A very good starting would be 74 top batter and 74 bottom resonant. 

[OSCAR82AA]

Can you give some advice on how to use this for us banjo players ? Will it help us tune the banjo head ?

[DrumDial]

We have had very good success tuning banjo heads. I recommend a starting point of 85 for most banjo heads using the DrumDial. Tuning a banjo head is the same as tuning a standard drum head. Visit Janet Davis music on line for more specific instruction for tuning banjo.

[DrumDial]

Drumdial works very well for toms. Drumdial can be used for any drum, even electronic drums with mesh heads.

[DJJPLin]

could i use the drumdial for my toms?

[jsrogers100]

@DJJPLi yes in fact for all your drums.

[asilentsecret1]

how do you tune different kinds of heads? for example, i use evans EC2 heads and they just don't sound right when i follow all the instructions. i have tuned friends sets with it many times and all goes well. any advice would be much appriciated.

[DrumDial]

The EC2's are quality heads but the dampening ring may be giving you some difficulty. Stay to the inside of the ring. Seat the heads in the standard criss cross pattern and then fine tune in small increments in a circular pattern, one lug after the next.

[DrumDial]

The question was asked if tile could be used to calibrate the DrumDial.

Tile works very well. Make sure that the tile is very flat. Textured tile will not give an accurate calibration because the DrumDial base will not sit flat. The Drumdial hard case (visit the Drumdial website) comes standard with a glass calibration square as shown in the video. Any flat piece of glass or mirror will work. For example, many DrumDial owners use the glass from a picture frame.

[Auroramaya]

I don't have a piece of glass yet to do this calibration test. It would actually be awesome if you guys packed one with each DrumDial, since finding a little piece of glass like that can be a pain.

What I do have is lots of tile in my house, in the bathroom and kitchen. Can I use that for calibration instead? Thanks.

[spitball301]

if my idiot friend dropped my drum dial, could it have broken it even if the dial turns normally?

[DrumDial]

Your tuner is probably OK. If the shaft moves freely without binding, then it will calibrate correctly and will tune accurately.

[brotzo1]

This device works! I've been tuning my drums by ear for 25 years. I've never been able to get all my toms to sound good all at the same time. Today, I tuned them the way I always do and then broke out the drum dial. This device completed the fine tuning I've never been able to accomplish by ear. All my toms "sing" just the way I want. Well worth the money!

[sticksu123]

@brotzo1 , i agree with you buddy i have been tunning my drums for a whole mess of freackin years by ears and this little device has made it so easy with satifactory results. Take care.

[AlexsFILMS]

this thing is amazing, its so easy to tune drums with this, litterly takes like seconds, when it used to take all day!

[DGOOLY]

This helps but can I use it on die cast hoops?

[DrumDial]

Yes, Drumdial was designed to work with Die Cast hoops!

[Metalex1982]

Glad I found this video. I just bought the drumdial today, about one hour ago actually. Haven't even tried it yet, but I knew it was a good idea to check youtube first. now I understand better how it works. Thanks