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Waywood Music September 2008 Newsletter
Hi
Welcome to the September edition of the Waywood Music Newsletter.
This month I would like to focus on the subject of tuning (some purists call it
tensioning) the drums and a few tricks that help me achieve a good, balanced
sound.
Like most subjects in music, tuning the drums is open to debate (and frequently
is!) as each person has their own idea of what is the ideal sound for them. So
what I want to do is rather than giving a step by step account of the ‘only way
to tune drums’ I want to look at the key factors that make up a drum’s sound and
how we can fine-tune those to meet our needs. So here goes ...
I think there are probably between around ten or eleven main factors affecting
the sound of any drum, though snare drums have perhaps one or two extra.
Now don’t panic! Most of these are beyond our control and pretty much fixed when
we buy the kit (although we do have some choice of dimensions, shell material,
style of construction and mounting / supporting method at the time of buying).
Here’s a brief overview of how these affect the sound:
A. Less Controlled by the Player
Drum Shell Material – Every material vibrates in a different way. So plastic
vibrates differently to wood and different types of wood vibrate differently
depending on their hardness. Different types of metal are different again. These
differences in vibration contribute greatly to the overall sound produced by a
drum. For example, with wooden shells maple is renowned for its warm, resonant
sound, whilst birch has more attack and a stronger bottom end (fundamental)
sound. Stainless steel, brass, copper, bronze, aluminium etc are all different
again.
Drum Shell Construction – Most drums are made by laying successive multiple
thin layers of wood on top of each other with the grain of each ply running at
right-angles (90-degrees) to each previous. This makes the finished wood very
strong and durable. Some manufacturers, notably Brady in Australia, construct
their drums using ‘staves’ or strips of wood glued together to make up the shell
(in a similar way to the construction of wooden barrels). Other manufacturers
are experimenting with using a single piece of solid wood. Each produces a
different sound. Metal shells tend to be of single piece construction.
Drum Shell Thickness – Basically the thicker the shell the less it will
vibrate, resulting in a more focussed, less resonant sound. Thicker shells need
to be hit harder in order to make them vibrate and produce their big sound. The
tendency more recently has been a return to thinner shells which vibrate more,
producing a more open and consequently ‘bigger’ sound.
4. Drum Dimensions – Larger drum diameters produce deeper basic (fundamental)
notes or tones. Deeper drums also produce a stronger sound in the bottom tones
but also need to be hit harder to make them work and produce that tone.
Bearing Edge – This is where the top and bottom edge of the shell touches the
drum skin/head. It is a fine art and different manufacturers have their own
preference but basically they can be sharp and fine, or more rounded, each
producing its own characteristic response and tone. For most of us, it is more
important that the bearing edge is smooth, consistent and well cut, than whether
it is cut with a 45-degree inner edge (those sort of preferences may come
later).
Counterhoops – These are the steel/aluminium/wooden hoops that hold the drum
heads in place and which are responsible for applying tension to the head when
tuning. Most counterhoops are made from pressed steel (I suspect for each of
manufacture). However, many drummers prefer diecast hoops which are much more
rigid and less prone to flexing which means that tuning is more accurate. They
also produce more resonance from the rums as less of the energy from the stick
hitting the head is absorbed by the rim. Wooden counterhoops were originally
used centuries ago on military drums, but they have seen a real renaissance with
companies like Ayotte and Yamaha using them on all types of drums. They seem to
greatly enhance the tone and sustain of the drum, producing a purer sound. They
are also a lot more expensive!
Attachments and Protrusions into the Drum – It has been shown that anything
inside the drum shell interferes with the sound of the drum (presumably by
disrupting the airflow). Some manufacturers have tried to reduce internal
protrusions to zero by different rim-based tuning and mounting mechanisms (e.g.,
Arbiter and Pearl with their Free-Floating Snares). However, most restrict
internal intrusions to the screws holding the nut boxes onto the shell, choosing
to mount the drums by their rims. I’m always fascinated by the fact that Pearl
have used great big tom holders protruding into their toms for years; their
drums sound great but I have tried experimenting by either withdrawing these
until they don’t protrude into the shell or mounted a tom on a snare stand, and
for me the difference was significant. It certainly was when I changed my Yamaha
9000 from Yamaha drum-mounted tom mounts to RIMS. It is worth noting that
anything fastened to a drum shell will restrict, even stop its vibration at that
point (what we call a nodal point). This has been used to produce a controlled
sound, excellent in earlier studio recordings (e.g., Yamaha 9000/Recording
Custom, Pearl BLX) but is not used so often (at least until trends change
again!). Generally, fewer nodal points means greater shell resonance.
B. Under the Player’s Control
Let’s see what we can change to produce great sounding drums.
Drum Heads/Skins – Never overlook the importance of head choice. If your kit
is well-tuned and still doesn’t sound as good as you’d like it to, try changing
the heads. Cheap heads sound cheap and drum heads do wear out after time
(twin-ply often quicker than single ply). Single ply heads are still the most
popular (e.g., Remo Ambassador; Evans G1). They are resonant, easy to tune and
last for a reasonably long time (except for the blood and thunder boys or those
with poor playing technique). Clear heads produce a slightly more open sound
whilst coated heads are slightly darker and more focussed. Twin-ply heads (e.g.,
Remo Emperor & Pinstripe; Evans G2) vibrate less and produce a deader sound that
is stronger in the mid to low frequencies. They have to be hit harder to respond
and work well in louder, heavier playing situations. Some heads have special
coatings to control the sound (e.g., Remo Fiberskyn). When two heads are used on
a drum (top and bottom) it is usually a single ply head on the bottom
(‘resonant’) side regardless of what is on the top. Some drummers move to a
thinner head, like a Remo Diplomat, to further increase resonance and tone.
Muffling/Damping – The problem I find with many drummers is that they like to
hear a ‘recorded’ drum sound when they sit behind the kit, so panic if there is
ring or sustain. The best advice I can give here is for the drummer to go and
sit where the audience sits and then get someone else to play the kit. A lot of
the resonance and ring will have disappeared. In fact, it is the ring that helps
the drums to cut through the rest of the music. Obviously, if we are
close-miking then we may need to apply some subtle damping to remove excessive
ring, BUT sound guys travel around with thousands of pounds worth of gear which
in the right hands can be used to produce a great sound without covering your
drums with tape. If you need to remove excessive ring try taking a one-inch
(2.5cm) length of Gaffa tape, roll it back on itself to form a tube and then
stick it to the top (‘batter’) head about an inch in and parallel to the rim. If
you need more, try sticking the tape at right-angles to the rim about
half-an-inch (1cm) in from the rim. This method was a favourite of the late
great Jeff Porcaro. Start with no damping and add a little at a time. Avoid
excessive amounts of tape across the heads, as to be blunt, cardboard boxes will
sound better! For the bass (kick) drum avoid filling it with pillows. Why spend
hundreds of pounds on a good drum to make it sound like a cardboard box? Try a
folded blanket lying in the bottom, just touching the front (resonant) and rear
(batter) heads. If you want a deader sound, use a head with a hole cut out, but
avoid going much bigger than 6 – 8 inches (15 – 20cm) as this will take away
some of the bottom-end attack of the drum. Again, this is less of an issue if
you only ever mic-up but it is still a good principle to apply. You can always
add more damping but you can’t stick the bits of cut out head back on!
A brief word about Snare Drums before we finish off with some tuning tips ...
Snare Drums –All of the above factors influence the sound of a snare drum.
However, a couple of other things worth knowing are that the snare tension and
the snare wire construction also change the drum’s sound. Very tight snare wires
make the drum sound choked and you lose projection and tone. If the wires are
too loose, they will flop about and there will be poor response when the drum is
hit gently; it will sound more like a tom.
HINT: Don’t worry about snare buzz when you are playing. It happens with every
drummer and although you may be able to reduce it you cannot eliminate it. I
often see drummers who have cranked the snares right up on their expensive snare
drum in an attempt to stop buzz: it doesn’t work and the drum sounds awful. If
you use a snare with more wires you get more buzz from a stroke. Brass, copper,
steel and gut are also used to make snare wires, each having their own
characteristic sound. Nylon/gut tend to be quite dry in comparison to metal
snares.
And SO FINALLY TO TUNING!! Please note that this is an abridged way to get a
good sound from most drums, for most occasions and does not apply to specific
tunings such as jazz etc. More details can be found on our website at
http://www.waywood.com/tuning.htm
TOMS
1. Tap the shell of your drum (without heads) to see if there is a noticeable
tone. You’ll hear lots of tones but listen for the strongest and also see if
there is one around the pitch you want. We’re going to try to tune the heads to
the shell to get maximum resonance and tone.
2. Put both heads on the drum, tensioning them to a low tension (they may still
have a few wrinkles).
3. I work on the bottom (resonant) head first but it doesn’t really matter.
Bring the tension of the head up slowly by tightening each tension bolt, by
quarter of a turn, using the 'opposites method' described on the website
http://www.waywood.com/toms.htm and when you have completed one or two complete
cycles gently tap the head about an inch in from the rim next to each tension
rod whilst gently damping the centre of the head with a finger or small duster
... but don’t press on. If the tone is not the same gently adjust the relevant
tension bolts (note: this is not always the bolt nearest the out-of-tune section
of the head). The aim is to get exactly the same tone around the drum ... and
this takes time and some practice!
4. Once you have a resonant sound, turn the drum over and repeat for the top
(batter) head.
5. Now turn the drum over and take the bottom head up in tension by about a
quarter turn on each tension bolt as before. The aim is to get a pitch about a
fourth higher than the batter head (the same interval as in ‘Here Comes the
Bride’).
6. When you hit the batter head you should now get a strong tone with a slight
downward bend in pitch (this is usually more noticeable on smaller drums). If
not, listen to what isn’t working. If it’s too ‘pingy’ slacken off the batter
head slightly, if it is too floppy with no tone, take up the tension of the
batter head slightly.
7. FINE TUNING: Once the drum sounds good, repeat the exercise of tapping around
the heads for even tension. You should hear the drum working with the shell to
produce a big, open, resonant sound. Too slack and this won’t work; too tight
and it will sound choked.
HANDY HINT: If you have a particular note that you want to tune the tom to
(e.g., for studio work) you can always ‘sing the note’ into the batter head and
gently adjust it until you get maximum resonance, at which point it will be in
tune. You can also tune the drum so that both the top and bottom head are at the
same tension. This doesn’t produce the downward pitch bend. Again, experience
will tell you when the tension on both heads is correct for that particular
drum.
IMPORTANT: Each drum has a particular tuning range within which it sounds
good. This is different for every drum, regardless of make or model. By tuning
within this range you will get the best sound from your drums.
BASS/KICK DRUM
1. As for the toms, evenly tune each head to the point where the wrinkles just
disappear from the heads. This should give you a good starting point.
2. Tune the back (batter) head up by about one-eighth to one quarter turn at
each tension rod. This will produce more tone but it may be too much. If so
either de-tune slightly or put in a bit of extra damping. I use an Evans EQ
Pillow gently lying against the batter head and Remo Powerstroke 3 heads which I
find take out most of the unwanted tones. If your drum has too much rumble, you
can try some subtle damping against the front (resonant) head, but don’t overdo
it.
3. The overall aim is to get a drum with a good tone and lots of punch, plus a
bit of attack. Extra details are at http://www.waywood.com/kick.htm
SNARE
1. Initially tune the drum as for toms above.
2. The snare tuning really is a matter of preference and application. Some like
it high, some like it fat. Ballads tend to prefer lower tunings, pop and funk
may go to higher tensions.
3. The best way to get a good sounding snare is to avoid excessively tight
snares and excessively low head tensions. The bottom (snare) head should be
started at mid tension and once you have adjusted the batter head to the tension
you want, try experimenting by adjusting the tension on the bottom head (evenly
as before) and if that doesn’t work, adjust the tension of the snares themselves
using the adjuster on the drum.
HANDY HINT: The duration of rattle from your snare should be about equivalent
to the length of a beat for the piece of music you are playing. You obviously
can’t keep adjusting tension on-stage during a gig, but I think the overall
message is that you don’t want either a ‘click’ sound when you hit the drum or
the sound of a thousand slinkys falling downstairs.
Well, that’s the end of this month’s edition of War & Peace. I’m always pleased
to hear your feedback and views so please e-mail me at
stuart@waywood.com
Until next time ...
Best wishes
Stuart
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