From the course: Audio Recording Techniques

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Tuning the drums

Tuning the drums

From the course: Audio Recording Techniques

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Tuning the drums

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Most engineers and even a lot of drummers don't know the proper way to tune their drums, but it's not a difficult process. Keep in mind that in most major-label sessions the drummers will usually bring in an expert to tune the drums for them, but this is the basic technique that would be used. Before tuning up the drum make sure that you put new heads on, since that's the key to a great drum sound. For a drum to be properly tuned you got to keep all the tension rods that hold the head on where they have the same tension at each lug. Here is how it's done. Hit the head an inch in front of each lug of the drum. (music playing) Using a drum key adjust the tension so that the sound is the same at each lug. (music playing) When the pitch is the same with each lug then hit the drum in the center, you should have a nice even decay. (music playing) Remember that the kick and snare are the two most important drums, because they are struck the most frequently. As a result most drummers tune the…

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