You are the first person I have heard say to adjust the others rather than attack the one. I have been chasing my tail for a few months and couldn't figure out why I sucked at tuning. I figured this out on my own recently and am glad I discovered the correct path but damn this could have saved me some time lol. Thanks for validating my inexperienced technique.

This video can be truly called "Drum Tuning Masterclass in 20 minutes". I recently started to learn about drum tuning and I found everything here as a ground concept. Thank you very much !

I used to dread the thought of tuning one drum, not to mention the whole kit. Since I bought this little guy my life has been sooo much easier. You`ll find those conservative drummers who`ll bash these tuners and say you should alwasy use your ears, but what kind of ear does a beginner drummer, possibly with no musical theory background have? This tool helped me develop my ears and get a perfect drum sound. Can`t recommend it enough! One thing to have in mind tho, is you have to be sure that your bearing edge is even, the drum shell is perfectly round and your hoops are not bent. If any of those happen, the Dial can give you false results.

I am a guitar player and novice drummer and audio engineer. I have always tuned drums for any drummers I play with. They have all said, how does a guitar player know how to tune drums? lololol It's about presenting the best possible sound for every instrument especially before recording. I learned even more watching this video. Thanks so much!

I bought the drum dial 20 years ago before youtube was popular and never really had this type of tutorial. I always tuned by toms around 70 but i always tuned the drum to the pitch of the shell so that the drums REALLY SING in live conditions. I use my stick to make the sound of the shell without heads on it. then keep that sound in mind when i tune my heads. My set sings!!!

Drum dial changed my life. I thought I was good at tuning by ear. Always tuned it to where I thought it “sounded good.” With the drum dial I tuned both reso and batter for toms/floor toms to 75 and they sound great. The snare batter I tuned to 86 and the reso to 82. Sounds awesome!

Great video! I find one thing interesting when compared to other videos. I’ve seem multiple instructions on tuning pattern. One, tune across then move one clockwise, another tune across then skip one or two lugs (depending on number of lugs) counterclockwise, and here two across simultaneously the rotating one after the other clockwise. It’s confusing to know which is best/right, but gotta say the two key method really makes sense to me for initial tune, then dial for consistency, then fine tuning by ear. Yep, best process to me! Nicely done! 😎👍🏻

the best tuto drum tuning i've seen...thank you

This is my fav drum tuning video ever. Thanks for taking the time to explain this and for me to figure out the mistakes I’ve been making for years! Lol!

This was great! Thanks guys. I adore my drums and always been so weak at tuning them, even though I need out about it. Drum dial has helped me SO much and now love and appreciate videos like this even more! Can’t wait to get back in the studio 👌🏼

I've been playing since I was 12 ( now 40) always struggled with tuning. Just went out and got a drum dial. Works amazing and my kit sounds fantastic. Thank you!!

I love my digital drum dial. Thanks for the video! 20 years and learning new tricks every day.

What a fabulous video. I'll be sharing with every drummer I know. Thank you for sharing your significant expertise! Can't wait to get home today and get to it.

B: I tune the reso a minor third higher than the batter head. My mentor/instructor was a phenomenal percussionist and taught me this method. I feel my vintage ludwig will take to this tuning very easily and will not need internal/external muffling to moderate the sustain.

"Tuning Up into a note". SO glad you mentioned that. It's more the mechanics of the mechanism (not to sound utterly redundant.. Lol) but whether guitar, drums, or Zebraphone., it's simply the nature of the beast. *Also as with the jazz player you mentioned, tuning for effect has many uses as well. The only steadfast rule I apply to art, music, etc.. as long as it is somehow pleasing, or better yet, Exciting, there is no wrong tuning. ... Unless they make a sound you would hear if you took a plastic spatula and smacked a steamy pile of dog mess. GO TEAM!

Great video Victor, thank you so much. This has helped me get my Pearl Masters sounding so much better and I really appreciate it. All the best to you and DrumDial.

Greetings from Helsinki, Finland and thanks for a thorough video ! After playing 45 years rock/blues/pop/country I'm still looking for that perfect sound for each style. I used to tune my reso heads a bit higher than batter, but now I have changed my mind: the past years I have watched dozens of videos on tuning drums and now I do the opposite. I love vintage style of drums and they usually sound best when the reso head is a bit looser and the bass drum boomy with no port hole and no muffling besides felt strips. I use coated Ambassadors on every drum and on both sides.

Very useful video! For a few years i've been using a higher reso on bottom in order to down the resonance, but after watching your video I'll try to tune like you suggested. That tom sounded beautyfully! All the best 👊

I was able to tune my 10” and 12” toms to a tension of 76 and 75 respectively as recommended by drum dial. I then checked the pitch and I was able to make very fine small adjustments (as they were very very close to my desired key pitch) doing so evenly with two drum keys on opposite lugs simultaneously to get it to a perfect “A”for the 12 inch Tom and a perfect “D” for the 10 inch Tom - (using a tuner app on my iphone) this being a one-fourth pitch apart - great- love the full sweet even tonal sound this achieved - all of which was my goal and feel proud of this accomplishment and deeper understanding of my drum’s sound and how to tune them right - no when I strike them with the stick they make that beautiful “OM” pleasant in tune sound that I wanted. Now I’m going to tune my 14 inch floor Tom and 20” Bass drum both to tension of 74 on the drum dial tensionometer, and then do any fine tune and tweaks, using both keys at the same time on each opposite lug. At first, as I was learning, I was chasing the pitch around each lug as one did affect the other, but then learned how to do it, and then used two keys at once to even everything up and and get it right. This all works well as each drum is 2 inches apart and width, respectively to each other. Thanks Drum Dial team for all your help. - Laurence

Best recording video I have seen. I have played for years and always struggle with tuning. I can’t wait to implement these techniques. Thank you dude!

I've always been a higher pitched reso guy, but after 42 years on the drums, I have something new to consider. I've owned a drum dial for several years, but have never really used it. I think I'll dig it out and do some investigating .. thanks

Learn something new everyday , thankyou .

I have my rack toms tuned to the drum and my floor toms tuned down for that metal thump. Batters and reso heads the same pitch. Great video! A lot of people have trouble hearing the difference in tone when checking the lugs for consistency. Took me a little while too.

Great information here! Thanks!

I’ve learned loads from this. Thanks 🙏

Wonderful video! I agree with everything you do. I personally prefer the B - higher pitched reso tuning for my style of light jazz playing. Many years ago, I learned that rubbing the drawer runners in furniture with candle wax was a fantastic wood lube that was better than bar soap or any kind of petroleum base lube. I've used this on my drum bearing edges lightly when replacing heads. Also, I use a teflon base lube on the lug screws so there is no friction with steel-on-steel. This makes the initial finger tightening so much easier with maximum feedback and knowing that the head tension is actually what I feel instead of the friction of the bearing edge or lug screws.

Great explanation on tuning toms. As a studio owner and engineer I prefere single ply heads to obtain a more lively sound. I do like the 12" tom at around 75 also my 13" tom is slightly lower. I like having both single ply heads on my 13" tom clear. Creates a really nice lower sound with good attack.

it's C, 75 batter, 72 reso for a 12x10 :-) drumdial is great.

Wow. That reso head is tuned so well that I can hear it sympathetically ring as he talks. I am wearing headphones but still....that's amazing.

My drum dial live in my gig case. Wonderful thing when setting up in a loud venue to make sure my sound is consistent from gig to gig. I have both my heads the same pitch by the way.

Always done A: equal, because Simon Phillips said, and if anyone should know about tuning toms, it's Simon!

I feel like Im a "B" guy for the most part, and go for a mellow boing sound, but I think its tougher to get that great tuned 'boing' than to go equal on both sides. This video has me wanting to experiment more. I love my drumdial, and its useful to help check myself as my ears grow older and less reliable. Excellently done!

I do what he does, it works! Both my vista Lite, (Ludwig), and my DW Classic natural finish. I think his video is very well done and true to my experience. Remo heads..

I like my reso a little higher. I tap the shell and try to get the reso close to that . And tune the top to suit. I haven't used a drumdial before but I would like to try it. Thanks for the useful info and vid. 👍

thanks man! amaizing stuff

B Lower Pitched Reso.. Thank for the lesson..

This is such a great video! Thank you for going through the time to walk us through this!

Recently I´ve tried a maj 3th on the hi tom (batter the tonic and a 3th up on the reso) and a perfect 4th on the floor tom, with an interval of a 5th between them. It worked out very well for live situation. Very cool video, and useful information!

Excellent tutorial, bookmarked. As one who is *very* hawkish about drum tuning, the 2 key idea is awesome. My tuning is based on what gave the best "ring" for each of my particular drums; from which by happenstance I composed a melodic drum song while farting around, further fine-tuning it for the song, which I have since used to tune the kit. Not even sure what notes they are, but I suspect they are natural, rather than even-tempered intervals. As for the top and bottom heads, my kit (which is c. 1970s) has no bottom heads, giving a tribal sound that is a personal signature; but when playing a kit that does, I tune the top and bottom to the same note, usually the bottom an octave down.

Collaboration is art!

Drum Dial is great product, no matter which way you decide to use it!

Although I haven’t tried the drum dial, I have recently been tuning both heads to match the frequency of the shell.

I’ve always done higher reso. Just bought a new kit that will be here in a couple days. I’m going to try same pitch for batter and reso.

Useful information. 0:00 and 0:07 are both good sounds depending on what you want.

A: for the obvious reason of sustain especially on floor toms and if too much sustain on the low drums a touch of moon gel to take it away. Even on the snare to get that bellowing bottom end. Nice tutorial btw.

So geeky.. so awesome

Reso a third or a forth higher than batter! Nice tuning video!

7:00 - 8:00 I don’t know if I heard the name of the product once in that sales pitch, just a solid 60 seconds of mysterious endorsement 🤣

Excellent vid, thank you! I have a DD and used it lots when learning. I use it much less now, but I like how you use it to objectively get close, then set it aside for fine-ear-tuning. And I've always noticed the excellent sounds on Drumeo vids. Toms, I have historically preferred equal pitch, except I find it sings slightly better if the reso is the tiniest bit higher, like a half step or less. Seems weird, maybe I'm hearing it funny. I figure it's because when you strike the batter head, the impact pressure raises the pitch on it just a smidge for that moment. I have more recently experimented with the resos ~a perfect 4th higher than the batter, and that has a nice tone and sustain too. Sometimes if a drum isn't behaving the way I want with equal pitch, that change can help. This ends up being more or less in line with the theory and method championed by iDrumTune.

I also check the pitch of the naked shell and tune the reso head to that note or a harmonic of it.

I use A most of the time on toms,and floor toms.Never owned one of these drum dials although at 66 years old it's beginning to get harder tunning. I might just have to pick one up.Thank you for the great demo.

very very interesting ! (so a sub and a thumb up ☺)

The outro music sounded just like a phone ringing about a mile away. I thought I was going crazy. Good video!

Awesome video! Would love to see a video on snare tuning! Maybe even include a full tuned kit.

This is super helpful, thank you! How do you decide what is considered a mid-range tuning note for any give drum?

Great video!! I’ve own quite a few kits. Each drum has its own personality when tuning. I’ve had some tom-toms produce a nice and full pitch when both heads were tuned alike at a certain tension. On others, I’ve achieved this tone where the reso was substantially lower that the batter… I tell people to experiment; because, what one 12” drum sounds good at is often different from another.

What a great video. Thank you so much for this. Ive played DW for years and i recently bought a Sonor SQ1 and im still having a bass drum problem. I get beater slap. Im trying to get that feel of the beater not resonating on the head. That dead thud feel. Even using an Evans EMAD it still does it

Great instructional video, would be cool to see the note as well

I got a drumdial and I'm loving it! It's making setting up so much quicker. It got an old collarlock set sounding amazing! I had a question though too, I picked up a vintage slingerland set, and it has some odd shell sizes; 12x8, 13x9, 16x16, 22x14. On toms and snare I'm using Aquarian modern vintage medium, coated 10mil single ply batters, reso's are classic clear 10mil single ply (snare side is 3mil), kick is Evans emad2 clear batter with Aquarian modern vintage medium as the kick reso. From your experience, what would you recommend? Thanks!

I would think as the batter head lower and the reso higher because the reso is traditionally stretched a lot more because it is a lot more thin than the batter, but I would think of the batter as a low e string and the reso as the high e string

Video Request: Instructional Video on "How to build the $5 Lazy Su that Steve built for you". (This vid is great too btw ;) THANK YOU!

11:43 that inner meteonome.

I'm curious about the relationship between a 2ply 14.5 mil batter and a 1ply 10 or 12 mil reso head. Because I'm unsure if I should tune the batter slightly higher than reso since it is thicker or should I try tuning them to the same tension. I have this head combination for 12,14 and 16-inch toms. I've tried tuning the reso higher than the batter but I get mixed results. Thanks again for the videos! Keep them coming!

You know…I’ve always known you should tune opposing lugs (star pattern was how I learned), but never knew why. Thanks for this!

I've been a DrumDial proponent for years. Steve and I go back quite a few years. I prefer the B method. It works well with my Ludwig Vistas.

Drumdial, what if you tune the heads tight and then re-tune lower , are the Heads Over Stretched which will affect that head ? I seek that Doooo.... Doooooo. sound that Jared indicates in his tuning video. THX so much for time to make this and your contributions.

And when (slightly) out of tune the difference between the two frequencies will also be heard. As in tuning two bass strings with harmonics.

Good info, thank you! I tend to tune the reso head a little tighter, so my answer to your question would be B. T Y S.R.PURDY 🥁GOD BLESS

Super helpful info AND fuckin funny!! Good on ya

what is/was the name of the chapstick you used on your drum? I have watched the clip over & over again multiple times & have NEVER ONCE caught the name of the chapstick you used on the drum head... I appreciate the time you take/took to answer my question. tips a glass of fine Scotch to you for your time to answer this question for myself.CHEERS!!!!

Thank you, this was very helpful to me, and how to tune the toms. I’m thinking about buying one of the drum dial tensionometer’s. I prefer to have the top and bottom heads be equal in pitch as close as possible agreeing with the two ply for the battle ahead on the one ply for the resonant head. Q: - part A My question is in regard to the pitch. you had mentioned that each drum should be a fourth pitch apart when the Tom’s are 2 inches consecutively from each other, going up in size size - which which mine are I have a 10 12, and 14 with a 20 inch bass drum So, what is the tuning pitch that they should typically be and is it better to tune from the smallest drum first or the floor, Tom first? so for hypothetical sense let’s say the the 12 inch second time is in the pitch key of “C” - does that mean the number 110 inch Tom would be in the pitch o “ G” as an example. Q: part B once you get all the Tom’s in tune, do you then go back and check pitch and slowly adjust each leg until you get each time to be in the correct pitch. Thanks a lot. Laurence

absolutely right always tune up thats why they call it tune up it holds the tension because your actually ratcheting down tightening the bolt to the rim never loosen causes warbles

Great video! Any tips on tuning 5 lug toms?

Being I play either old school prog rock or metal, I tune the batter slightly higher than the reso. Not much. (I used to do the opposite, but like the pitch bend better with a higher batter). Example: with the snare, I tune the batter a wee bit higher than the reso -- *85B* to *81R* with the drum dial -- a low tuning. I like a dry punchy sound, mostly. My toms are the same but in the upper 70's, depending on the tom size.

Awesome video. What did you use as the mute?

a) how do you decide what PSI to test for, and b) I noticed you didn't get a tuner out there, but a lot of drummers I respect talk about tuning to notes in the key of the song you'll be recording. I'd love to know your thoughts on that and if so, what tool(s) do you recommend to tune to a specific pitch?

What is the name of the lubricant that you used to coat the bearing edge of the drum? Thanks!

Good video! I figured it’s a 13” tom, but what is its depth?

Omg! Dying laughing 4:53

What would you use on shallow Tom's, have a tama superstar hyperdrive and it rings like a .... well a lot! Remo double play pinstripes and single remo reso? Playing rock. Thanks

Great video thank you, I'm getting a drum dial when I get a new kit and getting extra toms, could you please recommend what would be the best tuning. Thank you SONOR AQ2 MARTINI SET Snare Drum: 12" x 5" Tom Tom: 8" x 7" Tom Tom: 10" x 7" Tom Tom: 12" x 8" Floor Tom: 13" x 12" Floor Tom: 14" x 13" Bass drum 14" x 13"

Quick question; would Shea butter work as an option to the Chapstick item that goes on the baron edge of the Tom drum?

My personal A & B

what is the name of that product (and where can I purchase it from ) that looked like the Chapstick tube that you put around the baron edge of the toms?

Are there recommended tunings for different sized drums? I just started playing and I’m not sure what specific tensions to tune to for each of my drums. I have a 22x18 inch kick, 10x7 and 12x8 inch toms, a 16x13 inch floor tom, and a snare.

what was that stuff u applied to the bearing edge?

Please, can you tell what is that product (lubricant) you talk about at 7min20 !

do you also tune batter and reso head to the same pitch for the "power-tom" (2" deeper than traditional?

Great video! Does anybody have any quick tricks for taming an extremely resonant 16inch floor tom? I really like the open sound of the smaller toms, and they have a natural sounding decay, but with the 16 when I tune the same way as my smaller toms the 16 rings FOREVER. Like, literally 5+ seconds. And In a live setting I have to use a gate to cut the sound off or it creates a nasty low-end feedback hum as the heads on the 16 are excited by outside sources. It's possible that this particular drum is just like that, since I've tried a handful of things but I'm not ready to give up on it and resort to that just below resonance "flappy" top head trick (or slapping tons of tape on it) just yet!

Great video! I love "A" pitch, the same tone batter and resonant head. Please, translate this video to Spanish.

I'm trying out a higher batter with a lower reso now (on the toms). I immensely like the projection, attack, and tone intensity, but I get many irritating dissonant overtones. I was meticulous with the head equalisation, but I'm considering buying your product to gauge myself. Also, could the overtones be generated by the head relationship, which has quite a big gap (I went for batter 1.5 times higher in pitch [Hz] than the reso), and not by the heads being unequal? Every shell has its own sweet spot, after all. Next time, I'll try your approach, first bringing the heads to equal pitch and adjusting them based on the sound and specific goals later. Thank you for the video.

Now a curve ball! I’ve just purchased a set of Low Volume heads (Remo silent stroke and an Evan’s DbOne snare) any tips for tuning. I’m reckoning that tuning the reso head will be more important to get the note right due to the mesh surface of the batter?

funny you mentioned the bottom head 70s thing. When i started playing drums ten years ago i was in love with Robert Wyatts drum tone on Soft Machine III and had been chasing it for years. Last year I was reading an interview with Milford Graves and he was talking about how he doesnt use bottom heads because of loves that archaic, traditional, african tone on his toms. That got me inspired to experiment l, so i cut out my reso heads, leaving an inch around the hoop for stability and to give the hardware something to hold onto. When i started to play them after tuning them up, whamo!! I was as close to that tone that i had been chasing for a decade. and now i also dont need to tune reso heads on my toms 😅 thanks for the guide tho! Just bough some Evans calftones today and prepping to re-skin my kit. p.s. any interval ideas for a 12" rack tom, 13" snare, 14" floor tom?

Thoughts on the I drum tone pro app?

I've always had a pitch issue with tuning drums. In the example here, where he's tuning the tom, I hear two notes, but he's tuning it using the higher frequency note, rather than the low overtone which seems to be a "4th" away in difference to the other. How does one tell if the listener is going to hear the higher or lower tone? Also, how does one tune the tom with the two noticeable notes, in conjunction with the rest of the kit, in which each drum will have it's own main note and overtone to deal with? It all has to come together sonically or it'll all sound off. One drum can spoil the whole overall sound of the kit.

I didnt catch the name of the stuff that you used to lubricate the bearing edge - had not heard of that application or technique before... what is that stauff?

I just bought a DrumDial, after a few years of struggling with the idea of whether I needed one. So I have one now, and I am experimenting on a few different toms. The only problem for me, that many drummer won't encounter, is that Mapex Sonic Saver hoops are rolled in. I can't just set the DrumDial down at the rim with the guide. I either have to pick up at an angle and pull away or slide it away just a bit. But the only problem is, the DrumDial is heavy and can embed a round silhouette of the bass of the tool etched onto the head now. But that's only a problem for clear batter and resonant heads. My batter heads are powder coated. Other than that, it seems to work fine.

I just picked up a digital drum dial. I took it straight to my set. I got it calibrated on the glass piece. The problem was once I got one lug set I would go to the one across from it. After that lug was set the lug I set before was different. I'm using Evan uv2 batter heads and my reso heads are clear stock Remo heads. I have a 10,12,13,14 and 16 inch toms. Can anyone help here?

What about tuning Benny Grebs drum tuning? Did you tune his drums?

C. Lower Pitched Reso. I am using 77 on top and 67 on bottom with my drum dial. Let me know if I should bring my reso up to 70. But it sounds darn good. I have 10" and 12" DW Collector series Maple shells