I have been using this method for the past 3+ years playing different Gigs every night and I really Love it. Its a very easy way to Quick change the tune of your Drum in a drop of a Stick... Thanks for sharing and God Bless...

Thanks Serj Tankian

dude, this is the greatest snare drum trick I have ever heard. and I am a freakin keyboard player!

My husband, Howie Gilbert, has been playing professionally for 70 years! Jazz, Opera, Ballet, Symphony, Greek Weddings, Country Western, German Bands, Recordings, the works. I showed him your video about tuning the snare drum and he loved it! Your method is great for creating different types of sounds on the snare for different gigs. The methodical approach you developed gives the drummer quick control over the snare drum sound and allows you to manipulate that sound with intention. Nice work!

God bless this beautiful Serj Tankian Borat drummer 🙌

This completely goes against what I have been told previously. And it works. Nice trick :)

I watched this video awhile ago and tried your method at a gig. It worked GREAT. I've watched many videos on tuning a snare but none of them were useful in helping me realize how to do it. This method is easy and actually helped me conceptualize this problem better. I've been tuning my snare since I was a kid, many hours of frustration spent in my room. Thank you! I had to come back to tell you that this really is the best way to tune a snare.

I sincerely want to extend my deepest and most sincere gratitude to you for this. This has literally solved hours upon hours of frustration from my snare. It recently got so bad that I had to step away from the drums entirely, simply because I couldn't get any sort of decent snare sound/tone. You have brought new life into drumming through me. Again, thank you so incredibly much!

Thank you Serj Tankian for that weird Technique. Works tho.

Gettin' a little too fancy for AC/DC there.

You are a drum wizard! I have been trying to get this snare to stop ringing/singing for a long time and that muffled it better than ANY product I have ever put on a head. Thank you!!!

I've watched all sorts of tuning videos... reso tuned higher v lower, raw sound v mic'd, tape/gel v no tuning assist. THIS is the method I have stuck with since discovering it 8 years ago. Especially recently when changing the heads on my gigging kit. It's quick, easy, versatile and always sounds great.

Been using this method on my TAMA StarClassic 14x6.5 with REMO Ambassador X & Emperor X in recording session & LIVE shows almost 2years now... It really works. Try understand the method & mixed it with your needs (Head/Snare), DON'T OVER DO IT. Million thanks man..

This guy has saved me in many many situations. This is hands down the easiest method or live performance drumming.

WOW! I tried this on the snare I play at Church. Made it sound so good, that now I tune this way on my own 2 snares. Thank you for this tip, I love it!

The tricks indeed can help a lot. For almost 5 months, I have been waiting for this kind of hooking sound in a drum set especially on a snare because I know that playing drums is not just banging every cymbals or popping every snares or tom-toms but to play it with conviction and with enjoyment.

That is fantastic! I just tuned my snare and playing hell’s bells. Sounds great. Thanks

since when does serj from SOAD make drum lesson video's???

I put some new heads on and been trying to tune my piccolo snare to get a decent sound for ages. This method is brilliant! No more ringing or buzzing to death from the drum. It sounds fantastic and so versatile with the quick tuning for changes to Latin rock styles. Thank you so much for sharing this 😎

That's a great little trick. I have been studio engineer for 20 yrs and used similar trick where after "tuning" the snare I would loosen 1 lug completely to eliminate overtones and deaden snare....thank you Mr. Funk drummer. Your trick is quicker and does what you say. I will change my method to yours, I like what I hear on my snare drum here. Thank you!

This is nuts! Love it....

The part when he says "Einstineish" is still hands down the best part of this video.

Genius. I meticulously maintained a drum set in my home studio for several years - ready to play at any moment. I wish I would have known this system back then.

Tried this my DW 8x14 steel snare drum, and yes, it worked. Thank you!

This is the greatest snare drum trick ever, and I'm a culinary student!

It is a useful trick & i would have loved to know it 25 years & 5 snare drums ago.

Loved this method. Got a fairly basic snare - Maple Decade - and with 8 lugs - but I just improvised and went 1 turn up and the 2 top lugs and about 1.5 down on the 2 bottom lugs, and loving the sound - exactly what I was looking for!

I was very skeptical at first but staying patient and watching the whole thing proved to be worth it. Thank you!

Well my snare is still ringing like hell, need to use dampers but still using this technique it's very easy to quickly get various tones... Nice one!

IT WORKED AMAZINGLY! Billie Jean's snare revealed!!!

used this technique on a friend's snare a few weeks ago, was tuning his whole kit. it sounded fucking phenomenal! this is genius!

mind.blown. I've been tuning/thinking about snare tuning all wrong for YEARS...such a good method.

I just wanted to thank you for putting this video on...Genius idea....I just tuned my snare according to the video and it sounds FANTASTIC...This saved me so much time, now going to a new venue, my time in tuning my snare is nill....Thanks again, Stephen I've been playing over forty years, with this tuning method I could have saved myself so much time and frustration....WOW.

Wow, I thought you were crazy when you loosened those lugs, but it actually looks like it's a great idea. Thanks, I'm gonna give it a try.

I have never ever heard of this in all my years of playing. This is the coolest trick ever.!! Man...this is great!

Everything I have learned about tuning a snare just went out the window with this video! Nicely done. It just goes to show that you don't have to conform to the norm!

Nicely done! Bravo, sir!

You look like if Serj Tankien played drums 😄 great job man. You made my snare sound so much better

I was very skeptical at first but amazed at the end. Great way to tune your snare !

Worked for me on a pearl export snare and coated drumhead. This tip is amazing! Will recommend! For snares with only 8 lugs, just use the two lateral ones for tone instead of the four he said.

At first I was thinking yeah yeah right... and by the end of the video I was amazed at how well this works lol!

I don't even own a kit and still watched this video

I've seen a Lot of screwed up ways to tune a drum, but this one takes the cake. Take a little pride and caution tuning your drums. I actually had to watch the first of this video again to make sure he actually started out cranking the first tension rod 4-1/2 turns! Unbelievable

This actually WORKED!!!! My snare was ringing like crazy and now it's PHAT!

Thanks Serj!

bloody genius.

I run two snares on my kit, Tried this with 42 strand and it sounds awesome. really like that fat sound...Thanks

i ve been looking at a few different ways and surprised on how many but i really like the control of this one and no muffle required

This is how I tuned my snare when I was 12 years old and still do it the same way now at 37

From your thumbnail, I thought you were Serj Tankian for a sec 😜

Thanks for increasing my knowledge, the way you can tune for both high and dry and low tones. My Ludwig 402 has never sounded so good. Thanks.

I find that any information someone gives you to improve your sound it is always worth the try. It may work for you or it may not, however I did play around with this method and i did find out that when I loosened the bottom 2 lugs that I could control the overtones much better. Thanks for the post!!

I actually have 42 snares as well, and table-tight bottom didn't work for me. Snares resonated too much. But what helper, was loosing four screws around snares on the bottom! Top scheme works great though!

Works perfectly. Grab a spare snare to have set up this way. Who wouldn't want VERY DIFFERENT snare sounds from song to song? No overtones for the sound man to have to gate and compress the hell out of. Everybody of any worth carries 2 snares to the gig.....why not take one that is proven to work for MANY PEOPLE over many years without warpage of the hoops nor the shell? Most drummers that insist on live and open drums end up with your kit simply being triggered out front to get great sounds in 2 seconds. SOMEONE has to do it.

I was a professional drummer for over 35 years. Why have I never seen this before? BRILLIANT! Mind officially blown.

Just figured out how to make this work with an 8 lug snare +1.5 on the top two -1.5 on the bottom two left and right pairs can be used for tone Awesome video!

Thank you Serj Tankian. I thought you were full time vocalist for System of a Down

This is totally insane

It makes sense. I already do all that on the bottom but the batter tuning is quite unorthodox. Gonna try it. Notice he has a forty strand wire. I highly recommend that, especially for deeper drums. That's a deep one.

I know this is an old video but… mind blown!!! I can’t believe how good this method sounds. I’ve always took so long to get to tune a snare to perfect to the point it drives me nuts some times lol. This is the best trick indeed

Oh man those hi-hats are massive.

thanks for the tricky

Totalmente agradecido! I tunning my snare everytime I play. but with this, it will be so easy. Thanks! Ya quiero probar y afinar la caja de mi batería... Saludos desde Chile!

Fantastic approach to tuning and modifying to desired tones. Well done and thank you!

This is the greatest snare drum tuning trick, and I'm a guitar player!

I do this by tuning my snare how I like and I tweak one tension rod

I try it yet on my Pearl Masters Birch and the sounds amazing. Three screws controlled your overtones! Thanks a lot man!

Danke Udo Masshoff! Zum ersten Mal habe ich genau den Snaresound, den ich will!

This is awesome

Will you teach me to football? Lol, good shit man. I'm so glad I stumbled upon ur video.

Simply Awesome....Simple to do, Great Results. Just try it!!!!

Thank you for taking the time to share this technique. Snare drum tuning can be tough and really comes down to personal feel, sound and the gig you're on. I do wish, however that us drummers could support ideas instead of all the critical comments, which are not feed back nor helpful at all. Thanks Again.

dang he’s like super stoked

Awesome video. I am always looking to improve my tuning abilities. A few questions. 1) Will this tuning hold over an entire gig or session, or do you recommend going over the lugs between every song? 2) I am also concerned about hoop or shell warping with this method. Is this save over the long term? 3) You don't find a need to fine tune either the bottom or top? I noticed you did go around the bottom head once (and it sounded pretty damn even), but is there ever a time when you would modify them beyond all one (or two) turns past just gripping on the bottom? 4) I would also love to see a video for how you tune a kick, rack, and floor toms. Thanks for posting this!!!

My favorite damping control so far, thank you very many. My old funky daddyo used a similar technique for a slightly other purpose; to make a tom into three different pitches. Could be interesting for further experimentation

My snare sounded like crap at first until I came across this video,thank you for showing that trick.now if I need help with my snare I can come back to this video

I'm actually so glad I watched the video before I ruined my snare drum and heads!

"Let's do one turn" +Does 3, 4 or 5 turns randomly

Mindblown. Seriously.

You're my hero! I've been looking for a good snare drum tuning for a long time! Finally found it!

I tried this twice and kept it setup this way for a few gigs and one recording session. Verdict? It's a very creative and cool way to control the tone and pitch of your snare drum very quick and easily. HOWEVER... If you play hard rock music and you severely abuse your snare with power like I do "a la Dave Grohl", then this setup is not for you. That bottom lug is just going to keep loosening every time you hit your snare, which is already a problem I have with normal tuning, it just happens even more so and much faster using this method. I can imagine this tuning would work great for a softer player or a style of music, like jazz or funk, but for Rock I hate to say that this just doesn't last. Not unless you plan on having some sort of tuning lock/mechanism of some kind. Also... This "Tuning Trick" puts a lot of uneven and unnecessary stress on the head, warping it in different directions with drastically different tensions. Don't expect it to last very long if you do this to it. Want a dryer sound? Just buy the proper head for your style of play and genre of music. I love a dry/cracky Nirvana/STP type snare so I use an Evans Genera Dry with vents that kill overtones, and then I tighten it to shit everywhere and voila. The perfect snare sound.

Does it matter how the wires are positioned in relation to the top head?

Definitely going to try it on my snare. Worth it! 🙌🏼🙌🏼

I tuned my Tom's like this with less tension! and it worked bravo man good stuff..

How does this affect the wear and tear of the heads? Seems like they would have significantly worse durability with uneven tuning like that. Definitely sounds good though.

I have a Pearl Signature Joey Jordison snare 13x6.5" snare, and i tried you method Sir, and it seems it didn't work put quite a bit.. Could you kindly make a demo for 8 lug snare please.. Thanks in advance..

This tutorial is awesome! Gonna use this during gigs for sure

Never seen this before, excited to go try it out on my kit. Thanks!

what kind of sorcery is this???? is amazing!!!!!!!

Throwing a tea towel over the snare has a similar effect.

I can't like this enough. It's an awesome tuning method.

The video really helped me to tune my Mapex snare drum

Can you make a video on tuning your Tom-Toms and Bass Drum?

Dude! That's impressive!! Will try asap! ;D

This is great ! Congrats for sharing this fantastic method which will give much more options for our playing

so nice,this will make every drummer in the world quickly prepared before a song start in gig or concert.THUMBS UP!😃👍

I love this, but I’m also concerned about the fact that people might try this on not so premium drums and they might bend their ring, is that an actual issue here? 😮

Wow, great ingenuity! probably the single most effective tuning tip I have found to date. Fucking great indeed!

Just tried it out. WOW does it work ! Genius. THANKS

48 in 6 days. I am done with air drums. Going to get a snare today. First video I watched and I don’t know who this fine very interesting and intelligent man is, but I am very elated to get my snare. I hope he he is well in this world! Thank you kind man. 🧝🏼‍♀️✌🏼