So if you’ve read my other posts, you’ll understand that I’m trying to express my thoughts and opinions on how to create a great worship experience with the drums. One of the biggest obstacles to overcome can be the simplest: Drum Tuning.
Tuning is almost as important as playing the drums themselves. All of us have different tastes as individuals, especially with snares, but I’d like to challenge you to “get over” those tastes. Its not about us, its about connecting as many of God’s people to worship. So what do most people like for a drum sound? The “radio” drum sound. In 99% percent of the most popular songs, you’ll find this sound. I’m talking about a big, warm snare that has some depth to it that’s mostly mid-range in tone. The bass drum that’s about 65% attack and 35% boom. And the toms should be nice and tight with good mid to low ranges for tone.
Now most of this will depend on the room, your sound system, and the set you have already in place. I think a good sound can be achieved from most kits. It might take some more time though. I’d also suggest grabbing the sound person and worship leader to talk about the desired sound and to also have them on hand for instant feedback.
So let’s break it down piece by piece.
Snare drum tuning
So most of us will most likely be working with standard size snares (14″ x 5-6.5″). (Piccolo snare most likely are not going to cut it without some serious muffling.) First of all head selection is key. You’ll need to find a batter head that’s coated that’ll also provided some strength and durability. We use the Evans Coated Center Reverse Dot (ECCRD) heads and the Evans Genera HD (EGHD) dry heads. The coating on both heads gives a little extra warmth to the sound than an uncoated head. The ECCRD we use on our metal shelled snares and we we use the EGHD on our wood shells. The snare side heads are usually an easy selection. You’ll want to choose a hazy head like the Evans Hazy snare side 300.
For the snare drum tuning, you want to keep in mind that deeper and lower is better, but you’ll still need a head that has some play or rebound. Usually I go from even finger tight tension to medium to medium high tension. I usually also place an Evans e ring or Remo O ring on the snare to cut down on the high end ring. Moon gels work great too.
Bass drum tuning
Most likely you’re playing with a 22″ bass drum. Due to the size, and desire to get a great sound with attack and a little bit of boom, I would suggest a double ply head with some type of muffling built in. The Evans Emad system is great. It provides muffling that is adjustable right against the head. With this head, I usually place a small pillow on the bottom of the drum that touches only the batter side head. I also suggest the Evans EQ4 head with some open cell foam lining the entirety of the the shell. With this configuration I wouldn’t suggest placing a pillow at all. The foam allows the low end of the shell to resonate while dampening the high end.
For bass drum tuning, you’re going to to want medium tension on the batter head. The resonant head should also be at a medium tension but slighty tighter than the batter head.
Tuning toms
Toms can be a little bit more flexible in terms of tuning in terms of range. You’ll want to stay in the medium, medium low range down to low. The attack, focus, and clarity of tone are the most important here. Heads here can be either coated or uncoated, but should be double ply for strength and focus. Depending on what type of wood your kit uses will probably determine that though. (Birch and Oak can be cooler and dryer with a more focused attack, while Maple is warmer with more resonance.) For our kits, we use the Evans EC2 heads for the toms. They have alot of strength and durability to them and have built in muffling for control. (They might sound cold to the ear, but are usually far more focused through the sound system.) For a bit more warmth, I’d suggest the Evans G2 heads. Great resonance and warmth all around. They are better suited for a room that allows the ambience of the drums.
For tuning toms, you’ll want medium tension for the top head with medium to mediumhigh tension for the bottom head. You’ll have to adjust the resonant head till you get that focused even resonance from the toms. I would personally suggest starting with your floor tom and working your way up. My rule is that if you use it more, give it the attention it needs first.
Overall drum kit
Now that you’ve gotten everything tuned, play the entire kit to see how the tones compliment each other. Make sure your snare tension is good and not buzzing with the other toms and bass. Also check with your sound person and worship leader to see how it sounds in the room. Sometimes little tweaks make a big difference. Once you have a good drum kit sound, the rest is about mic placement and EQing.
Weekly drum kit tuning
I would also suggest that your church get into a habit of checking the drum kit weekly. We check both of our kits through the sound system every week before practice for any issues that may have occured over the weekend. While it may seem like overkill, it helps us to identify any problems that have occured from the weekend and gives us plenty of time to address them before the next weekend.
If you have anything that you’d like to add or comment on, please feel free to post below.
