Tuning Toms Cont'd

6) Now go around the rim, turning each tension rod a quarter of a turn until all the wrinkles are out of the drum. You are not trying to achieve tone at this point. All you are doing is getting the wrinkles out of the head.

NOTE: As you tighten each rod, turn the drum key so that you feel eaqual tension on each tension rod. You may have to tighten some of the rods more at points where there is a wrinkle. Tilting the drum so the head reflects the light will help you see them.

7) At this point it is time to achieve tone. Hit the drum. It should not sound like hitting a piece of paper. The drum should have sustain and tone. If it doesn't, go around the rim in the star pattern, turning each rod about a quarter turn. You won't need to tighten very much at this point. Usually one more pass will do.

8) Hit the drum again. At this point it should not sound like hitting a piece of paper. It should have sustain to it. That is the natural sound of the tom.

NOTE: If you hear the tom ringing, do not use any dampeners. We will take care of that in the following steps.

Hit the bottom and tops heads of the drum. They should be at the same pitch. This allows them to resonate at the same or almost the same frequency which will eliminate any ringing.

You don't want to use dampeners on your toms. In a recording situation sustain is good. It gives the tom body so that it won't be killed by all the other instruments in the song. If you dampen the heads, tom fills will be dull and lifeless (reverb will not fix it).

Very rarely will your bottom heads need to be changed so you can go ahead and loosen them then repeat the steps for tuning the top heads then hit the top and bottom heads. If the pitch of the two are identical, then you're finished with that drum. If they differ, MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO THE BOTTOM HEAD until the pitch of the two heads are the same. Do not mess with the top head, we have that one where it should be.

After completing the toms, you are now ready for the snare and kick (bass drum). These two drums are the ones that form the identity of your drum sound. Just like famous guitar players are know for their sound by their amps, you will be known for your sound by your kick and snare.