From: kauff@neit.cgd.ucar.edu (Brian Kauffman)
Subject: Re: Okay, how do you tune?
Organization: NCAR, Boulder CO
Date: Fri, 8 Jan 1993 18:24:48 GMT

> =  mhopper@emperor.gatech.edu (Michael A. Hopper) writes:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
>I was taught some basics of drum tuning in high school marching band.
>Here's what we did.
>
>	1.  Loosen lugs completely.
>	2.  Use fingers to tighten lugs as much as possible.
>	3.  Use fingers to tighten a little more by pressing on the
>	    drum rim with free hand with about 10 lbs of weight.
>	3.  Use drum key and tighten lugs 1/2 of a turn.
>	4.  Test tonality of drum with hand or stick.
>	5.  Repeat steps 3 and 4 until desired pitch is achieved.

I think this is a good start, but I'll add some mods:

  1.  Loosen lugs completely.  Screws & rim should be wobbly and you 
      should be able to spin the head around easily.
  2.  Use fingers to tighten lugs as much as possible.  Tighten two opposite 
      lugs simultaneously to keep the head level on the drum.  Tighten lugs 
      equally and incrementally to keep the rim/head level.  
  3.  Continue to tighten lugs using a drum key.  Use a star pattern and 
      tighten lugs evenly and incrementally -- only 1/4 to 1/2 turn at a time.  
      Occasionally, press firmly in the center of the drum so that the head 
      will stretch & settle in to it's new tightness.
  4.  When head is tight enough to hit, continue tightening, but frequently 
      check the tone (see below).  
      [!!!] While tightening/tuning any given drum/head combination, you 
      will eventually encounter an obvious "sweet spot" in lug tightness.  
      The drum/head combination will become exceptionally resonate & rich 
      in tone.  This is the basic resonate pitch of the drum/head combination.  
      Unless you have a special effect in mind, this is roughly the tone 
      you're looking for.  You might go beyond the sweet spot slightly, 
      and then back off when you notice what has happened.
      You can't get *any* pitch from *any* given drum, you must work
      with what you have, although you can make substantial differences
      by using different drum heads.
  5.  Repeat step 4 until basic resonate pitch is achieved.  
  6.  Repeat steps 1 to 5 for the bottom head and all other toms.
  7.  Fine tune drum by making minor adjustments, perhaps making desired 
      pitch differences between top/bottom heads, or between different toms.

  Checking the tone:    
  a) prep the head by pressing firmly on the head to force the head to
     quickly stretch out & settle in at it's current tightness.
  b) test & correct for even pitch/tightness among lugs.  Check each lug by
     hitting the head about 1 inch away from each lug.  The tone should 
     be nearly equal next to each lug, lower tones indicate a looser lug.  
     Correcting for unequal tightness shouldn't require more than about 
     a 1/2 turn.
  c) Check overall tonality by hitting the drum as you would when playing.
     Notice if the drum head pitch is in tune with the resonate frequency
     of the drum shell.

-Brian
  
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