Drumming tips? please (edited)

[Jsun76]

If you are having trouble getting your toms to sound right, try Evans EC2 batter heads. They are super easy to tune and sound awesome.

http://accessories.musiciansfriend.com/ ... sku=443184

[slackin@dabass]

i personally like the sound of evans g2 coateds on my toms, and a good old remo ambassador on the snare. i tune my toms pretty low. i get the wrinkles out, and tune just until i start to hear some resonance. then, i even out the pitch of each lug. on the bottom heads, i tune them about a fifth above the batter. they sound a little weird without miking it up, but the second you put it through a PA, they sound awsome.

kick drum, on the other hand. i took robthedrummer's advice and got an aquarian superkick 2 batter for it, and it has the stock front head (remo powerstroke 3) and i don't put anything in it. it rattles the windows in my dining room without miking. it's 18x22 and sounds massive.

john bonham didn't muffle any of his drums, so neither do i.

as for getting better. rudiments. utilizing rudiments and fundamentals around the kit is key. watch robthedrummer's channel on youtube. watch any instructional video you can get your hands on and try to apply what they teach you. it takes tons of work to be good, but you can also be satisfied in knowing that no matter how good you are, you can always be better. listen to ringo, man. he had it down. might not have been the most flashy drummer, but his sense of time and playing for the song were impeccable. with a world full of mike portnoy and joey jordison clones, we need more ringo starr's. and i say that as a bass player

it's been said. a drummer that plays in the pocket will get more work than one that basically plays nothing but solos and fills through every song.

just my 2 cents

[Blaine]

Sweet! I hope it all works out for you. Drums can be a frustrating thing at times....But its all worth it in the end because they are also the funnest thing! A few more tuning tips if you didnt already know these...

Always tighten or loosen your lugs in a "star or atleast close to a starlike" pattern. You dont ever wanna tighten or loosen each lug that is next to the one you just did.

Also...When you are tuning "brand new" heads....You will get a "crackling" sound while tightening. The best thing to do is "gradually" (1/4 of a turn) tighten these till the "crackling" is gone. What I do is stand or press hard on the drum after so many turns and this helps get the crackling out of the way. Once that crackling is gone....your drums will stay in tune better and longer. Thats definitely the most time i ever wrote "crackling". LOL!

Have a good one!

Yeah, I knew not to tighten them right in a row every other one. But I couldnt ever get that crackling to top for a while. I think I got them tuned pretty good right now I think as good as i will get it to be until I get the other tuning key. Thank you.

[Blaine]

Blaine,

Lots of great advice offered here.

I will echo what others have said about size of your kit doesnt matter. I agree scaling your kit down will force you to focus on the basics. You do not need more than you have currently. That includes any genre of music you are playing. There are different methods of motivation to use; private/online lessons, youtube, copping fills or grooves from a favourite drummer, expanding on your current skill set, just to name a few. Be creative. For every ounce you put into practice, you will get two ounces out of it down the road.

Tuning is a whole other animal often overlooked by drummers. CCdrums, a board member here, has a fantastic method of tuning. There is no "correct method" for tuning, but there are correct rules, ie, even tuning of tension rods around the shell. There is a whole wealth of information on the web and some of the players here are very knowledgeable, as well. Head selection is probably the largest factor of getting "your sound". Some may disagree. I personally like G2s/G1 for toms, tuned correctly these give a warm sound with plenty of attack and depth. I also like ambassadors for a more open, musical tone. It all depends on your playing situation and what the music calls for. Another common thing drummers do is tune to JAW (just above wrinkle). Drums tuned to JAW is all but a "dead" sounding drum. I understand the reasons for tuning that way because common sense would lead you to think the lower its tuned, the lower the pitch. To a certain extent that is true. BUT, if you tune perhaps an 1/8 of turn on each lug past JAW, you will hear the drum come to life and actually have more depth, punch, warmth and projection. Same applies for the kick drum.

Drums are meant to ring. I may anger some guys who use moongel and e rings, but all that does is defeat the purpose of what the drum is suppose to do, in general. You will be hard pressed to find many pro drummers who use these materials. The sound can be achieved with proper tuning. Some small amounts of moongel are ok to reduce an overly annoying or ringing drum in the studio (mostly on the snare). Moongel and e rings are great if you are trying to quiet your drums a bit for practice or in your home, but in a live situation - errrrrnk! Dont do it.

Without even hearing your kick drum, I would guess it sounds like a cardboard box with 2 large pillows in it.

Also, one last thing to keep in mind as far as drum sound. What the audience hears is entirely different than what you hear. You must tune for the audience if you are a gigging drummer. If you think I am wrong, try having a friend play your kit while you stand 20 feet in front of it. Hit a tom that is "dead" and hit one that is tuned properly and decide for yourself which one sounds better. Throw in a full band and the dead drums are going to sound even more lifeless.

Tuning is an acquired skill and it takes practice as much as developing your playing skill set. Knowing how to properly tune your drums makes you a more complete drummer too. Experiment. The more you experiment, the more you will learn what works and doesnt work for you.

Best of lcuk

Thanks for the advice. Well my bass sounds pretty good I have the one pillow on the bottom and then I have the other stuck to the top they are not stacked. I will also have to try to tine my drums like that.

[Blaine]

i personally like the sound of evans g2 coateds on my toms, and a good old remo ambassador on the snare. i tune my toms pretty low. i get the wrinkles out, and tune just until i start to hear some resonance. then, i even out the pitch of each lug. on the bottom heads, i tune them about a fifth above the batter. they sound a little weird without miking it up, but the second you put it through a PA, they sound awsome.

kick drum, on the other hand. i took robthedrummer's advice and got an aquarian superkick 2 batter for it, and it has the stock front head (remo powerstroke 3) and i don't put anything in it. it rattles the windows in my dining room without miking. it's 18x22 and sounds massive.

john bonham didn't muffle any of his drums, so neither do i.

as for getting better. rudiments. utilizing rudiments and fundamentals around the kit is key. watch robthedrummer's channel on youtube. watch any instructional video you can get your hands on and try to apply what they teach you. it takes tons of work to be good, but you can also be satisfied in knowing that no matter how good you are, you can always be better. listen to ringo, man. he had it down. might not have been the most flashy drummer, but his sense of time and playing for the song were impeccable. with a world full of mike portnoy and joey jordison clones, we need more ringo starr's. and i say that as a bass player

it's been said. a drummer that plays in the pocket will get more work than one that basically plays nothing but solos and fills through every song.

just my 2 cents

I am trying to learn some technics. I have gottten a little better. I used to follow joey but now I am folowing matt mingus and travis barker.

[Jones]

Your drum set is not holding you back, you dont need 15 pieces to play.
A pocket drummer will get more work than a busy drummer starting out.

Less is more. Learn to do it on the smaller kit and you'll be a better player for it.
BTW, thanks Dave, that's a pretty cool list to be a part of.