Tension Rod Drum Tuning Hack | Season Six, Episode 51
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- Опубликовано: 3 июн 2024
- A lot of drummers associate perfectly balanced tension with a drum being “in tune” with itself. We’ve experimented with challenging this notion in the past but today we’re taking it to an extreme with some great results.
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PRODUCTION PARTNERS:
GIK Acoustics (sonic treatment): sladl.ink/GIK
AKG Audio (microphones): sladl.ink/AKG
Evans Drumheads: sladl.ink/EvansDrumheads
ProMark Drumsticks: sladl.ink/ProMarkDrumsticks
Signal chain:
Mics - Focusrite Clarett 8Pre USB- Mac Studio w/Pro Tools 2024.3.1
Recorded at 48kHz / 24bit
Microphones: Pair of AKG C314 in Recorderman Configuration sladl.ink/C314Pair
Toms: AKG C518M sladl.ink/C518M
Kick Drum: AKG D12VR sladl.ink/AKGD12VR
Snare: AKG C518M sladl.ink/C518M
Acoustic Treatment:
GIK 242 Acoustic Panels: sladl.ink/GIK242
GIK 4A Alpha Pro Series Diffusor/Absorber: sladl.ink/GIK4aAlphaPro
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GIK Tri-Trap Corner Bass Trap: sladl.ink/GIKTriTrap
Drums:
Pearl Masters Maple Custom Extra, 70s Ludwig Supraphonic
Cymbals:
22” Jesse Simpson clone of old Zildjian A, 15" Zildjian Prototype Hihats
Drumheads:
Snare: Evans G12 Coated, Strata 1000. / Snare Side 300
Toms: Evans UV2 Coated / G1 Clear
Kick Drum: Evans UV EMAD / EQ3 Coated Reso
Hosted by: Cody Rahn
Production & Consulting: Ben O'Brien Smith @ Cadence Independent Media
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it's wild, when you first played the toms before the big reveal I was thinking "damn, those toms sound good, I should say something in the comments about them"
Glad you enjoyed the sound! It’s also important to call attention to the heads used on the toms (even though the gear is listed on the description). Those are the two-ply Evans UV2, which we’ve scarcely used on this channel. The extra mass and rigidity of the film is excellent for lower tunings and really laying into the drums (they’re not as responsive for lower volume playing). I chose to go with these specifically because I thought their performance attributes would be fitting for demonstrating this effect on toms. Single-ply heads likely would have needed to be tuned higher (pitch wise) to accommodate the drop in tension/pitch and may still have delivered a unique growl. -Ben
Many of my drummer friends and I have occasionally used this trick since the 1970s. I wouldn't normally "choose" it to create my sound, but a good use case is.... For whatever reason, you have to set up at the last minute for a gig, and when you do, you find that the room is causing too much resonance. Loosening (or removing) one tension rod is that quick fix to get you through at least the first set, with no problems.
I've been doing a version of this for years. Not completely taking it out but doing a variant of Udo Masshof's technique. Such controle, much sounds, many wow.
No problems with hoops or drums going out of round.
Really interesting little hack. I do wonder if there could be issues with long term use warping hoops, especially thinner triple flanged hoops.
On another note: I often hear in articles or videos or conversations about having drums be louder, cut more clearly, punch through the mix, etc. A lot of us, however (me included) work in spaces where volume is an issue, but we still want good drum sounds under the mics and playability. I wonder if you guys could go down that rabbit hole? I have a lot of experience in this area and have found some really great results, while also recognizing the compromises necessary to achieve these goals. I'd love to see a series where you guys experiment with heads, drum sizes, damping, and other tricks to lower volume while still having them be DRUMS.
As always, thanks for great content regardless. 🤘
What a great sound! The ring diminished, but to me the body and fullness of the sound increased. Definitely going to experiment with this on my 60’s Slingerland snare!
This was fascinating!!!! Such an awesome trick!!!!
AWESOME! This is why I love this channel! TY
I was gonna say your toms sound great in this video, was looking at the mic placements and so on but just before you said you removed a tension rod from the tom I saw in side view then it all made sense 🙌🏼 Now sending this to my producer friends 😄
Marvelous! That's a trick that I'm definitely going to try. Thanks as always, guys. Another fascinating video!
When you mentioned that your removed the tension rod from the rack tom it made me wonder about the well known issue of Gretsch toms having only 5 lugs. I wonder how that compares.
It would be an interesting comparison. The 5 lug Gretsch toms are evenly spaced, but it might be that having fewer tension rods overall makes it easier to get a lower pitched tuning while still maintaining tension on the head.
Far too many drummers THINK that every tension rod needs to be tuned to equal pitch. What they DON'T know is that strategic DETUNING is the key to a nice, fat drum sound, usually without any additional damping required. I've been doing this on my snare, toms, and even bass drum for many years. I'll never actually remove a rod, but I'd make it pretty loose! Onstage, I have a tuning key, on the farthest tension rod away from my right hand, to detune down OR up between tunes, for different tonality and feel. Once you understand the basic rules of tuning drums, you can break them at will.
I was thinking to myself the whole video "Damn the toms sound so amazing and different in this video" I thought it was something in the mix, heads, or tuning. BTW the snare W/O the lug sounded really awesome, until the side by side snare comparison. I found the snare with all lugs had more punch and attack, but also rings a lot more. I'm going to try this out, as I'm a pretty hard hitter on my snare and it may just have the punch and attack with one bottom lug missing. Very cool guys!
I have heard detuning one or two tension rods on concert toms can help give you the pitch bend of double headed toms
It's a good trick, but one thing to watch out for is taking hoops and even a drum itself out of round by leaving the drum like this for a long time. It can happen when the head is very tight. You can see this happen quite often on concert toms and vintage drumset style bongos as well.
My ideal Tom sound honestly.
these are the best sounding toms yet...
What was your favorite aspect of the sound? What stuck out as unique?
@@SoundsLikeADrum the volume was obvious, and the thump of the tone is what i like!!!
I've detuned several rods before, after seeing a tuning hack video from Mr Greb, but I've never taken one fully out. i imagine the results are fairly similar.
only to a snare though. I'm considering trying it out on a floor tom.
it's also important to reiterate that a hoop with fewer tension points will hold a lower tension better than a hoop with more.
Personally, I thought the missing lug snare sounded like a snare drum should sound!. I have often felt that on this channel, which is UNBELIEVABLY good, That the snare drum sounds weak and thin, maybe a bit choked. Maybe it is just my taste, but I have never thought "what a great snare sound!" This time I did. A Really great snare sound. You have big shoulders, so no offense.
Couple of thoughts for you though, from an old guy. Ludwig Supraphonics all have this built in feature. One lug always loosens there where your stick hits the rim if using med or med low tunings. Bonham would be about med to slightly below med. tuning. I never minded the sound when the lug goes slack, just the change in pitch. So in the future, I will just tune the other lugs up and leave that one loose instead of wrenching between songs. LOL! What a logical thing to do.
Back in the late 70's or early 80's MD had articles that talked of the "studio trick" of loosening one lug on the toms to fatten them up for the mics and dropping the pitch controlling resonance. Too much ring, ahem DW, and you need to start muffling. Lots. So much for shell pitches. Stamp, stamp. Again, LOL!
I had but ONE drum kit for combo jazz, Big Band and R&B/Rock gigs I did for years as a high schooler and college student from like 1978 until 1991. 5x14, 13,16, 22 '66 Ludwigs. So I would get around the tuning issue particularly on the bass drum, which was not padded, but just a felt strip on each head about 1/3 the way up from the bottom. When I played rock or funk R and B, I would always loosen the top two claws on the bass drum to fatten things and get rid of too much blossom of tone that I loved in the big band setting. I did a lot of that kind of playing. Again, one kit! I don't think I ever did much with the front head. Sometime a leather jacket would be piled up against the head next to the pedal to get a really punchy sound. I still do this in big band settings when a more modern tune or rock thing is in the set with all the Mel Lewis and Basie charts. Just keep a small towel handy and drop a lug or two. Works great for feel on that rock and roll pedal, funk basher stuff!
Toms: Sometimes I will HAVE to get rid of sustain and I will dial down one lug on the reso side until the drum stops making the room shake or the pictures to fall off the walls. Oh yeah, did I talk about pitch marked shells? O.k. I will shut up when John sends me a kit. :) Like, right!
Lastly, I do jazz clinics and being a music store repair guy I often get tagged to go out to schools for jazz fests and tune all the drum kits for the festival that I also clinic at. It has happened more than once that I clear the heads and get everything perfectly pitched and IT SOUNDED BETTER TO MY EAR BEORE I DID THAT! So throwing a lug out, is the magic sauce more often than not!
Remember, if it sounds good, it is good. So...............Thanks for a great show. Again!
Hey, Cody!
Got a question for you regarding previous videos:
After the videos you made about them, did you ever use the Masshof tuning method or the Questlove tape trick in real life? Have they been useful?
Thanks for your sharing your knowledge!
Looking forward to trying this on my inexpensive PDP set and snare to get a new more interesting sound!
i removed half the tension rods on my supra and bd bc i liked a heavy sound and 20 lugs on a 22 bd is ridiculous anyway. theyd loosen up and rattle.
Thats why i dont overthink on equal tension on every lug the most important for me is how tight my top or bottom head than the other..
This seems like a very similar concept to the ASBA JRRobinson snare drum that you featured a couple of years ago. The movable tensioning system allowed a very uneven approach to the tension if I recall correctly.
ruclips.net/video/pbdSS9nP7WA/видео.html
Excellent point! The idea of asymmetrical tensioning is wildly interesting when it comes to the impact on overtones. It would be really interesting to take this concept further and experiment with ensuring balanced tension around the head in the absence of a single tension rod. That might be difficult, if not impossible, in this pitch range.
Try it with a triple flanged hoop! The effect is better when the hoop can flex a bit.😊
We did! The second set of demos is all with the triple flange hoops on the Supraphonic and the toms of the kit (plus the wooden hoop on the kick!).
I have seen a video like this before with this guy detuning 3 lugs to get different sounds, i dont remember the name of the video sadly
Yep, we’ve covered this method in a previous episode. It’s commonly referred to as the Masshoff Tuning Method.
Isn’t detuning a die cast hoop kind of risky? Don’t they permanently warp over time, if the tension is not equally distributed?
This is very true, you should not do it to die-cast hoops
The Pearl snare with die cast hoops used in this episode was left with a missing tension rod for multiple weeks without issue. Your mileage may vary. We've done all sorts of wild experiments with mismatched tension with a variety of hoops and have yet to experience any adverse effects, including warped hoops.
Imo it has a much throatier sound minus the lug. Very very cool
That great Gretsch sound: just unscrew one rod from your regular die cast hoop drum. Thank me later.
does it matter which Tension Rod you remove ?
It can certainly make a difference, as we mentioned our experimentation and choice of tension rods within the episode.
Was the rod removed from the batter or the resonant head?
Batter side
@@SoundsLikeADrum Thanks, I only asked because you mentioned "away from the snare bed".
The most interessting thing for me is....once more....that absolute perfection...a100%....is mostly not the best. ..something about 90% seems to bea magical point....like in the Yin and Yang.sign/picture....
This +/- 9:1 relation appearse pritty often....about 10% are left handed....about 10% of the people in gail are women....time in school or at work and vacation is about that relation...a.s.o.......
I've often thought,that my drums sounded better after a little playing....after having tuned them as good,or even,as possible.....and maybe that's because normaly the rods next to you,especially if you play a lot of rim shots,get slowly loose and leads to the point ,where you started your experimentation in this episode.....so...a very interessting issue....thanks a lot !
I tried this, and it sounded like total a**. Oh well, took 15 seconds to set it back to where it was, no harm done. 🤷🏼♂️
Good for you for giving it a shot!
One of the kick drum claws is missing was that on purpose ?didnt see the others only the kick lol
Yep- as we mentioned, we removed a tension rod from each of the drums.