Over the last two or three decades, more and more drummers have advanced from anonymous obscurity to garner greater slices of the spotlight. Even as sidemen, more are seen as unique and integral to their bands' respective identities. Rightfully, much of these drummers' growing distinction comes from how they play. But some of it is from how they sound. To a degree, we define our musical identities by how we tune our drums. Tuning is matter of taste- it's personal. And since tuning serves musical self-expression, anything goes, no rules dictate what constitutes a "good" drums sound. However, the laws of acoustics and some common-sense principles do govern how various sonic properties are produce or avoided. Also, when general tuning trends change, as they have over the years, most drummers will want some general guidelines on how to produce the drum sound du jour, whether or not they immediately choose to do so. So what' hot right now? Remember when you thought bell-bottoms and platform shoes could never in a million years come back into fashion?, tuning is becoming more contextual-that is, customized for particular songs and situations instead of a real or imagined industry-wide consensus. He also says that record producer are looking for new sound and approaches that will distinguish a given project from the crowd. This flexibility raises new opportunities for musical expression, as well as additional responsibility to be able to produce not one great sonic picture, but several.

THE BIG PICTURE

Producing a god drum sound needn't be difficult, but by virtue of the number of factors involved, it is complex. The key to success is to never view any factor in isolation, but to keep in mind how the factors affect each other-their interaction. For discussion purposes, the way in which these factors interact fall conveniently into the following three categories, or interaction levels.

1. SOUND COMPONENTS

The basic components of drum sound interact. These include: Pitch- the sound's highness or lowness: tone-the sound' brightness or darkness(determined by harmonic content) sustain-the sound's length of resonance: articulation-the sound's attack definition: and projection-the sound's carrying power. Tow related properties that don't directly affect the sound, but which are acted upon by the others, are stick response and drumhead durability.(Chart 1 illustrates number of ways each of these components are influenced.)

2. PARTS OF THE DRUMS:

The tension at each lug interacts with the tension at other lugs-as do the top head with the bottom, both heads with the shell with the hardware, and the frequencies of each drum with those of every other.

3. THE PLAYING ENVIROMENT:

Drum sound interact with room acoustic-the relative sonic reflectiveness or absorbency of the floor, ceiling, walls, furniture, and people in the room-and they interact with the air, that is, the distance the sound must travel. And yes, as if this isn't already complicated enough, factors in each of these mayor levels do interact with factors in the other two. But take heart. None of the principles involved in tuning are individually difficult, and most fall right in step with a common-sense view of the instrument. If you are undecided about how to tune your drums, analyze the qualities of your favorite players' drum sound. Do their drums sound high or low pitched, bright or mellow? Is their attack sharp or rounded?, then consider how that sound might be modified to better reflect your personality, tastes, and technique, as well as the physical characteristics of your kit.

The part of a drum most responsible for the sound it produces, and the one over which we have the most control, is the head. For many years most drumset heads were made of calfskin. While they still have a few diehard devotees, calf heads are rare and relatively expensive. The introduction of plastic heads in the late '50s eliminated some of the problems associated with calfskin, most notably its susceptibility to climatic change(hence the name of Remo's 1957 plastic head, Weather King). Over the years many interesting variations on the original Mylar head(the Polyester film material invented by Dupont)have provided new ways to modify drum sounds. Head "weight" is determined by how many plies it is made up of and the thickness of each of those plies, ply thickness is usually measured by mil(1/1000)or by gauge, with 500 gauge equal to 5 mils, in general, thick heads require greater stick impact to move and remain in motion. Because thick heads produce weaker high frequencies, they give the impression of producing a lower pitch and fatter sound than thin head at the same tension do. Thin head are generally bright and ringy with a sharp attack. ( see Chart 2).

UNCOATED HEADS Produce the maximum volume, sustain, and harmonic range.(to varying degrees, coatings, "vents", damping rings, and extra plies-and of course all muffling devices-soften or eliminate overtones.)Sustain and full harmonic richness, however, detract somewhat from perceivable attack definition(Roughtly speaking, sustain and attack definition are inversely proportional).Some people can hear subtle tonal differences among clear, hazy, and white drumheads, and among manufactures' different Mylar formulas.

COATED HEADS The obvious reason for choosing coated heads is their suitability for playing with brushes. The same "scratch" sound, though very subtle when played with sticks, is valued by some drummers, producers, and recording engineers for the crisp edge it adds to the attack, especially when close-miked. Also, the coating very subtly mellows the tone. Coating formulas, tonal qualities, and durability vary among manufactures.

"DOT" REINFORCED HEADS A circle of Mylar or fabric/plastic composite laminated to the head's main "target" area improves durability, by adding mass to the head and therefore slowing its vibration, the dot also accentuates the drum's midrange and sharpens articulation. Dot diameters and thickness vary from one model and manufacture to another.

DAMPING-RING HEADS Reversing the dot concept, a layer of damping material around the head's perimeter rounds off overtones, accentuates the drum's fundamental pitch, and enhances attack definition. Remo pioneered the modern damping ring with its Pinstripe model which possesses a thin layer of epoxy between its two seven-mill plies.

FABRIC/MYLAR-laminated heads Remo's Fiberskyn II fabric overlay results in a warm, dark sound of predominantly low and midrange frequencies.

VENTED HEADS An Evans exclusive, Dry snare and kick drum heads have tiny holes about ¾ inches, thus reducing upper harmonics with minimal effect upon physical response or attack characteristics of the drum.

DOUBLE-PLY HEADS Two head layers are better than one if you seek durability and elimination of overtones, their greater mass also vibrates slower, and therefore produces a lower pith than single-ply heads at the same tension. Stick response is slightly slower.

HYDRAULIC HEADS Oil between two plies further inhibits head vibration, making hydraulics, ironically the driest sounding heads of all, tone is almost entirely trades for enhanced attack definition, stick response is slower than that of conventional heads

MAXIMUN-DURABILITY HEADS While these heads are technically fabric/Mylar laminates, their most prominent feature is durability(employ a plastic-impregnated fiber composite, and Kevlar, used in Remo's Falam-K series, is the material used to make bulletproof vests!)Overtones reduction and stick response off maximum-durability heads varies, depending on the head's total thickness and the rigidity of the laminate material, these heads are not suitable for use with brushes.

SNARE-SIDE,TOM BOTTON AND KICK DRUM FRONT HEADS. Available in two, three, an five mil thickness, snare-side heads are thinner than batter heads, several companies offer kick drum front heads with "ports" which are holes of various sizes and positions that facilitates microphone placement and release air, therefore decreasing the interaction between heads (see chart 3). HEAD CONTITION As important as a head's type and thickness is its condition, a head that is broken, dented, pulled out(even partially) from the flesh hoop, or badly worn from use will have a noticeable negative effect on drum sound, think of changing heads as you do about changing the oil in your car, it's not how long they' been on, but how often and how hard you've been driving them.

2. HEAD THICKNESS

*Muffling primarily eliminates upper ovetones, apparently lowering pitch

UNIFORM VS. VARIED LUG TENSIONING

Uniform lug tension produce the fullest tone and greatest volume and sustain, but some drummers prefer to detune a lug or two on the batter head, usually the ones farthest from the playing area, this creates a modestly improved stick response at the playing area for the lower pitch desired, reduces ring, adds harmonic complexity that exaggerates pitch bend, and helps eliminate harmonic interaction between drums, it also decreases volume and sustain, and non-complementary lug tensions, particularly when the overall tuning is tight, result in a "sour" sounding drum, detuning a bottom head lug also helps eliminate harmonic interaction, and changing the tension of lugs nearest the snare bed on the bottom snare a little can help reduce snare buzz caused by interaction with adjacent toms. SPECIFIC DRUM TUNING AND TUNING RELATIONSHIPS

The three possible basic variations of relative tensioning between batter and bottom head-both head the same, top head tighter, and top head looser-produce somewhat reliable results. (see chart 5). Remember to adjust for differences in head type and weight, muffing, etc, As you decide how you want each drum to sound, keep in mind its role in the larger context of the entire set. The key, as before, is interaction

SIX-LUG TUNING SEQUENCE

Kick: In the '20s, '30s and '40s, kick drum sounds ranged from "boing" to boom" In the late'60s and "70s muffling gone berserk resulted in a resonance some where between a sack of flour and a refrigerator box, Ross Garfield tells us that anything goes now, but many of the drummers surveyed in the Celebrity tuning Profile want "boom" and chest-thumping definition. As with any drum, deviation form the kick shell's fundamental pitch will diminish volume, tone, and sustain, nevertheless, more drummers relinquish optimization of these qualities in the kick for a lower pitch and greater attack definition(Note that while may drummers play completely open toms, few play completely open, unmuffled kicks.) A typical approach is to loosen the batter head a little, or a lot, even to the point of causing it to wrinkle. Even without muffing, this will reduce ring and interaction between the heads while producing the attack character commonly referred to as "punchy". Snare Drum: The function is quite different from that of the other drums, the snare is the dagger to the club of the kick and toms, its sustain is naturally shorter, its attack sharper, to best serve its role as punctuator and to produce a "crack" that will pierce thorough the din of amplified instruments, both heads should be at least moderately tight, because bottom head tension determines the response of the snares, moderate to tight snare tension and a tightly tuned bottom head produce a fast, crisp sound, a looser bottom head with loose or moderate snare tension results in a mushy more "spread out" sound, a very loose top head is great for fatback, but it's a devil with stick response, because a loosely tuned snare drum's attack and pitch are less distinct from those of other instruments in the band, it will more likely need to be miked. Snare buzz: someone should put it on a bumper sticker "snare Buzz Happens" Snare wires are doing precisely what they were created to do - respond to vibration of the snare-side head- yet some drummers are traumatized when they do it sympathetically with others drums and instruments anyway. Assuming that your snare wires and snare beds are not defective, there re few solutions to snare interaction with other loud instruments short of physically isolating the drum from them. You have a little more control over other drums, whose frequencies can "set off" the snares, first identify the offending drum, try changing its position, if that doesn't work, try raising or lowering its pitch to a non-sympathetic note. Some drummers summarily reject the notion of altering their toms' tuning. Bob Gatzen's first response to snare buzz is to live with it, "Drums are an environment" he says, "and snare buzz is part of that environment". He puts this dilemma of detuning adjacent toms into perspective: Each individual has to decide whether to alter or diminish the sound of the drum he plays 95% of the time, or to change the toms, which he hits less. Prioritize the instruments. " Also try tuning the lugs immediately surrounding the snare beds up, or, more likely, down, finally only in a worst case, I'm-gonna-lose the-gig-if-I-don't-fix-it-NOW, scenario, duct tape both ends of the snares to the bottom head a couple of inches from the rim. Toms: The intrinsic harmonic complexity of a cylinder with vibrating membranes at both ends obscures exact musical pitches. Still, careful matching of top and bottom heads' fundamental pitches and strategic overtone damping will yield recognizable notes, while such notes my sound pleasantly "melodic" in one key, they may sound quite out of place in another, creating dissonance between a drum and other instruments in the band. (consider that good triangles are designed not to produce a distinct pitch to avoid conflicting with other instruments in the orchestra.) This is not to say you shouldn't try to archive recognizable notes, but do be aware of the possible "side effects". Toms' fundamental pitches are commonly tuned in various combinations of minor or mayor thirds and perfect fourths. However tom pitches relate, most drummers seek consistency among the drums' other sound properties. One tom should sound as bright or mellow, sharp or round, dry or ringy as the others, the exception of course is when a tom is used as a timbale, timpani, or concert bass drum, in such a case this character should be distinct from the "tom group" and suggestive of the instrument it is simulating. STUDIO DRUM SOUND & THE REAL WORLD In the early days of "high fidelity" sound recording, studios endeavored to reproduce as accurately as possible the acoustic sound of the instruments. At least in most rock and pop music, technology has turned that foal on its head, so that musicians now strive to recreate live the magic and grandeur with which the recording engineers endowed their studio performance. For many drummers, particularly rockers, that has meant making their kits sound like howitzers in the Grand Canyon. Set realistic goals for how your drums can sound. Can they, without mic' and electronic gear, sound big? Yes! Can they sound Huge? In some rooms, Yes! Can they sound like howitzer? ! NO....not even in the grand Canyon. So try not to make yourself crazy. GOING THE DISTANCE DRUM SOUN PROJECTION Projection of unamplified drum sound is affected by a number of "external" factors, including the size and shape of the room, the acoustic properties of its surfaces, and how many people are in it. Except when played in very small. Acoustically live rooms, unmiked drums will sound significantly different to the audience from how they sound to you, this raises a question "Do I tune for myself and the band or do I tune for the audience?. Many drummers strive for fat-low-punchy sounding kits in practice and rehearsal situations for three perfectly valid reason. 1. This tuning may sound more like most of their favorite recordings 2. Being quieter, it reduces ear fatigue. 3. It maximizes attack definition, which facilitates analysis and mastery of their hard-learned Uzi fills. Fine Problems arise, however, when drummers and their bandmates grow accustomed to this sound, and carry it over wholly or in part to unmiked performance situations. Depending on stage volume, the drums may even sound okay to the drummer and the band, But what sounds dry on stage is usually dead on arrival fifteen or twenty fee away, conversely, drums that seem "noisy" and poorly defined usually project a more musical sound out to the second row and beyond. Like snare buzz, much of the offending ring will be lost in the overall sound of the band, and in all but the most acoustically reflective rooms, the high drum frequencies won't survive the trip to the audience. For the benefit of all, familiarize your owns ears and the ears of you band with the running that will sound good to the audience in venues you play. If you're playing a style that calls for low pitched, mushy or muffled drums or you just like the sound and you're not playing in a low volume room, use mikes, Whenever possible, stand in the middle of the room during sound check and have someone -preferably a drummer-play your kit while your band is playing. Then factor in the room noise and additional acoustic absorbency of the cheering throng you're expecting. It's largely for them, after all, that you even care how the drums sound. SHELLS, HOOPS AND HARDWARE While the vibration for the drumhead actually produces the sound, the shell gives that sound its character, shell dimensions and thickness, wood (or metal) type, and bearing-edge angle all have a dramatic and often defining effect on the sound the drum produces, Because the bearing edges are the points from which head vibration is transferred to the shell, their evenness, discussed earlier, is of utmost importance. COUNTERHOOPS Because die cast hoops are thicker and more rigid, they will more likely expose imperfections in the bearing edge. Conversely, standard stamped and pressed flanged hoops, which are about 1.05 or 2 millimeters thick and less rigid, are more forgiving of minor flaws. Unfortunately, quality control of flanged hoops is not what it might be. Many are nor perfectly round, and the ridge that sits upon the drumhead collar is often not perfectly flat. Well-made flanged hoops produce a wide, open sound, die-cast hoops, which seem to enjoy better quality control, will yield a drier sound with a little less sustain, but with a sharper attack. HARDWARE For years, Pure Cussion's R.I.M.S tom-mounting system was the only one designed to minimize inhibition of shell resonance. Recently DW, Pearl, Premier, an Yamaha have introduced their own mounting products aimed at the same goal, and several manufactures have begun making tension casings lighter and rethinking where and how they are attached to the shell. Whatever their design, lugs should be tightly screwed to the shell, spring-type tension casings should be packed with felt or foam rubber to eliminate rattles. MUFFLING Up to now we've mostly looked at ways to maximize volume, tone and sustain. But for various reasons you may wish to reduce your drums' sonic output-their total volume or particular frequencies-more than can be accomplished by head selection or tuning alone. Muffling allows drummers to change the tone of heads whose feel they can't part with. It's also quicker and easier to move muffling-or remove it entirely-than it is to change heads. Generally, muffling is used more in the studio, where there is a greater desire to isolate each drum from the others and to shorten the resonance that would not be heard live but that will be picked up by microphones. Before you begin muffling, though... CHOOSE THE RIGHT HEAD Heads designed to produce the characteristics you desire may make further muffing unnecessary, or at least greatly simplified, Remember that while you can always muffle a drum with "live" heads, you can't restore frequencies suppressed by "deader" ones, so when in doubt about the requirements of a particular gig, leave yourself some headroom, as it were, (session players, who often don't know ahead of time what sound will be required, usually have several drums from which to choose). ALWAYS TUNE FIRST Because muffling accentuates some frequencies by attenuating others, a muffled drum may seem to be "in tune" yet not yielding its best possible tone, which you probably want to optimize even while reducing volume and sustain. Make any necessary pith adjustments after the muffling is in place. EXPERIMENT Try different combinations of heads and muffling, and when the device is "location-specific" experiment with its position on the head, to avoid having to compare many subtly different tones, Nodar Rode recommends recording the drum at a single pitch, verbally indexing each position of the device, such as "Moongel, one o'clock, half inch from rim, one o'clock inch from rim" then start over with different muffling material, finally, try each device with different top/bottom head combinations. Because you'll probably want your toms to have similar tone at their respective pitches, you needn't spend a fortune buying entire sets of several head types. Methods of muffing have changed over the years, internal mufflers that press upward against the batter head, once standard, are universally scorned-and with good reason, the pressure they exert upon the batter head opposes the impact of the stick or beater, distorting the drum's pitch and tone, because they tend to rattle or buzz, especially when not in use, they should be removed and retired To your obsolete hardware museum, external mufflers that clip to drum rims, such as the venerable Rogers an several currently made models, are better because they press in the same direction as your stick impact, although, they too remain in a fixed position while your head is trying to move. When adjusted to barely touch the head, they permit the head's downward motion with stick impact, then choke off its return at the original flat plane. Duct tape(also called "gaffer's tape)used alone or with a piece of cloth, tissue, or toilet paper, is a perennial favorite, because it is cheap, positionable on the head, adjustable in surface area and depth/weight of padding, and sticks reliably under most climatic and playing conditions. Some drummers stretch the tape between the head and counterhoop to "anchor" the head to further restrict its vibration, variations on the tape and pudding theme, though more defined in size and damping effect, include Band Aids and sanitary napkins. Another popular way to eliminate unwanted overtones is to place a ring (or "donut") cut from an old drumhead upon the batter head. The ring should be cut from the outermost circumference of the flat part of the old head, rings that include any of the collar's curve will buzz. Narrow rings(3/4" or 1")muffle less than wide ones (11/2" or 2"). Similarly, half-or quarter-rings sections cut from the donut's circumference, which need to be secured to the head with duct tape, allow more of the drum's full range, volume, and sustain to come through. Commercial counterparts of this device include Remo's RemO"s, Remo Muff is take the muffling further by pressing a foam rubber ring, or for a really dead sound, disk against the inside surface of top or bottom heads, the foam is held in place with a plastic tray that fits between the counterhoop an shell. For the bass drum, a felt strip used to be the norm. Lately, as drummers have become more aware of the importance or the drumhead's even contact with the bearing edge, they have given way to other approaches. Use of pillows has waned a bit in live playing situations, as many drummers have returned to a fuller, somewhat more sustained sound, but it is still commonplace in the studio. Some drummers even specify what kind of pillow they use-for instance one filled with duck feathers, Moleskin (ironically often purchased as Dr. Scholl's foot pads) and numerous commercially produced pads and patches are used less for their effect on sound than for their protection of the head at the point of beater contact. CONCLUSIONS Just as there is no single "right" drum sound, there is no single right way to achieve a good one. Drummers' tuning goals vary-as do the drums themselves, playing techniques, and requirements of every gig. It's not surprising, then, that methods of attaining those goals vary too. Which tuning method works best for you will largely depend on you. Whatever technique you choose, always bear in mind the relationships among head, type, thickness, condition, and tension, muffling, and the acoustics or your playing environment. Explore lots of sounds including those you don't think you'll like. Give unfamiliar tunings and head combinations at least as much of a chance as you would Indian music, modern dance, Thai cuisine, or any new experience you would consider a developed taste-all the while remembering those producers who are looking for "something different". When the recording industry demands change, you'll be ready, and who knows? You might be surprised to find what you like. Rich Watson - Modern Drummer 3/ 1994