Drum Dial

[Puck]

Not to long ago I picked up a Drum Dial to see for myself if these things actually work or are just hype.

So now I figured I would write a review of it becasue all of what I have read on it is either that it is a gimmick or that it is the drummers best friend.

 

If you do not know what a drum dial is look Here

 

First off I consider my self to have a good concept and ability to tune by ear.

Warning

***THIS IS NOT A SOLVE ALL YOUR PROBLEMS GET FLAT ABS IN 3 MINUTES A DAY WHILE DOING NO EXERCISE TOOL****

 

There is still no substitute for knowing the fundamentals of tuning drums. Every drummer should know them.

 

After saying that: I think that the drum dial is a valid tool to have. I was able to go through and tune a drum set faster than normal once I got used to the dial.

It makes it easy to get the head pretty close to in tune with itself. Seems to get closer on smaller drums. So it only took slight adjustment by ear after I had used the dial. on a 10" and a 13" tom it nailed it dead on. Other toms took minor adjustments.

 

It made tuning the reso heads real easy. seems that single ply heads tune up a bit easier and more in tune with it self than did coated 2 plys.

 

All in all even with out the minor adjustments the drum was really close to being intune and sounded pretty good. Sounded Very good with the minor tuning by ear.

 

 

So if you are new to drumming and having tuning issues this can really help with that. It can get you alot closer than most newbies can by ear. I still stress though that you need to understand the fundamentals of tuning and seating heads. Read the

drum tuning bible . it is a wealth of information.

 

If you are an already seasoned drum tuner this "might" help speed up the process. I see it to be very handy specially if you do a lot of studio work or play different styles where you might have to change tunings often or change heads often. Also if you had to tune quietly it would work good.

 

If you can tune well and quickly by ear then 2 thumbs up. You saved yourself $60 and have a skill that many drummers (specialy new ones) struggle to learn.

[Old Steve]

Thanks for the review, it pretty much confirms what others have said about it. Like any tool, it has its valid uses and also limitations. As long as you know what parameters you're dealing with, that's great.

 

I don't plan on getting a drum dial anytime soon, but who knows, maybe I'll have $60 burning a hole in my pocket sometime and pick one up. I think that the ability to "get close" quickly is a GOOD thing, especially if you're in a hurry. Also, I think the ability to record previous settings and get back to them in a hurry with the dial is also a neat concept. No, it's not a perfect tuning solution and it won't substitute for experience and skill, but as long as you know that, that's great.

 

Anyway, good review. Thanks for the input.

[rca]

The only useful thing about it that I can think of is that it works on stage where it is really tough to get the quiet you need to tune properly. Like electronic tuning for guitars.

[ulank]

Well said Puck. I'd say that sums it all up.