heads ringing

[2_maelstrom]

How do I get my drums from ringing after each strike? I have removed the heads and tightened all the hardware and screws from within the shell itself, but they are still ringing. Any suggestions?

 

Or would it be the cheap heads that I have? heh

 

2_maelstrom

[Snake]

Have you put the Pinstripes you were going to get on them yet? Pinstripes and good tuning should solve your problem. If you still want more muffling, some strategically placed duct tape or moongels should help. But there's nothing wrong with a little ringing - helps the drums cut through the guitar and bass.

[2_maelstrom]

Not yet, I have been busy and trying to add on to the home, so that is kinda 2nd order at this momement. IF I was to add some duct tape, where would I place it? at the top of the heads? or a large X in the middle. Again me being very new to it all.

[Snake]

You'll remove more high pitched overtones by placing it close to the rim. But it's really just a matter of experimentation. Try it in one spot; if it needs more, pull it off and move it a little. Keep doing that until you find the right spot. You shouldn't need more than one (two at most) 1" - 2" strips. If you use too many, the drum will sound very dead - cardboard box-like. You might try one piece of tape with half a cotton ball or a folded piece of tissue under it.

[stapes2260]

do NOT put tape on your drumheads. This is a very bad habit that you don't want to become accustomed to. If you are "new" to it as you say, then the problem is probably A) you need tuning practice (it's not easy by any means) and B) your stock heads aren't so hot.

 

Before you start covering your heads in duct tape or putting on the heaviest and thickest heads you can buy, spend time with just one drum and learn the intricacies of tuning it. Work around the drum by tightening one lug and then the one directly across from it. The idea is to get the tension even. What i typically do is tighten all the lugs somewhat loose and then fine tune each one. I use a stick to tap on the head about an inch in from the lug to get the tone of the head in that spot. I do this with all the lugs and tighten each individually until the sound is uniform for all of the lugs and i have the note i want.

[2_maelstrom]

I have spent a half a day trying to get rid of the over-ring, no matter what I tried the toms sounded very bad. At first I had the heads tight which helped, however the sound that come from the toms didn't sound good. The pitch was too high, I am wanting more of a deeper sound, I had tuned my 12 & 13 down, but with the overrining, kept killing the sounds I was wanting. I know the stock heads are sucky. I am going to replace the heads(probably with Remo Pinstripes) soon. But for now, I have placed a small amout of tape and a cotton ball on them, They sound good to my ears.

After the new skins, I don't plan on using the tape and cotton balls.

[Old Steve]

 

Originally posted by stapes2260 do NOT put tape on your drumheads. This is a very bad habit that you don't want to become accustomed to. If you are "new" to it as you say, then the problem is probably A) you need tuning practice (it's not easy by any means) and B) your stock heads aren't so hot.

 

 

And don't forget C) if you're new to drumming, you're probably trying to get your drums to sound like they do on CD's that you listen to, and D) the WORST place to hear what your drums sound like is from where a drummer sits!

 

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have my drums sound as crisp, punchy, and clean as they do on some of the CDs I listen to, but I also recognize that THOSE drums don't sound like that either. Not only are they recorded with the best equipment available, but then THAT sound edited, tweaked, compressed, eq'ed, gated, and polished electronically so that you hear just the right mix of tone, attack, and sustain.

 

The key here is to recognize that MORE sustain is actually a good thing, and to get used to playing with it. People often seek that 'wet' low-resonance sound, and put all kinds of muffling on their kits. While this might make the drums sound good to you in a small room without other instruments, the minute you play along with an electric guitar and bass through amps, that 'wet' sound turns into 'toneless'. In an amplified situation, all of that ring (sustain) disappears into the wash of other instruments, and you're left with 'tone'. If you don't have much tone (by means of sustain) to begin with because you've over-muffled your kit, what tone you DO have will disappear once the amps are turned on. Heck, thats why drummers are spending tons of bucks on thin maple shells, suspension mounts, and other stuff....to get MORE sustain and tone, not lessen it.

 

The other problem is that you have to sit behind the kit in order to play it, and probably have little or no idea what your kit sounds like from 20 feet away (where the audience sits). Again, much of this 'ring' doesn't make it out that far, and it also gets mixed with the sound from your bottom heads, of which you probably only hear 10% of behind the kit.

 

Aside from downloading and reading the Drum Tuning Bible, my basic recommendation is to get your toms tuned to notes that work for you in terms of pitch...you don't want your floor tom to sound like an 8" tom, nor do you want it so low that it sounds boxy. Same with the other toms.. find a good 'pitch' for them first, and then MAXIMIZE the sustain if you can. Then have somebody else play them and go stand at the opposite end of the room and listen...you might be suprised. If you're still not convinced, have somebody else play them while some other folks are playing guitar and bass with the volume up. Finally, if after all this, you still want to lessen the sustain, you can do so in 99% of cases by making slight adjustments to the heads...tuning the bottom head up a little, for example, will shorten sustain in most cases.

[rumblebelly]

Listen to what Old Steve says. He's a very wise man.