I bought a DrumDial...

...and it's absolutely amazing!

I need to thank Majoria, for the recommendation . I was in the GC today buying new heads (I ended up with Emperors all around because they didn't have an 8" in pinstripe). Anyway I saw the DrumDial on the counter and asked about it, and after realizing how easy and precise it would make tuning. I bought it. Best 65 bucks I ever spent on a tool. The cool thing is, I now realized what I was missing from my kit due to my lack of knowledge for tuning. I retuned the bass drum head because I didn't replace it or the bottom heads of the toms. Those are in perfect shape. Anyway, now my bass drum has that "thud" that I was going for all along, and with the wooden beater it sounds unbelievable. I think my only disappointment now is that I recorded my latest album with "untuned" drums I could easily re-record the drum parts since I do it at my home studio, but I got the takes I was aiming for so why bother I guess. I just can't wait until I set up my mics and check out my new drum sound!

Good to hear, it's one of those things that you never knew that you needed until you own it.

But be sure to have it with you at gigs. I did one where the temp and humidity changed and made the kit sound horrible. With the Drum Dial, problem solved.

What Tom settings did you use?

I've been thinking of getting that thing. Sounds like it was worth it. Is it easy to use?

Well, according to the manual, I did 75 on everything, bottom heads 74. 75 on the bass drum too - made it thump something fierce

I'm not too worried about needing it for gigs; I am not a full time drummer. I am just a multi-instrumentalist (haha, like that?!) and I do mainly home studio recording. I am a guitarist first, drummer second. I have been playing both for 12 years though.

yea, mraia, it's real easy to use. the drummer for my lil brother's band got one and i got to try it out. i liked it so much i went out and bought one the next day (for the next time i needed to tune). since that, ive never looked back.............it truely is amazing!

I'd rather just learn to tune by ear...

Nothing wrong with getting a little help. Ive got a 10 piece kit, and getting everything tuned is an hours long ordeal. Who's got the time for that? I certainly dont, so if something out there will help speed the process, sign me up.

I understand that, but it isnt good to rely on a device to do your tuning for you basically. One should learn how to get the sound they want out of their drums with out such devices. I can understand if you are new at tuning or not to good at it and just need a bit of help to get you in the right direction. But if it works well for you i guess, then more power to you:thu: .

I agree with you on principle, but....It takes a long time,man!

When I started reading this thread, I was thinking ya'll were talking about a tension-o-meter. (of course it's the silliest thing to think you can tune a drum by gauging lug tension). After checking out their page, I get it. This thing looks like a great idea. So it really works, huh?

Right off the bat I have a bunch of uses for it:

A) maintaining consistency for repeated studio takes

B) testing drums for reviews, how well do those lugs really stay in tune?

C) comparing different drums, or tunings, or heads

D) tuning up oldeat up drums

E) tuning up drums after ear fatigue settles in

F) tuning up in loud environments

Sure, there is an "art" to tuning drums, but this adds that touch of science when needed (for those who dig that precision thing).

The Drum Dial is to drums what an electric tuner is to a guitar or bass. The tuner doesn't lie, your ears can play tricks. If your guitar tuner is calibrated properly and you disagree with it's request, do you trust your ears or the tuner?

Or do like I do and ask the singer who's a perfectionist with perfect pitch.

If your ears tell you something isn't right and the drum dial shows you haven't changed tensions, either the heads are wearing out rapidly or your ears are deceiving you (barring something weird).

Even if you prefer to tune by ear, this device can save hours in tuning - set them at their respective predetermined numbers and then go from there. No one should be without one, including the tune by ear guys. Once you get where you want, record the numbers and you're ready for next time.

Another good use is to compare different drums with the same heads in a store. Set up two kits with the same heads at the same tensions and see the difference. Less variables so you know that the shells are really the main difference you are hearing. Now good luck with getting the store to spring for non-stock heads for such a comparison.

Im buying one:thu:

This device is NOT like a guitar tuner. Put that out of your head right away. That being said, I have one, and I love it.

This thing DOES stretch the head so it's nice and even. This not only helps at tuning, but also at head seating. If you seat a head wrong, it'll never be right. If you keep things consistent though, your seating will be great.

What's more, especially with a large kit (I have 3 rack toms, 2 floors, and 2 snares) this thing will save hours in tuning. Seat the head, get it it your written position, then fine tune manually. Sorry, but because of inconsistencies in the head and inconsistencies in shell makeup and possible warpage, exactly evenly tuned heads may not be the right thing for the drum itself, but the speed and accuarcy of getting it near as well as the ability to seat perfectly evenly makes this tool pretty much indespensible.

If you love your tone, if your as finicky about you tone as I am, you won't regret the purchase.

Well lets put it this way,

I dialed in my settings to a perfect 75 on all my drums and they sound 10 times better than they did before. In all truth though, I can't tune my drums worth a {censored}. I'm a guitar player who plays drums. This device is God's gift. And I will relate it to a guitar tuner. Or we can say it this way; a 20 dollar tuner will get you in tune somewhat and it will be ok, but a 180 dollar tuner will make your tuning perfect. I bought the latter and never looked back. Id rather my studio recordings are perfectly in tune while relying on a device that did the job for me. Nothing wrong with that. The DrumDial got me into a helpful spot, and now I can tweak if I want though it sounds fine so far. The only drawback to using this device is you really need to dismount the drums and seat them on the floor or a flat surface for it to work accurately. Still, the precision of it saves you hours of work tuning by ear.

There's nothing wrong with the drum dial or tama's tension watch (same thing). From what I've seen they'll do a good job of helping people get their drums pretty close to sounding pretty damn good. In addition, if you have trouble tuning by ear, they can help "train" you to dial things in correctly because you'll finally hear what your drums sound like tuned up properly.

Still, once you learn to tune well enough, the thing becomes unnecessary, and even if/when you do use one, you'll probably want to tweak them slightly after you've used the dial to make some final adjustments.

My only gripe is that I've never been in favor of a tool that people will use a crutch so that they never bother to learn to tune without the tool.

It is most definately LIKE a guitar tuner, no one ever said it is a direct equivalent. Obviously tuning to an objective note is different than tuning to a subjective sound. But head tension, like string tension, will always produce the same pitch as long as the head thickness is the same.

IM BUYING ONE,DAMMIT:mad:

Well that's I guess where our opinions diverge. Okay, yes, I will agree with you that as a tool designed to measure tension, both the dial and a guitar tuner are alike, but from my experience, on EVERY drum I have tuned with the dial, perfectly even tension does not equal a perfectly tuned drum. There's still tweaks to be done before it's there; whereas a guitar tuner is pretty much linear... when it's there, it's there. E = E.

Not to, uh, knock the dial or anything, but is it possible that the reason your drums sound better because of having new heads on them and not just because of the new tuning method? I know that the bottom heads and bass drum heads were old, but the drum dial isn't the only variable here.

I wouldn't knock the thing--I haven't tried ti and whatever works for you, &c.-- but I don't see how it is necessary if you can listen to the drums and hear when they are somewhat in tune.

It is a little different than the Korg vs. Peterson strobe tuner thing-- it is a little more like the difference between having a good ear for realative pitch and A440 versus having a 20$ tuner.

Sooo, I've heard a lot about the drum dial, checked it out, and blah blah, and I'm gonna get one. But one question.

How do you read it?

The instructions are in the box. Basically, you calibrate it, then you place it down about 1" away from the lug and read the number.

Time & consistency.

Yes, you don't need it to tune. You can also tune drums with pair of needle-nosed pliers if you're so inclined. You might even be tempted to tune with pliers if a drum key cost a hundred frickin' dollars...

But anyways, you use a key because it makes things quicker and easier than other methods. Same deal here. It makes tuning quicker and easier. It doesn't replace the ear, it's just another tool to help you do the job.

I can tell you the dial has turned the time I need to get a finely tuned kit from about 3 hours to about half an hour, and once it's done, it's pretty much exactly the same pitches as I had before. That's pretty significant. I can now even do a decent tune-up waiting for folks before a rehearsal whereas before I'd have to set aside a day to tune and clean. Which, of course, I never had time for unless I was heading into the studio.

It's interesting how this little device has stirred up so much heated debate. Not only here but on other drum forums as well.

It's just a tool folks. If you use it and you like it; then more power to you. If you don't use it and you're happy with the results you're getting then rock on.

This whole thread is just starting to feel like "I'm a better musician because I have the chops to tune by ear"

I don't currently own one of these things. But if it gets me "in the zone" relatively fast and cuts my tuning time down by 10 minutes every time I replace heads then I think it may be worth looking in to.

If you're a busy person juggling a regular day job, a family to spend quality time with, and drumming on top of that; then every minute is important. 10 or 15 minutes is that much more important.

Just my 5 cents

not only is it faster to get every spot to the same head tension, its also a completely silent operation - so if you're trying to get your drums tuned before a gig, you arent straining there with your ear close to your drum. I try to tune at the show before I play my set....doesnt always happen, but its definitely a cantidate for any drummer's 'best practices' list.

I can definitely appreciate the good ol ear for backup, and I'm in no way knocking the ability to tune by ear, but every drummer needs one of these.

you still need to know how to tune properly - noone's disputing that! but this thing gets you there faster and more accurately. our time's worth money, and this thing saves you plenty.

They edit your drum tracks with Pro Tools... They resample those edits into loops... They drop out the drums to leave room for the MPC sequences to come in on the bridge... They may even replace all your work with some hired gun... It's gotten so that drummers can't even know what they may or may not have played on a record anymore. And you're worried about a tuning tool?

Times have changed, folks. In today's context, a Drum Dial is no big thing.