Tuning Drums - Free PDF Download

I recently received a great little PDF file on tuning drums.

It covers drums with different numbers of lugs and the tensioning sequence. The author, Dave Atkinson, calls it a Drum Tuning Map I guess because it draws out for you how to tune your drums.

I have also read a couple of other articles recently and it seems that different people have their own particular preference for the order in which we should tension the tuning rods. WHAT WE NEED TO REMEMBER IS that the main objective of any tuning sequence or operation is to get the drum head tuned evenly all around. The 'opposites' method is used with thinner synthetic heads on drums (but cannot be used with thick, natural skin/rawhide conga heads as these exert so much pressure that they could distort the shell if tuned in this way ... they are tuned around the head ... see conga-tuning article on this web site).

I have recently seen a couple of really excellent DVDs on drum tuning. These are

• Drum Tuning System by Mike Michalkow
• Russ Miller - Drum Set Crash Course Tuning Edition [DVD]

Both DVDs take you step by step through tuning the different drums and show close-ups with full explanation of all techniques used. these are two different individuals who have their own sound and method (and both guys are humble enough to point out that their's is not the only way) BUT they will both give you a great resource for helping your kit sound at its best.

Anyway, here's the link to the tuning map that I promised.

Let me know how you get on ... I'm always really pleased to hear your feedback.

Until next time ...