Drum Key vs. $1368 in Tuning Gadgets

0:00 - Introduction
Tuning drums can be frustrating. How can you get your kit sounding as good as all these albums and videos?

Many companies claim that their products make tuning easy and "take out all the guesswork", but it's worth practicing tuning and developing your ear to really get it right. It takes time and energy, but it's worth it! You'll figure out which tuning methods work best for you.

That being said, we wanted to test 8 of the most popular drum tuning gadgets - because if there's a tool that can help us get to a consistent tension and tone more quickly, why not try it?

1. 01:14 - Classic drum key
Using your ears and a drum key, this is how most drummers tune. Finger tighten the tension rods (meaning make them as tight as you can go with just your fingers), then take a drum key and give each rod one full turn. Turn off the snare wires and listen while tapping around the head. You might start doing this by feel and eventually by ear. It's a simple process, so don't overthink it.
Jared's tuning time - 3mins45s
Jared's rating - 8/10 (can take longer than other methods)

2. 06:53 - DrumDial
This tool measures the tension of the drumhead to make sure the tympanic pressure is consistent all the way around. It gives you more of a quantifiable way to tune. If you like your settings, you can use that number as your target tension whenever you're tuning. You still need to use your ears with this tool, but it gives you a nice reference point. Jared trusts the DrumDial so much, he used it to check the accuracy of other tuning methods in this video.

Jared's tuning time - 4mins40s
Jared's rating - 8/10 (still need a drum key)

3. 14:19 - Evans Torque Key
This measures the torque on your tension rods, so every time you turn, it uses the same amount of pressure. The key clicks when you hit the target pressure. After finger tightening, bring up the tension on the rods evenly. Go slowly with the torque key and turn each rod until it clicks, resetting the key before moving on to the next rod. Make sure your lug inserts are well oiled so it takes the same effort to turn each tension rod.

Jared's tuning time - 3mins00
Jared's rating - 9/10 (a little expensive for what it is)

4. 20:07 - Neary Drum Torque
Similar to Evans torque key - it measures the tension in the rods - this one is much bigger. If it can get you to a starting point where the tension is even and then you use your ears to get the tone you want, this is a useful tool.

Jared's tuning time - 5mins56s
Jared's rating - 6/10 (clunky)

5. 26:07 - Tune Bot Studio
Compared to DrumDial and the torque keys, Tune Bot doesn't measure tension; it measures frequency in hertz and 'listens' to the actual sound of the drum. This is a fairly expensive products that clamps right on. Once you bring up the tension on your drum, strike the head and read the number on the screen. Try to match that as you move around the drum.

Jared's tuning time - 3mins38s
Jared's rating - 6/10 (should have an app)

6. 33:13 - Drill
If you're impatient, you can use a drill with the Evans drum key drill bit to tighten all of the rods. Be very careful! First, bring up the tension to where the rods are just touching the rim. Then go around and tighten just a bit at a time. Drills do actually have built-in torque settings, but test yours first. It's best to only do this to your own drums (or drums you don't care about) until you get more experienced.

Jared's tuning time - 1min44s
Jared's rating - 10/10 (fast and easy once you get it)

7. 38:28 - iDrumTune Pro
Like the Tune Bot in app form, iDrumTune Pro is best for fine-tuning once you've brought up the tension on your drum. If you're using a snare drum, throw off the snares, hold your phone next to each tension rod, and hit the head an equal distance from each rod as you make your way around and compare the readings. Don't worry if you can't get the exact same number all the way around - this app is best for making sure you aren't way off.

Jared's tuning time - 3mins34
Jared's rating - 7/10

8. 43:31 - Dialtune Snare Drum
These snare drums use a unique cable tuning system that lets you tune the top and bottom heads independently with one dial. They also have a patented system for changing drumheads - it's a brilliant design and the hoop just pops right off! It's extremely quick to tune: just crank the dial for a consistent sound.

Jared's tuning time - 0min54
Jared's rating - 9/10 (innovative and quick)

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[josephchambers]

I have an awful ear. Tunebot has really helped me learn what to listen for when tuning. It helps diagnose which lug is the problem when I just can't hear it.

[dog]

I was so impressed when he drilled it to even tension tbh

[benking]

Really sick of people commenting on tunebot when they have no idea what it's capable of. When used in conjunction with the app calculator you type in the size of drum, desired pitch and desired sustain and it calculates the correct lug settings for you! You can also keep the same pitch but just adjust the amount of sustain by changing the relationship between the two heads. If you don't like how these settings sound then by all means use your ears record the pitch and save it as your own settings. The key here is that it is repeatable in a precision that no human ear can replicate!

[ronniek]

Hey Jared you really missed the boat with the Tune Bot. It has lots of capabilities and features that are excellent once you spend some time with it.

[clintcarlson]

As others have mentioned, you should have highlighted the use of the drill clutch. Drills are AWESOME for initial setups. I put my clutch on 1 or 2. It's totally safe and fast as hell.

[lizandromello]

Evans could mash together the Torque Key + Bit Key... imagine that. Thanks Jared, even if you don't like doing gear and maintenance videos, the contents are awesome on that subjects.

[texugooooo]

Here in Brazil, that Evans drum key costs about R$ 420, 00. For comparison purposes, minimum wage is currently R$ 1.045, 00 (per month). So most of us tune our drums by ear.

[alecj]

I love Jared because he says stuff like "Its my drum, and i do what i want". The internet is full of so many busy body complainers, and too many people give them refreshing to hear a bit of common sense.

Fun and informative video. Thanks guys!

[okalright]

Drum dials are something I highly recommend l. Even tension all around is extremely important

[timcummings]

The Tune-bot was a game changer for me. Never could quite get rid of those sound "waves/disonance" when tuning. Bought a Tune-bot and the drums (PDP) sound great! Bit of a learning curve (such as lightly touching the center of the head and using the filter to get a more consistent reading) but once you get it, it's a great product. And yes, there is an app to guide you. Picked up an Evans Torque key but haven't tried it yet.
Also, I found the prices of the items were less than stated. Evans key was $22 online & I got my Tune-bot for around $75-80 around 2 years ago.

[claudiofdantas]

Tune Bot is amazing and way beyond Jared did. It gives the NOTE of the drum as well. Very useful to tune all drums, including the bass drum.

[andrewarbogast]

I love my Tunebot. It gets me exactly where I want to be for all my drums.

[drumphil]

Ive had all of these gadgets over the last 32 years. Tune bot is by far the best one yet. Once you wrap your head around how it will help you in so many ways, you'll never go back.

Frequency indicating devices are the most accurate and will keep your drum in tune at whatever pitch you like. And the ability to reproduce a certain pitch you like at any given moment, with any chosen drum, and with any chosen drum head is an absolute blessing in the drum world.

Great video Jared 👍

[KyleBrianAbbott]

Commented about lower clutch setting on drill before you talked about it - but Still seeing you on the drill setting is scary hahaha

[Zimi]

For the Tunebot or in general: turning one lug changes every lug... so if you’re at all lugs at 280Hz and you want to go to 285Hz, you cannot just turn the first lug to 285Hz, because you will turn up other lugs too, the sound at the first lug will be too high...

For me reproducibility is key and that I get with the Tunebot perfectly. And they have a great tuning calculator for the whole drumset that is really worth trying out.

And basic understanding of physics helps...

[Prodrummer]

Using the tunebot myself.
Getting even pitch across all the tension locks is not even the main reason why I bought it.
But you can change the view from Frequency to Note.
I tune my toms to certain notes.
10" D
12" A
16" C
Snare D sharp

And the top is a perfect fourth lower then the bottom. This gives me a really punchy tom sound.
Just before every gig I check if my drums are still in tune and if necessary bring up the tension.
It would be a pain without this little tool.

And the sound guys love how my drums are tuned. They don't have to do many adjustments with the EQ

[OddoRocket]

For me, I use a drill bit when changing heads, and then a drum key and drum dial when actually tuning. I love the drum dial. It takes so much of the guess work out of tuning drums. not to mention it saves so much time. I kinda fell I get a way more consistent tone every time I use the drum dial

[mat]

I own a tune bot and like a guitar tuner, it’s that easy to use. Also the app can recommend tuning profiles which take out much of the guesswork. I love it and it makes that much of a difference!

[FrancoContreras]

I think that those based on frequencies are better and more accurate. or did you ever see a guitarist tune his guitar with a torque crank? no, a frequency-based tuner is used

[thomasflanagan]

I have always used a key, which was the only tool out there. Started using the drum dial but still fine tune by ear. Just started using the drumtune pro, found it difficult to set up but pretty accurate. I met the inventors of the dial tune snare in the local drum shop and played the prototype that went to NAM. I did not have independent tuning knobs, so they are making progress.