Is This REALLY How DW Wants You to Tune Their Drum Kits??

Gear Used in this Video (Affilate Links):

Kit & Snare:
DW Collectors Maple Drum Set:
DW Collectors Maple Snare Drum:

TuneBot:

Mics:
-Earthworks DK7 Kit:
Lewitt DTP 640 REX Bass Drum Mic

Cymbals:
20” K Cluster Crash:
21" Zildjian K Custom Special Dry Ride:

Sticks:
Vic Firth Freestyle 5b:

Hardware:
Roc n’ Soc Drum Throne:
Tama Road Pro/ Iron Cobra Hardware:

Heads:
Remo Emperor Clears:
Remo Ambassador Clears:
Remo CS Coated:

Music used (background & playalongs):

One comment I got a TON of in the video about this DW Collectors video was about the pitches of the shells. Most people said that it's pointless to even include the pitches and no one ever tunes to the pitches of the shell. Also, the pitch of the shell totally changes once all the hardware is installed, due to all the added mass. So I wanted to see first, if my tuning was anywhere close to the pitch of the shell, then see if tuning to the pitch of the shell sounded any better. This kit is 10"x8" (C), 12"x9" (F), 16"x14" (C#), 22"x18" (G#), and 14"x6.5" (A). Which actually make a decent sounding chord (C# maj7 with an added #5). The way I tuned sounded completely different! and surprisingly was just a bunch of octave Ds and a few other notes, making an augmented triad. Does one sound better than the other? Ill let you be the judge! This is not meant to be a "how to tune your drums tutorial." Just having some fun!

Is This REALLY How DW Wants You to Tune Their Drum Kits??

[siberian]

I don’t understand why some people get so angry and triggered that DW tells you what the pitch of the shell is. You can tune whatever pitch you like. DW simply tells you the resonant frequency of the shell and you decide if you want to use it or not. It’s a simple matter of physics. Every object has its’ own resonant frequency and if you expose that object to a matching frequency it will cause that object to start vibrating on its’ own. So if you tune the head pitch to match the shell, you will get the most active and full vibration out of the shell. If hou like that, then great! If you don’t, ALSO great! Use it or don’t. You do you.

[StephenTaylorDrums]

You're not the boss of me DW.

I'm tuning to Cb.

[iamneophyte]

not gonna lie, that snare is the EXACT sound i crave when tuning mine. snares like bullets for me dawg.

[HonkeyKongLive]

In the mix it sounds amazing. That's what matters. How a kit sounds all by itself means nothing if it sounds bad with the whole song. That snare was PERFECT.

[dconsmack]

The way John Good recommends to tune drums is to tension the bottom head to the pitch of the shell. Then tune the top head somewhere between a half step to a minor third above the pitch of the bottom head. I tried it on my DW Jazz kit (I did a whole step above the bottom). The entire kit sounded great. 12, 13, 14, 16, 24.
People might not know that John was a drum tech who toured with some of the best drummers with the biggest artists of that era. He certainly was in the trenches. He has a lot of real world experience with this.
I also LOVE the True Pitch 50 tension rods. When you’re dialing in precise pitches, it makes it much easier. They also hold the tension better than regular rods. I use a drill bit anyway so there was no aggravation of it taking a long time to thread them by hand.
The best thing about all of this is that it gets people thinking and experimenting with tuning, which is a skill that develops over time.

[rv.o.]

As a drummer, recording engineer, and live sound engineer I've been fortunate to work with some amazing drummers and drum techs. It has been a standard practice to tune drums to the fundamental, or alternatively to intervals of, the shells resonant frequency (or pitch) by drum techs and engineers in professional recording studios and touring applications for decades because it eliminates dissonant overtones (wonky, pitchy, ringing), and reduces the need for dampening that constricts the tone, resonance, and sustain of the drum. DW started to measure the resonant frequency of each shell and print it on the label of each individual drum in it's kits at the request of professional studio drummers and drum techs as a courtesy and a time saver. Before DE started to do this (and currently for all of the manufacturer kits that still don't) it was/is a fairly time consuming task for drum techs to do themselves each time they are working with a new kit. It's not always required, since some drum sounds are meant to have minimal sustain and resonance. However for certain styles of music the drum sound demands a rich, open tone with excellent sustain and minimal, or no, dampening and tuning the top and bottom heads to the shells fundamental (or an interval of it's fundamental) is the way to go in professional applications. Drummers who don't understand this usually fall into the amateur catagory, with little or no real professional experience working in the studio, or live with a professional tech and/or engineer.

[JonnyCrackers]

Sounds better when tuned to DW's recommended notes for sure. That snare sound is so nice 👌

[taylorunis]

Hey David. John Good has been on the record multiple times about this. The note printed on the inside of the shell is what you tune the bottom head to. You can then do whatever you want with the batter head afterwards

[nathanmagnuson]

Absolutely love that cranked, highly resonant snare sound

[dbratboy]

I really liked the after tuning. Especially the cranked snare. But with the backing track as a whole it sounded great.

[DeadKoby]

Their recommended tuning worked just fine in my opinion. Big thing you want is enough separation to makes the toms distinct from each other.

[guiniemmo]

I have to say that the mix sounded amazing. Hearing them separately not so much, some kind of magic happened there. I'm actually pretty impressed, like everything had its own space....

[dodjiegarcia]

1:44 Original Tuning
8:53 DW Recommended Tunings

[trevorrutland]

About 3 years ago during my freshman year of high school I got to go on a field trip to the DW factory in Oxnard California and it was definitely an impressive facility and I was lucky enough to get to play some incredible drum set’s. Over all that was a great experience and is know a great memory!

[MaxIsBackInTown]

It’s amazing how much better it sounded when you tuned the drums to DW’s recommendation.

[jjaammoo]

From a viewer perspective that tuning was awesome. Especially the way they sit in the mix. I know from experience that it always sounds and feels different behind the kit. I play DWs and love the fact that they're consistent and the hardware is always going to lock my positioning in. For most of us gigging drummers, those are the most important aspects. And you need to feel comfortable with the sound you produce. My taste is all over the place, so playing a drum set that's not in tune really doesn't bug me like it use to. As long as the sound in the house is good, then I'm happy.
Funny how when you listen to a drum set that sounds godlike in the audience, sounds like crap when your playing them. Such was the case at my church. I'm not sure how they produced such a massive sound in the foh, yet behind the kit, it sounded like cardboard boxes taped together! Hope you get to do the Sonors... I love watching your channel!

[samuelmarconett]

Dude went from being decent at drums but having great videos to being an AMAZING drummer with top notch content. You sound soooo good man. And so do the drums ofc

[Doinstuffman]

I usually crank the shit outta my snare, so I personally love that snare sound

[stuartwhitten]

I've had a set of DWs for 20 years. I ended up tuning the batter head to the note stamped in the shell, The reso side is a major 3rd above the batter. This has worked well for me.

[general]

I was an Electrician for over 37 years. I learned a little trick that will definitely help you with screws loosening up. Get a good grade of fingernail polish. Every Electrician has his/her own color. When you tighten screws, or bolts, apply some on the head and nut, always in the same line, after you torque them to the set inch-pounds or foot-pounds, depends on the bolt or screw size. The procedure serves two purposes. 1. when it dries, it acts as a vibration inhibitor against turning. 2. You can see, with a glance, if anything has moved. (Also, you can tell who did the work, by the color code)
(( Most folks don't realize, that AC (alternating current) produces a Counter Clockwise rotation vibration. Over time, this inherent action loosens hardware. That's why a tune-up of systems includes checking tightness of hardware.))
I don't know about the direction of rotation for drums. I do know that if you're feeling good, your nervous system will tighten the screws on your glasses. You'll notice they are a little stiff when unfolding the temple pieces. However, if you're feeling poorly, the screws in your glasses will back out, on their own and your temple piece will get very loose or your lense will fall out. A touch of clear fingernail polish on the threads and on the screw head, will prevent them from following their natural course.
Hope this helps lots of folks.
Bill, from Tn. 🇺🇸