How To Tune Your Drums Like A Pro - The Snare Drum Part 1 of 3

This video will teach you how to tune your drums like a pro. In this video, I will show you how to change heads and tune the snare top and bottom. I have recorded more than 1,000 drum sessions over the past 20 years as a music producer. I have worked with the best drummers in all genres of music from Vinnie Colaiuta to Josh Freese. These are the techniques I use and that you can easily learn. This is the first in my 3 part drum tuning series.

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[modifidious]

You left out a crucial part of tuning the snare: when attaching a new snare wire, make sure your SNARE MECHANISM is unlocked (loose) and it's screw is loosened almost entirely. That way once you've properly attached the snare wire, you can engage the snare mech and tighten it as needed to your play style. The looser it is, the "fatter" the sound. The tighter it is, the sharper and cutting the sound will be. Otherwise perfect tutorial!

[jazzasahel]

Totally new drummer with my first drum, an old Pearl snare and vintage Slingerland stand. And Rick Beato instructing me on some basics. It doesn't get any better.

[boblatzer]

I have watched many, many videos over the years on how to tune drums. Your method is the only one that really worked for me. My drums have come alive with tone and feel. Thanks.

[jeffdowning]

I read many comments and let's face it- we all have different techniques and rituals to break in and tune. And frankly to me, the result still sounds really gamey and ringy and raw to me. BUT, when I followed this and put a bit of dampening on it, it sounded really great. It had a fat punch and a crack and little resonance that I tend to choke out too much with my previous technique. I think there are many ways to get to a good spot for us all, and many are worth considering. Coming from Rick you know it's going to be a process worth exploring, so one needs to keep an open mind. That is something that is surprisingly problematic with musicians- one would expect them to be very accepting of different techniques and approaches, but in fact many of us are very locked into one way to do things and are convinced anything else is incorrect. And if I know anything, I know that is wrong. There are many approaches that can work. I tried this and got great results. I learned not to tame and over tighten and allow some ring that will need to be tamed a bit. But not having any overtones sucks. To me at least. And again, it depends on the application. Just like with a guitar sound what sounds great by itself sometimes does not work in the context of playing with others or a style of music or mix. It just depends.

[steveballstadt]

Rick (from my experience playing for a long time) when you place the head on the batter side of the snare you may want to consider placing the joint where the collar is glued together over one of the lugs. It usually prevents uneven crinkling and/or buzzing (which will make your life more difficult especially in the studio).

[ramblinrogers]

Great tutorial. I picked up a nifty little trick the other day in regards to the old batter head. Cut it so you can lay it on top of the new one. Maybe even cut a hole in the middle, effectively making it into a ring. It’ll be a quick and easy way to muffle the sustain, without adjusting the drum itself. Always nice to find a new use for something, rather than to throw it away. 🙂

[jimmymiller]

Hey Rick, I was a drummer back when I was a kid, and I played bass and guitar pro for decades, and now at age 60 I've pulled the ol' kit out from mothballs and needed to replace the snare heads. So glad I found this video because it made replacing them much easier and quicker than the way I did it usually. I never lost the skill for tuning drums, and your way is a tad more work on the front end, but it saves tons of time on the back end. By the time the heads were tight enough, I just had to adjust one or two lugs slightly on each and I was off to the races! Thank you so much!

[timothyroberts]

There's a lot of really good drummers out there that have never bothered to master the art of tuning their drums correctly, especially in church drumming. This was a great tutorial. I've actually never heard of anybody breaking the seals like that.

[mat]

The first thing to do on a 402 is change the P-85 throw off. Lol Glad you caught the point on the rim weights. Most folk would overlook the mention. I really enjoy your channel.

[hotsauce]

Just got back into playing the drums, played guitar for awhile, so this was a fantastic refresher on drum tuning, thank you!!

[crome]

I've been following your critic videos for over a year now. As a songwriter who just bought his first drum set days ago in order to learn the instrument(s) so I could write the drum parts, I'm very happy to find this video from years ago. I have a lot to figure out.

[DirectCurrentu]

I still Love my 1976 Dyna Sonic Sound. (Rogers) I bought the drum kit in 1976 and have been making a living with it ever since. Still sounds as good as the day I bought it. Very crisp!!! Thanks for sharing Rick...

[RichardMcGoldrick]

If you want to tension drum head rims progressively and arrive at an even tension accross the head, number opposite lugs as a pair rather than every lug. For example, a ten lug rim will have five pairs. First determine which will be called pair one (use the logo or put a mark or some masking tape on the shell to be clear about that firstly). Then, progressively tension each pair rotating clockwise (ask your grand dad what that means), and call out 1, 3, 2 4 as you tweak these pairs. Doing that methodically will help prevent confusing yourself doing this save time getting an even pitch around the head. Nice kit Rick.

[PlanetRockJesus]

It's cool how Rick, being mostly a guitarist, is so knowledgeable on drum tech.

[theurbread]

how to get a good snare sound:


step 1. get a ludwig supraphonic
step 2. thats it

[martyylitalo]

I love many of Rick Beato’s videos and have for years. I have learned so much about production, arrangement and theory from him. As a drummer however, this was hard to watch. Rob “Beatdown” Brown is a great source for all things drumset biased. With all due respect Rick.

[thomasmuff]

I got to say, man, your channel is just always informative, to the point, and well done. Whether I am watching you and listening to you about something that I already know. Or if I’m listening to you talk about something that I never knew. it’s always a master class of an instruction. When it comes to music and musicianship, and then just listening enjoyment in general, you are number one. Thank you for all of your videos.

[PaulMarangoni]

The "cracking" sound that Remo's heads make when you place them under tension is NOT the sound of glue cracking. It's the sound of the collar forming against the bearing edge of the drum. Rather than pressing into the collar of the head with your hands, it is much better (and safer) to just tension the head tightly and then let it sit for an hour or two. Then you can loosen the head and then tension it up to where you want it.

[morgunstyles]

I made a jig that applies even pressure all around the drum. Squeezing the drum so to speak. Only the rim down onto the drum. With pressure applied, finger tighten rods (you can use a key if you want) release pressure, drum tuned. you can get consistant tuning, and all rods will be the same. No guessing. Want a higher pitch? Squeeze more. Its the same principle as pushing down with your hand, only its all at once and uniform.

[TheTouchy]

Great video, some very helpful tips for a long term drummer who's always struggled with tuning!