Prologue to Drumheads

Over the next several weeks I'll be talking about how drumheads affect your sound, and giving some basic advice on how to choose heads. We'll talk about what the differences in heads mean to your sound and the playability of your kit.

There are more choices all the time, from time-tested classics to heads for very specific applications. If you know what you're looking for - and at - you'll have a better chance at sounding like you want to. 

Before we start, though, two quick stories to set the stage. 

Lesson with Adam Nussbaum


I once had the opportunity to take a lesson from drumming great Adam Nussbaum. It was extremely worthwhile. Among other things, he talked a lot about being able to "trust" each sound in your kit so that you don't overplay. His thought was that the less you had full, resonant sounds, the more notes you felt like you had to play. I agree. Each sound in your kit should be something you absolutely love and can use with confidence. There should be no sounds that you avoid using.

Let's call them "Jupiter Music" just for fun!*

When I first decided to get serious about drumming, I knew my sounds were bad but I knew almost nothing about tuning, and even less about drumheads. I had a 22" Tama Rockstar kick, and I had picked up two Remo Renaissance heads on clearance. I was thrilled to have new heads, but absolutely hated my new sound. It seemed really pingy to me, and didn't have the low fundamental and punch I was looking for.

So I went into one of the big-box music stores (it's a chain that no longer exists, but will still remain nameless) and asked the "drum guy" about heads and what I could do to help my sound. His answer was classic, "Y'know, man, a bass drum head is a bass drum head. They're pretty much all the same, so the sound you're looking for is what the sound engineer is for."

I knew that answer wasn't right, so I was pretty frustrated. Luckily for me, Backbeats Drum & Backline opened shortly after that, and Kelly Wallis set me straight and got my kick sound rockin'. He put two Remo Powerstroke 3s on my kick drum, helped me set up some basic muffling, and explained to me how tuning effects the sound, and also had me listen to my drum from (literally) inside the drum, from the playing position, and from across the room. (I had never thought about the fact that the sound might be heard differently depending on where you heard if from and how far away you were.)

Needless to say, it was the beginning of my journey to better sounds - and much more satisfying playing.   


So, let's get started. On Monday, we'll talk about bass drum heads and get the heart of your kit sounding great.

Update 2-19-2012: The store was the now-defunct Mars Music. I was trying to hint at that and actually named an existing music company. My bad. The actual Jupiter Music has a great reputation, and I wasn't attempting to make any derogatory comments about them, at all. 

Gear Up: Microphones Part 2

Last week, I mentioned a few suggestions on some microphones to get started with for drums.

This week, where in the world do you place them? What will get the best and most consistent sound?

First, don't reinvent the wheel. Whenever you work with a good sound tech, watch what they do, and ask them questions (nicely, at appropriate times, and respectfully, of course) about why they do it the way they do. Listen and learn. There are also myriad websites that have very clear, complete information.

I'm definitely not a sound engineer, but there are a few really simple concepts that I have used for years that have produced good, consistent results. Again, there are a lot of factors at play here, including your drums/heads, tuning, the size and shape of the room, how loud you play, other sound sources on the stage, etc*.

One semi-funny story: Back in the day, I played with a band called Hillside Nine. We got a gig playing at a high school for a huge senior party. Lots of fun. After sound check the engineer asked if there was anything else we needed, and I jokingly said, "Just make us sound amazing, okay?" He replied without missing a beat, "Ah, okay. I'll turn the 'Talent' knob all the way up, and the 'Suck' switch completely off. Will that work?"

Oh, if only it were that simple! Anyway, on to the good stuff.

Snare and Toms
Line up the end of the microphone (the end where it captures the sound - it usually has a screen) with the hoop/rim of the drum, at least an inch above the hoop - mine are about 2-3" up - and angle the mic at the dead center of the drum. The microphone will end up at about a 30ish degree angle up from the plane of the drum head. Try it out. You'll like it!

Kick Drum
My drum's resonant (front) head is ported. That means it has a five inch hole cut in the head, at about the 4 o'clock position. I have had good results putting the mic through the port, with the end of the mic (again, the screen/capture side) about three inches inside the drum, pointed at the dead center of the batter head. If your kick drum doesn't have a front head (or if you've removed it for recording), move the mic to about the halfway point of the shell, right in the middle, and point it at the center of the resonant head.

Overhead/Cymbals
I like to use two identical mics to capture the cymbals and full kit sound. One mic sits over my left hand area, pointed at the place where my left side crash overlaps my hi-hat. The right side hangs over my ride cymbal where it hangs over my floor tom. Both are just above head level, out of range of an errant stick stroke.

Especially if you're using mics a lot, and even more especially in a recording setting, it's worth experimenting with different placements - angles, heights, alignments and how far over the drum it sits.

Happy drumming!


*Okay, one MAJOR tip: the best mics, sound engineer and placement won't make your drums sound good if they don't already. Before you go to the gig, make sure that your instrument is in good working order - heads in good shape, and well tuned. This will have the BIGGEST impact on how good you sound. That, and the P word: PRACTICE!!

Gear Up: Drum Dial

I'm having a serious conundrum. To Drum Dial or not to Drum Dial?

The Drum Dial is a relatively simple tool (similar to a durometer) that measures the tension of a drumhead. You use it by placing it on the drumhead next to each tension rod, relatively close to the hoop.

In theory, when you get the tension exactly the same around the entire head, it's in tune. Of course, you have to take into account the type of drum, its depth, the type of heads, and the relationship of the heads to each other (resonant to batter).

Drum tuning purists (yep, there really are such people - including me, to a degree) argue that tools like the Drum Dial are "cheating," for lack of a better term. They say that you should be able to tune your drums yourself, by ear. And if you can't, well, then you don't deserve to sound good. And I know plenty of skilled drummers who have never learned to tune their own drums. They play great, but sound awful.


I mean, hey, if Peter Erskine* uses it, it can't be all bad, right?

My DW Kit

About six months ago I put all new batter heads on my DW drum kit. As an experiment, I used the Drum Dial on all of the heads, both sides. Also, I used the recommended tensions from the Drum Dial web site.  I was pretty happy with the results in my studio, but I needed to get out on a gig with them, so I took them to the very next show I had.

I got an interesting reaction from the bass player on the gig (Ryan Tilby). While we were sound checking, he turned to me and said, "Wow. That sounds exactly like a backline kit."**

Truth be told, the heads required quite a bit of fine tuning after using the Drum Dial. Just having the dial read the same number at each lug wasn't enough to get the head to sound "clear" (without waves or beats) and open. That part had to be done by ear. But the dial did drastically speed up the process of getting the drumheads to the fine tuning phase.

To me, I think that's the answer. The tools we have are still only tools, so the actual work of getting your drums to sound the way you want them to is still up to you. It's like fixing cars. Sure, we have power tools, hydraulic equipment and sophisticated computers, but the work is still in the hands of the mechanic.

The Drum Dial, and tools like it, are just a part of your arsenal to achieve great sounding drums.

That being said, I'd love to have a spreadsheet of every drummer in the world that showed which drum they're using, what heads, and at what tension. Then I could sound like anybody I want. Does that seem like giving up too many trade secrets?

What do you think?

As always, happy drumming!

*If you don't know who Peter Erskine is or aren't familiar with his work, click his name above. He has been a huge, positive influence on many a drummer, including me.


**A backline kit refers to a rented drum set that is tuned in a very standard, generic way. The drums will sound good, but usually not distinctive. It is left up to the drummer or tech to individualize the sounds to the specific style or venue.