![recording drums in t-racks recording drums in t-racks](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/AlSQkZRWBA4/maxresdefault.jpg)
If the drum is well (evenly) tuned, a single piece of tape may be enough to control any over-ring-for a tighter, deader sound, two or three pieces can be used (Pic #2, left). Of course, the snare drum may be more heavily damped-by the snares themselves-and the kick may also have the front head removed and materials (blankets) stuffed inside to reduce all ring to a sold thump (though that modern classic short, heavily damped kick drum sound may not always be what’s desired or needed-bigger, more open, double-headed kicks are also popular in many genres these days). Drums should have a long-enough decay for a solid tone, but ideally not hang over the beat. On the other hand, you don’t want to dampen the ring too much-this may not only make the drums sound too dead, but may also negatively affect playability. Again, what works at a distance (acoustically) may be too much lingering “boom” up close. A recording setup will usually require at least some damping to control not only any bad-sounding (nasty, pitchy) over-ring, but also to shorten up the overall ring-the decay-of the drums. Drummers may be used to tuning the kit so it sounds good at a distance (like in the audience at a club, for example), but the recording mics an inch or two away from the heads may reveal over-ring that wouldn’t be audible in the audience. Pic 2: Some approaches to damping drums for recordingĪnother thing to watch out for when first setting up the kit is any problematic ring.
![recording drums in t-racks recording drums in t-racks](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/2nMoaps9aRYCecaUTaspkZ-320-80.jpg)
![recording drums in t-racks recording drums in t-racks](https://www.supremetracks.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/recording-studio-drum-tracks-online.jpg)
Work with the drummer to ensure that whatever tuning is ultimately settled on doesn’t just sound good to you, but is comfortable to play, and most importantly, right for the song. The drummer will undoubtedly have his own preferences-after all, tuning not only affects what you hear, but the playing response (bounce) of the drums themselves. Now, in many cases this would be handled by the drummer himself, and with an experienced drummer, that’s probably best, but other times this task may fall to the engineer-sometimes the drummer may need to be able to just walk in, sit down, and play.įor those who may be new to drum tuning, or rusty at it, remember, first slacken the head, tighten partially by hand, then use the drum key to go around the head, moving from lug to opposite lug, tapping near each lug as you go, to assure even tension all around.īesides tuning to a general pitch-center for snare and kick, the toms (depending on type of the heads and damping in use) may produce something closer to a specific note, and sometimes it can be a good idea to tune them to the key of the song, to avoid potential clashing. But the drums also require a little attention paid to this as well. Pic 1: Standard procedure for tuning a drum headĮveryone remembers to tune the guitar or bass for a recording-it can be pretty obvious (and painful to the ear) if that critical step is passed over.