Tuning Drum Samples

[Mustang Martigan]

What are some common methods for tuning drums (I'm guessing it's the same, whether on a real kit or when using samples).

I'm guessing it's best to tune them around the root of the song. I'm just looking for some starting points.

Thanks.

[martiu]

your ear

[Mustang Martigan]

your ear

Well, ya, obviously, but it's also nice to know some proven techniques.

[Raddler1]

your ear

You just had to be the first with that kind of response, eh?
Ridiculous and unhelpful.

[Raddler1]

What are some common methods for tuning drums (I'm guessing it's the same, whether on a real kit or when using samples).

I'm guessing it's best to tune them around the root of the song. I'm just looking for some starting points.

Thanks.

Check out Melda MAnalyser. It's free and can display the peaks of frequencies in notes. I find it very useful.

https://www.meldaproduction.com/MAnalyzer

[BertKoor]

I'm not guessing: real drummers with real drum kits don't retune or switch kit because the next song is in a different key.

[RyanM12]

Tuning real drums is nothing like tuning drum samples. It’s more like swapping drum samples- tune down for a deep thwack or tune up for a tight crack. You tune drums for TONE not for pitching to a song.

Some EDM producers tune their drums to the song. You can but I fully disagree with it and don’t want to get into that right now

[osiris]

First you have to find out what pitch the drums are playing. Lots of stuff. I like SIR Spectrum Analyzer because it also detects notes. Then, you can use a Peaking EQ at the frequency you need it to be. I use a Note to Frequency chart from the web. Done.

[sin night]

I “tune” my drums by ear, trying to get a somewhat coherent sound across the various elements and making sure they fit (by ear!) with the musical elements of the song.

I don’t obsess to tuning to specific notes, though, especially when it comes to kicks. If there’s a resonance or some overtones sticking out and sounding out of scale of the song, maybe I’ll take care of that, but what I really do is just adjusting the pitch control untill the drums sound right to my ears (both as tone and impact… I don’t want the sound to fall apart, of course!), without looking at the pitch.

I don’t use any tonal drum sound in my music, so that’s also something to consider (if your kick sound is a sweep and it doesn’t ring out on a static note at the end, it doesn’t make much sense to look for a precise note, because there’s not one…)

By the way, there’s a video on Youtube by James Wiltshire (one half of the famous Freemasons project) explaining why tuning kicks to a precise pitch can be a problem (he actually warns against that practice).

[DrGonzo]

I'm not guessing: real drummers with real drum kits don't retune or switch kit because the next song is in a different key.

Yeah, this is one of the big differences between genres. In traditional genres the drums provide rhythm, in techno, drum n bass, etc there is a big grey zone between rhythms and tonal sounds.

I also say ear. I tried tuners and while frequency analysers can help point a finger in the right direction, it's not a perfect technique. Tune the kick until you feel this is a nice place. That's all.

[ramseysounds]

You tune drums for TONE not for pitching to a song.

Some EDM producers tune their drums to the song.

You contradict yourself in the same response?!

Personally, I’ve never tuned a drum sound. Every drum hit will fit in the key of a song.

[osiris]

This is also true. If a kick works, it works.

[RyanM12]

If anything, i would detune drums to make sure they are not hitting the same frequencies. I want my drums to punch through not blend in

[Mustang Martigan]

Thanks for the replies. To put my post into context, I've finished writing my album and now I need to create a drum kit for each song. I wanna keep the drum sound cohesive through out the album, but the songs are a mix of many genres, so they might want different drum tones.

I use the MPC plugin sometimes, and it has a cool option that takes a sample and lets u play it up and down the keyboard.

I was thinking of doing that for each sample, one at a time, starting with the kick. Then the snare over the kick, and so on.

I haven't used this option yet, but it sounds like it'd be cool. Anyone use it before?

[perpetual3]

If anything, i would detune drums to make sure they are not hitting the same frequencies. I want my drums to punch through not blend in

What if the kick hits the bass? You tuning to thirds and or fifths?