Tips From The Road For Tuning Acrylic Toms
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- čas přidán 26. 08. 2024
- Pro Drum Tech Kenny Sharretts takes you through a full re-heading, stretching, and tuning of a 12" SJC Acrylic Tom so as to offer tips/methods specific to tuning an acrylic drum. (Using Evans Hydraulic Glass Heads). Shot while on The Bad Boy Family Reunion Tour, for what this video lacks in production value it more than makes up for in content on how to tune the often "difficult to tune" acrylic drum.
Tom Heads Used In This Video:
Batter
Evans Hydraulic Glass Drumhead - 10 inch
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Evans Hydraulic Glass Drumhead - 12 inch
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Evans Hydraulic Glass Drumhead - 14 inch
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Evans Hydraulic Glass Drumhead - 16 inch
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Resonant
Evans Genera Resonant - 10 inch
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Evans Genera Resonant - 12 inch
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Evans Genera Resonant - 14 inch
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Evans Genera Resonant - 16 inch
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Worlds best drum tech, would love a tech half this enthusiastic
Wes Stoughton thank you for the kind words. I love what I do for a living, and i’m blessed to be able to do it. Thank you for watching.
Great to learn from someone who obviously has a track record, has a great presentation manner, and obviously knows these things; tx!
Thanks Joe Toe. I like helping drummers get great sounds.
It is so helpful; I'm professional (other world entirely) and 'hobbyist' player; I seek professional consultation all the time but where do people go for this kind of direction/learning? Formal (hard to find in my area and time...) or occasional expert opportunity from sources like what you provide. Ex, your snare set up...mint. Your stuff is organized, you hit the key issues and how to troubleshoot things you imagine may come up, etc. Tx.!
I converted my acoustic kit to electronic with triggers but this video came up on my feed and I love your personality, Kenny! I loved playing those Hydraulic heads. Keep up the great work!
Man thank you so much for the kind words, and for watching.
That drum sound was just perfect at the end. It sounded BEATIFULLY!!!!
Thank you so much.
This guys is the first I’ve ever seen give a good tuning tutorial. Subbed and thanks
Thank you so much fine sir. Best reply on the internet for the year. LOL I try to make it informative, and fun.
@@KennySharretts so your rule of thumb is always a third up in the resonant head? My gretsch USA toms sounded like garbage until using your method. I always tried to match both heads
@@mattperkins7038 Depends on the room or your liking. If you like the Major 3rd. Use it. If you need a bit more bite/projection in a large room use the 4th, and the 4th will be with you. LOL! No seriously, the 4th works well for outdoor gigs, and arenas. It's what I use on all my kits mostly.
@@KennySharretts Great Jedi Master reference!! the beat is strong with this one:))
My old Vistalite's say "thanks Kenny!".
That's what I cut my teeth on for tuning acrylic drums. They can rock!
Thanks, Kenny. I just purchased an acrylic tom film SJC myself and will keep this in mind.
Awesome. They are amazing drums. Clear 2 ply heads can sound amazing as well.
I put Hydraulic Glass batters on my DW Acrylic, with the stock resonant heads tuned the Resonant a 4th higher than the top like Kenny suggests, the toms have a massive tone to them.
That makes me so happy to hear. Thx as always sir.
Love the way I dont have to use any muffling with those Evans Hydraulics heads. I have them on both my batter and reso heads on all my toms and I typically tune them to a medium to a medium-low tention to get that fat punch with a nice pitch as well. Basicallg tuning them both the same pitch but still low to get that full sound.
Your videos are the best Kenny!
Thank you for the kind words, and for watching.
this explains a lot on why my shells would randomly fall out of tune. Thanks, man!
You're very welcome.
Great video Kenny! I love your tips from the road videos, and would love to see more of them. :)
I'd be interested to see you do a similar video to this but with a steel kit (Ludwig, Q Drum Co., etc)
Thank you sir. I will keep em coming. That's a great idea. Let the hunt begin.
Thanks for the help.
My pleasure. Thank you for watching, and commenting. As i’m telling all my viewers Super Thanks is now available on my vids to help support my channel. 🙏
Very interesting. Thank you as always for sharing!
You are welcome sir.
Kenny is the man! Love these vids. 🤘🏽
Chet Baker you are too kind sir Thank you, and Thank you for watching.
Where has this cool ass mfer been my whole life 🤘🏼😎🤘🏼
Thank you for the kind words, and for watching.
great video kenny .
Thank you so much for the kind words, and for watching. It was a fun one to make.
im happy your enjoying it. thats reason we all get into drumming. i hope many more years your enjoying being a all around drum guru.
amazing sound!
philliah thank you. It was a fun kit to tune up, and hear Boots rip it every night. Thank you so much for watching.
Tuning with 2 keys at once 🤯 genius!
Thank you so much. It works well. Please feel free to check out my step by step drum tuning lessons at www.kennysharretts.com/video-courses
Where we teach you how to use the two key drum tuning method to achieve the drum sound you want every time you tune.
There were no tuning instructions 50 years ago when I got my first set of clear Vistalites - it was just trial and error.
Me too. That’s how I figured it out 🤣🤣🤣🙏🙏🙏
he has major credibility! tuning the kits while on tour in arenas. LISTEN TO KENNY SHARRETTS!
🤣🤣🤣 I was blessed that they were filming the tour so I was able to shoot some vids. Lo pro on the go, but hopefully helpful tips. Thank you for watching, and for commenting 🤘🏻
Thank you Kenny
Andrew Fitzgerald you are welcome. Thank you for watching
Wow, thanks Kenny.
Solid!
Fantastic video, Kenny! I've been playing Acrylic drums ( early Ludwig Vistalites) with Evans Hydraulic heads (the Blue ones) since 1983. People are SHOCKED by the sound! I hear a lot of "Wow, I always heard those Hydraulic heads were dead" and " I can't believe those Drums are PLASTIC".
Super key information here about the drums "Slinking into place". Keep up the great work man!
isolationdisorder love the blues. they sound incredible on acrylics
@@dnthrx I don’t myself. I use Evans Single ply reso heads on the bottoms. Neil Peart used to put Hydraulic heads on both sides, and his drums sounded great. I think that worked for him because he hit so hard.
Brilliant thank u!
George Abrehart my pleasure. Thank you for watching 🙏🙏🙏 Please like share, and subscribe if you wish.
Good peice but drum still sounded a bit "boingy" at the end. How was the resonant head tuned in relation to the batter head? thanks man, good job!
Thank you for the kind words. The drum was tuned to a perfect 4th interval. Reso tighter. With the 4th of you stand beside the drum (where I was standing) you will hear a boing. The mic up top however, does not hear that boing. Add in the fact that this was recorded with a cell phone in the middle of an empty arena , and a bit of boing is to be expected 🤣🤣🤣 that being said Boots actually loved to add his own tuning mojo at sound check. Especially on the 16”. Floor tom. Thank you so much for watching.
There is no such thing as an un-"boingy" acrylic drum... unless you muffle the hell out of it. That's acrylic for you. The reso head is usually tuned one note higher than the batter head.
I always said that there are much better sounding drumheads for acrylics than cs black dots. I recently saw acrylics like 2 ply on top and bottom. Fatter tone.
I love coated 2 ply on top on Acrylic drums. Agreed fatter tone. Especially with 2 ply resos. Thx so much for watching.
@@dnthrx no sir. If memory serves me correctly those were Evans Resonant models.
I tune them with the nylon washers and double ply on the top and double ply on the bottom and tune them like I tune maple 8" turned very very Hi as I can get both top and bottom with out choking or dampnig the sound it's the perfect studio tune sound with slight sustain and little more sustain on the kick I titen the front kick Head w with my hands that's my sound
James Franklin the double shut down. Yeah doing the double ply on the Reso side can really tighten up the sustain, and focus the tone for sure. That also allows for tighter tunings without loosing depth of tone. Bet those toms are cannons!!!! Thank you for watching, and sorry for the delayed response. Sometimes comments don’t show up in my feed or the feed gets full, and I miss one. 🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻
Are you using the same hydraulic heads on the top and bottom for these drums?
No Sir. Clear Hydraulics on top, Evans Resonant Glass on the bottom. Thank you so much for watching.
Awesome!
Thank you for watching.
What’s the pros and cons with clear vs costed skin for acrylic kits? Any Evans skins you’d recommend for acrylics? Thanks
Clear will have more attack, and a more open sound. Coated will have a warmer tone, and a bit of scratch in the attack from the coating. I love G2's coated or clear. Thank you for watching, and commenting.
What's best for acrylic Tom's, 1.6, 2.3, or die cast hoops?
I prefer 2.3 triple flanged or Die Cast, as they tend to hold the drum in tune. Thanks for watching.
wonderful video, hey man do u have any tips for scratches on Acrylic drums?
Many drummers seems to really hate Evans hydraulics, saying that they kill the resonance of any drum you put them on. I'm wondering if acrylic drums have a particular "ringieness" that makes such an overly muffling head make sense, or is it just a "gigging requires every drum to be choked to death" scenario? I don't know I've never actually heard acrylic drums in real life
DucValefor In general Acrylic drums have a bit more bite/brightness in tone than wood with a much brighter attack. When tuned properly they can sustain for days. It’s just a warmer sustain. In this situation, Boots loves the muted thud of the attack as it blends very well with Hip Hop /Rap music in terms of the samples, and beats. Yet these drums still had sustain. Hence his choice of Hydraulic heads. I love open tom sounds, and this kit had tone for days. The key factors in muting for most of my situations are 2 fold. 1. Using IEM’s in an arena. On Puff you have tons of samples/track augmenting what the band is playing. A little gel/hydraulic heads focuses the drum tone so your toms don’t get lost in the mix OR overwhelm the mix. 2. FOH mix. Mixers got enough to worry about without ringy ass toms muddying up the mix Lololol. Thank you so much for watching, and for your comment.
Man I'm having trouble getting my toms to stay in tune. I've got a Pearl Crystal Beat kit with a 12x8", 14×13" and 16x15". I've also not been able to get them to sound good together the way I want. Tied your method for major 3rd's. They sound decent individually but still having trouble. Not sure if acrylic shells should have a specific proces. I was going to get your online tuning program unless you think the acrylic drums need a more specific approach as in this video. If so then I'd like to book an online session.
Howdy sir. Please email me via kennysharretts.com to chat. We’ll get you sorted. ✊🏻
Dude what does tapping on the tension rod with a key do?
It brings out the pitch of the head at that tension rod. Try it.
You know what would be funny? Put an electronic trigger on each drum, and make them each trigger an "ahh! ahh! ahh! ahh!" sample, like he does in the video from 1:12 to 1:14.
Thompsongs lmao 😂
Hello, I might have missed some point but is the goal of this technique to tune every log quite high all together, then go down to the desired pitch while keeping the balance ?
Thanks !
Essentially yes. Stretch the heads in a balanced fashion, then tune down to your desired pitch in a balanced fashion. Along the way I discussed some of the quirks of acrylic drums that you might experience along the way. This way you don't get frustrated, you get in tune.
Kenny Sharretts thanks a lot for your kind answer :)
A perfect 4th between the top & bottom head of a drum? Not between drums, but between top & bottom heads of a single drum? Hmm. Interesting. I’ll have to try this.
Adds a nice tight punch to the drum at lower top head tensions. Thx for watching, and commenting.
Hey man, great video and so helpful. Quick question, it looks like resonant glass heads are out of stock everywhere, have they been disco'd? What else would you recommend on the bottom? Thanks!
Ido not know sir.
I've been loving the Reso 7's, but there is never anything wrong with a clear single ply head.
Thanks so much! @@KennySharretts
I just want to say I absolutely love your channel! Tuning drums has been one of my worst nightmares as a gigging musician.
In the past I would use rings and tons of moongel just to get my drums to sound decent, and not to mention tune them very low to make it easier.
After hearing a friends Tama acrylic set how it sounded so good, I need to get one myself.
It’s been about 3 weeks some new Evans hydraulics on the toms and heavyweights on the kick and snare, plus watching a lot of your videos, I finally feel like I’m at the point that I know what I’m doing! My set sounds better then I could imagine! So thank you very much for sharing this information.
One question that I do have is on acrylic shells you mentioned that you tune to a perfect 4th almost all the time, how do you shorten the sustain of the drum at this point?
Travis Minardi wow thx so much for the kind words. I’m really glad you found the vids helpful. For sustain control beyond cotton balls you can use strategically placed tape tents or a moon gel.
What head is on the resonant side?
Howdy Sandy. If memory serves me correctly they are clear G1's, BUT they could be Evans Resonant Glass as we often used those as well. It's been a minute I'll have to research. Thank you for watching.
@@KennySharretts Thanks Kenny! I play in a band called Agent Orange and have a vintage Ludwig Vistalite kit. Want to experiment with some different heads other than black dots! Hopefully get back on the road soon! Thanks again!😀👍
Sandy Hancock understood. When I had a Vistalite kit for my Led Zeppelin tribute band I used Pinstripes and Clear Ambassadors. These days I would try a a G14 coated or the new UV2’s which are AWESOME! And a clear G1 or Reso 7 on the bottom.
@@KennySharretts Thanks Kenny! I will try them!! Appreciate the info!👍
Hey Kenny, these videos are great! What's you position on using acrylic drums in the studio? I see in a lot of forums people recommend against it. What are you thoughts?
The Unspeakably Crass my opinion is if you like what you are getting on the recording then rock it. Generally speaking, though they can be challenging in the studio getting the sound most people “want”
The Unspeakably Crass thank you so much for watching.👍
@@KennySharretts It's my pleasure, your tuning videos are the truth. Thanks for replying!
Evans red hot hydraulic heads….I put that shit on everything!!
🤣🤣🤣 when it’s the sound I want? These heads ROOOOCK!
What about tuning an acrylic snare?
8 or 10 lug? 8 same rules apply. 10 lug same rules, but a little less stringent as there is less distance between the legs.
+Kenny Sharretts well I just ordered a tama acrylic 10 lug snare and I've never played or tuned acrylic before but your video helped! I have the Evans hydraulic head for it
a little imperfection is fine...
dmguk gtown yes sir lol thank you for watching
Tip #1: avoid remo cs black dots.
Lol did they not work for you? I find that model to be one for very specific purposes.
Black Dots are great if that is the sound you want.
coated cs is awesome for snare.
clear cs is awesome on your drums if you want that old school, culture reggae, Bob Marley sound.
you're welcome
@@Timbales1979 I do prefer coated reverse dot on my snare. I found on toms they are too thin and flat sounding. On kick? Ugh. Nope.
@@KennySharretts No, not really. I found my Starlite acrylics sounded much better with 2 ply clear on toms and ps/3 or pre=muffled evans on kick.
Not bad :) bit too dead for my liking, i like dotted heads on my acrylics :)
Alas my cellphone microphone doesn't do the kit justice. I bought a lapel mic AFTER shooting this video. Lol. Under the mic without gels these drums sing with hydraulics. Boots, however, liked a really tight tom sound so it didn't step on the percussion tracks that Puff considers essential to be heard. Hence he pit moongels on as well.
This also proves a point that every drummer has his or her own preferences. Someone replied that he hates dots on acrylics. You love 'em. That's what I love about drum sounds. Very personal.
Kenny Sharretts absolutely true! :) ive tried a wide variety of heads on various types of drums and thats just what i found works (as you said) to my ears :)
You say use hydraulic heads and you don’t need muffing then at the end I see sticky pads on the heads lol
Lol YES!! Boots liked the consistent tone of the heads, and the feel at the tuning that Puff requested. He also liked SUPER tight snares and very tight tom resonance so as to blend more naturally with any samples we used, and so his sounds tuck right into a hip hop mix. He wanted 70's toms with 2016 bite. Lmao 😂 The Hydraulics plus half gels on the small drums, 1 or 2 on the big drums allowed me to tune in intervals that enhance the beautiful tone of those SJC acrylic drums. It also allowed Boots to have the freedom to sculpt the ring to his liking. A ring that benefited the FOH/MON mixers by minimizing the EQ needed to tame an open drum sound in a very crowded mix. Trust me with no gels those toms will ring out. Lmao Plus sympathetic tom resonance makes it especially hard to tune thumpers to have a solid full band with the toms triggering the gate.
Kenny Sharretts haha awesome. I’ve got a Ludwig acrylic at church and just can’t get them right. Like they are so sensitive. The lugs loosen to finger tight everytime I play a song. But if I tighten them more they sound too high? Mainly the low toms, how can I find a good balance? Your low toms even seem tight, should I just tighten them more? Lol thanks
The floor toms on this video were tuned low to low/tight. I found the lowest pitch the shell could handle, then tuned the drums about a step -a step and a half chromaticaly. I did use a silicone bicycle chain grease to treat the swivel nuts (threads), and that helped a bunch. Using the 2 key method helps lock the head down as well. If tuning with 2 keys finish off each upturn with a very small single up turn. I mean small. Helps lock it in. Also on my old vista lites I used 2 old fashioned plastic lug locks on the lugs where I was hitting the drum. RIMSHOT LOCS will work well for this issue. Also help you tune them lower. Otherwise I am offering a January 2018 special on Skype lessons. $30 for 40 mins. Might be helpful.
Kenny Sharretts Awesome man thanks for the replies! I’ll look into the chain grease and those locks as it is usually the lugs where I hit!
Hi Kenny! Do you have any pointers on finding the sweet spot on where a drum likes to be tuned to find it’s best voicing and tone?? I don’t know how to phrase this properly but do you follow a rule of thumb for tuning technique per diameter of the heads or do you do this by feel? I’m getting closer to tuning my acrylic vintage vistalite kit and really want it to sing.
I will mainly be playing pretty heavy rock with this kit.
Thanks in advance for any info..
You’re videos are amazing and you make it fun to learn:)
First of all thank you for the kind words. As far as finding the best voicing for a drum it really depends on what you’re looking for tone wise. A 12” Tom can sound great over a wide range of frequencies, but each range serves a certain tone. Through experience I have developed a system for dialing tones that works on all drum sizes. It really is just a matter of trying and finding what works for the music. Check out one of my step by step tom, or snare tuning videos and you will be putting my system in your hands . Better yet rt now I have a coupon code MUSICCITY10 for $10 off of any one of my 3 lesson packs. It’s good through August 31st 2023
Thank You Kenny!@@KennySharretts