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Tuning drums efficiently while promoting tone, resonance and projection can be a complicated affair, but our essential guides to bass, tom and snare tuning will give you the tools you need to get started.

Now, for those who've mastered the basics (or think they have, at least), we've put together 14 tuning tips as a reference guide. It's split into the three aforementioned categories for easy browsing, so, you can dip right in and get started…

Bass drum tuning

1. Don't be afraid to stretch the skin

When seating the bass drum head, be prepared to really stretch it out before tuning. If you do decide to go with the standing approach, use some common sense - consider your size and the design of your bass drum (ie shell thickness).

2. Wear flat shoes

Make sure you use smooth-bottomed shoes, or better still, no shoes at all!

3. Tune little and often

When tuning the front head, increase tension in very small increments. Try using a quarter or a half of a turn at a time, no more.

4. Go easy on dampening

For most playing styles, try starting with lightly pre-damped single-ply heads (ie some kind of light pre-installed muffle ring), front and back. Quite often this is all the damping you'll need.

5. Try a pre-made device…

For recording purposes, where you often use more than one mic, an effective alternative to towels can be one of the small but light pre-made bass drum muting devices, such as those from Protection Racket or Evans.

6. …but position them carefully

However, if these are used, make sure they are placed in such a way as to just rest against the head, not pushed up against it as this will dampen the tone too much.

Tom tuning

7. Tune the batter head lowest

Whatever style and sound you are trying to achieve, generally a drum will sound best if the batter head is tuned lower (slacker) than the resonant head.

8. Start at the bottom (head)

If you find the overall pitch too low, go back to the bottom head and take it up another pitch level, return to tuning the top head and it will come back into tune with the bottom after a few turns of the rods.

Next page: more tom tips, snare drum essentials