#drum dial

So it's 5:30 a.m. and I can't sleep. It's impossible to have a regular sleep schedule when you are in a touring band. Ugh.

Anyway, I wanted to talk about drum tuning. Not really tuning, but a tool for tuning drums that I think is a necessity for all drummers, especially those who tour regularly. If you have toured at all you will totally know where I'm coming from. You show up to the venue, everyone loads in and starts sound checking. Usually when you load in, the sound guy is blaring music, or someone is already sound checking. Needless to say, 95% of the time it's loud in there and unless you are just playing a local show, you cant tune your drums before hand, then load them up in the trailer and expect them to still be in tune after traveling through different weather conditions and/or being thrown around in your trailer as you drive over some crappy roads (i.e. almost every road in the north east). So what do you do? Well, since it's too loud in the venue to tune by ear, this is where the Drum Dial comes in handy.

Now, I've seen a lot of people knocking the Drum Dial on other forums saying things like "Why would someone need a dial to tune their drums?" and "Whatever happened to tuning by ear?" blah blah blah. To be honest with you, I used to think it was stupid too, but I actually used one and wished I had given it a shot a long time ago!

The thing is, you still have to tune by ear. The Drum Dial doesn't do it for you. All it does is read the tension of the head. So you tune the drum by ear, and then you go around each lug with the Drum Dial and fine tune it. Once it's fine tuned (every lug is reading the same number) write the numbers down and keep them in the box that the Drum Dial came in. Do this with every drum.

NOW you show up to the venue and need to tune your drums, but the sound guy is blaring "Stupiy" by Disturbed. What do you do? Well first you put in some ear plugs, then you bust out your trusty Drum Dial and your paper with all of your tunings and you tune your drums like a boss.

Boom,

Thank Puck. It arrived.  I can finally stop making puck jokes.

So I finally got it (the puck) through.  The guy on eBay was really helpful, and it seemed a genuine postal fuerk up.  C'est la vie. 

Like the photo borders?  Me neither.  Boredom I guess.  Anyway, said puck arrives in which I intend to mount the long distant mentioned (maybe not) micrometer.

So, I need to make a hole in the puck so that the needle can freely poke through. "Measure me" it shrieks. "Twice, not just once you fool".

As it must be a tight, solid, fit - I'm going 9mm thank you very much.

Bish bash bosh.  Seems to work a treat so far: consistent readings, seemingly representative changes in 'timpanic pressure' (read: displacement).  The main problem being that test snare has old heads on it.  It does seem to be in-tune with itself with all lugs reading the same(ish) with a little fine tune here/there.  I'm happy and it only cost £15 incl delivery.  I'll certainly try it next session on drums to see what gives, but again: if it sounds good, sweet - if not?  Me-no-use-y.

For those who are interested, there's some fine-a$$ reading to be had here: LINK, it includes the following diagram.

All in all, I reckon it was worth the bunts, and minutes wanting to see if it can be built.  I'll know for sure if it was honestly worth it once it is tested in anger.  But so far, so good.