Like to know about Dead Ringers and or Gilbraltar Tone controls.
Or other ways to tone down tom ringing?

Thank you!

dIRTY.

I don't know about those, but the best way to control tom ringing, imo, would be quality shells with good bearing edges and new, properly tuned, heads. Thicker, double-ply heads will tend to ring less. As a last resort, put some moongel or something on them.

double ply heads work, so do remOs, remo dynamOs or moongel.
but the best way to get rid of overtones is to just tune your drums very well. let them breathe








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Pearls, Zildjians, Vics, Evans.

scrubs wrote:

I don't know about those, but the best way to control tom ringing, imo, would be quality shells with good bearing edges and new, properly tuned, heads. Thicker, double-ply heads will tend to ring less. As a last resort, put some moongel or something on them.

what he said, although i do not like the moongel stuff. i tune my drums the best i can and mine ring a bit. i for one like them ringing a bit. depending on what type of music you're playing i can almost guarantee between the stage volume and soundman that ringing is not going through the front of house.

bruce








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I, for one, like my drums to ring out. However, it is very important that they are in tune, or you will get the bad overtones. Some cheap shells produce overtones that you just can't seem to tune out, usually due to being out of round, poor bearing edges, low quality wood and just poor construction. One thing of note: even if you tune dead in the studio, your kit will project much louder on stage if you tune them higher and allow them to ring, thus you won't be at the mercy of the soundman to help you be heard as they usually crank up the kick and snare and let the tom toms kinda get lost in the mix.








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Ludwig 3-ply drums & Paiste 2002 cymbals!

get some mylar O-rings. its a circle thats about an inch wide and goes around the edge of the drumhead, all the way around. put one inside your tom, on the bottom head.(really good optional)
tune your bottom head pretty tight but to where it still seems to have a lil bit bounce 'bounce' to it when you HOLD your finger down on it firmly, (do the same with your batter heads but not as tight), but dont try to ram your finger through the drumhead. put your tom batter back on, and tune to your preferrence.
put your hand flat on one drumhead to totally kill its vibrations, then tap your finger or stick on the drumhead where each tension lug is. when you do that with the other head killed, you can hear the EXACT pitch of the drum head at equal positions all around the drum. get all of these poits to ring one full pitch and match them up. do this with each drumhead.
also, your drumhead combinations might affect your sound as well. i don't know what you use on your toms, but, as a reso, use a thin head. thinner is better. (i've even known some drummers to use snare side heads on the bottom of thier rack toms) it lets the shell make more of the sound. on top of your toms, you should use 2-PLY HEADS. if you have a lower end drumkit, you wanna get thickest heads you can find. remo has thier emperor series. awsome on toms, amazing on snares. if you have a more expensive/ high end kit, use a thinner 2-ply head.(just trust me) i use attack thin skin 2's on my ludwigs and they sing like an angelic choir, and i'm in a death metal band. 2-ply heads will keep up with you more in the long run. try these ideads and repost what you think.








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double bass ludwig classic maples. blastbeats over swiss triplets.

then again it all depends on what music you play. for jazz, you have to have an ashy ring in your toms.








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Pearls, Zildjians, Vics, Evans.

first, i don't fully agree with BTP about HAVING to have a certain sound for any music. what about the sound YOU want being added to that music? just my view.
as far as ringing, if you take the time to tune your heads together( it can be done) the ringing is not a concern. there are a few devices out there to help with proper tuning. i just never liked any of the rings and such; i felt it was cheating.

THIS IS ALL JUST MY OPINION. I AM NOT LOOKING TO ARGUE.
Thanks.

Are you having problems with 'ringing' or the drum's natural 'resonance'. Many of my students ask me to help them tune out 'ringing' when what they are really hearing is the natural resonance of the drum. A ringing problem most times can be solved by using a 2-ply or 'wetter' head on the batter side (think Remo Pinstripe, Evans EC2, etc.) tuned properly on both sides. However, if you are talking about the drum's natural resonance, you will most likely need an aftermarked product (rings, moongel, duct tape, etc.). Keep in mind that muting the resonance of the drum also kills your tone and projection, and therefore, your apparent volume while playing with others. I personally never adjust for resonance, but to each his own.

you need a little bit of ring when you play or else it will sound like your hitting wet cardboard out at the front of the venue. how you're drums sound on the stage and what comes out of the PA are pretty differant. a little ring and overtones give it the body needed to really boom.

have someone else play your kit and go out front and listen and then work on adjusting any muffling you think you might need.

I've tried a bunch of stuff, but I like those Evans sound enforcement rings you can buy in a pack for about 10 bucks. Also, get a Gretsch kit with die cast rims, 30 degree bearing edges (as opposed to 45 degrees), double ply heads, and tune them right. I think it sounds fantastic, but of course much of this is subjective. Sometimes I take off the rings to let them ring out a bit more, especially on the snare.

On my old kit (Yamaha Stage Custom) I used coated Evans G2's. They sounded great until they were stolen.

a lot of younger drummers today especially beginners will try anything to stop the resonance of their toms. i know so many kids that tape up the heads or put towels inside their toms (not just their bass drums), but that's just shutting up your drums, choking em. i find that you get the best sound by letting your drums speak. the right heads and the right tuning will give you that.








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Pearls, Zildjians, Vics, Evans.

I like a bit of ringing, but not too too much of it. So I taped a small clump of tissue to each of my toms, right next to the rims. Just enough to dull the sound down a bit, but not so much that it just sounds like I'm smacking my couch with a stick.

here we go again and again i will state that back when they made good drums they included a tone control Ludwig, slingerland, Rogers, and Gretch all included tone controls you could dappen as much or as little as you please now the big thing is drums that sound like a 55gallon barrel,ok if that is your thing,to me thaey sound like crap but anyway you can get them and put them on your drums look at the little white circles on the picture below thats them ..

MikeT That is a sweet looking kit.. Those are speed kings Right? Dollar store has the holiday gel things for about a buck if you want to try em out first.. Cheaper than the 7 bucks at junky music.. I just played a St. Pattys day gig with 4 leaf clover Gels..








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Just my 2Cents