So question. I have a 13 x 7 snare and I can't get it sounding how I want it to. I'm trying to get a nice lower sound out of it, but there's way too much ring. As far as tuning the heads goes, what's the best way to get rid of ring? Should I have the bottom head tighter? I know I can put tape on the heads and otherwise, but I would imagine with this much ring there's a different way I can tune the heads to lose a lot of it. Thanks all!

i know exactly what ur going through man. i have a 13 by 7 ddrum s2 maple snare. basically, i tuned it alittle everyday, and everyday, i noticed i was getting alittle closer to the sound i wanted. so i think the number one rule for tuning a snare is to take ur time and mess with it. see what kind of results u get from each tune and keep that in mind as u progress. also a big thing i noticed, is that the chains on a 13 by 7 snare, even when barely tweaked...can make it into a snare good for metal to a lower sound probably better for softer rock music. but i love my snare.

That helps. Thanks man. I really ought to pay attention to my tuning results. Also, my snare is Ddrum also. The dominion series, 8 ply Maple. I've seen the D2's, but I've never heard of S2. Is that the series?

You might want to check your bearing edges, they may not be truly flat.

Good idea. I'll have to check them for sure. Thanks!

Are you getting all the lugs to the same pitch/tone? This is really important part of tuning, if you don't you will get an overly ring-y, annoying tone.

Well I don't have a perfect ear, but I try my best to kept them the same. But maybe one came loose. I'll have to check that out. Thanks.

according to musiciansfriend, its a s4 apparently. thats where i got the snare anyway. i could have swarn it was a d2 or an s2, something with a 2. i need to probably go over my snare with a drum dial, just to maybe clean up the sound a bit.

Right on. I guess that'd help me out too. A drum dial. Pretty Good investment? I've never used one.

Lousy investment, really.
And what sort of heads are on the drum to start with?
Try 1.5 turns on top, 2 turns on bottom, above finger tight. Work up to it.

My batter is EC reverse dot by Evans and the reso. I think is just a clear emperor by Remo. I'm not totally sure because I can't keep my drums at home. Unfortunately apartment life isn't drum friendly. But anyway, I'll give that a try. 1.5 on top and 2 on bottom.

Just a suggestion for a head that reduces ring, Evans HD Dry

Drum Dials only insure that the head is tensioned evenly. It doesn't actually help in tuning the drum.

couldnt have said it better myself.

It does in the sense that a well seated head will be easier to tune as well as stay tuned longer. While you can do this with out one, I find that it is a good investment because it helps you understand the physics of tuning. By physics of tuning , I mean it helps you see how much adjacent lugs effect each other.