Floor toms just like other drums need tuning.
Floor tom tuning note.
Details of tuning steps.
Then i have a mounted 14 tom and a 16 floor tom.
Suggested tunings for a variety of drum set configurations ranging from 2 to 6 toms are listed in the following table.
Here s how to tune your toms to perfection in eight simple steps 1.
How to tune a snare drum how to tune a bass drum.
Unfortunately tom tuning seems to provide the biggest headache for the vast majority of drummers until now.
I like how you are able to be over your drums and not have them chest high.
All the notes in any of these tunings can be moved up or down a few semi tones the.
When tuning drums the general approach should be to promote tone resonance and projection.
My toms are a lot deeper than yours and can t get my 12 tom to match up with my 10 tom without having to bring it way up and tilt it.
The tables also cover most popular tom sizes ranging from 8 to 16 inches in diameter.
By learning how to tune your floor tom you can ensure that the sound it produces is what s expected.
Right now i have my bass tuned to an f floor tom to a c 8x12 tuned to an f and the snare to a flat in an f minor chord with the resonant drums basically a perfect 5th between the bass and floor tom and a perfect 4th between the 2 mounted toms.
The table also covers most popular tom sizes ranging from 8 to 16 inches in diameter.
The tuning has some good resonance but i sort of feel its a bit low for bop tuning.
When i tune my floor tom i start with the reso head turning the tom upside down on a pillow or towel so isolate the sound of that head.
Turn the tom over and repeat.
A drum that is out of tune will not produce the expected sound and may instantly become quite irritating to the ears.
To cover a wide pitch range you might want to use perfect fourths as the interval between.
Get the lugs finger tight then go a half turn on each lug in a crossing pattern until i hear a fundamental tone then fine tune matching the pitch at each lug.
Let s say you have a drumset with four toms 10 12 14 and 16 and you want low pitched floor toms and a fairly wide overall pitch range.
Your largest tom is 16 so the lowest note from table 1 for that size is c2.
