Tune-Bot Drum Tuner
Tune-Bot Drum Tuner
Tune-Bot Drum Tuner
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TUNING GUIDE
Tune-Bot enables you to accurately tune your drums to specific notes or frequencies and once you know the notes or frequencies you want, you can quickly tune and
retune your drums. This tuning guide will help you determine the notes and frequencies to use for your specific drum-set. Then you can use tune-bot to tune your set
to those specific values. After you've tuned your set to your liking you can also store the pitches of all your drums in tune-bot to allow you to quickly retune to the same
sound over and over again.
Tom Tuning
A good way to tune your toms and your snare as well, is to use notes in musical intervals or chords for the fundamental pitches of the drums. One consideration, in
selecting which interval or chord to use for tuning, is the number of toms (and optionally snare) in your set. If you have a small number of drums you might prefer
larger intervals between drums whereas with a large number of drums you might be better with smaller intervals, otherwise, you might span too small or too large a
range of pitches with your drums.
Table 1. Recommended Fundamental Notes and Frequencies for Various Tom Configurations.
NUMBER OF TOMS
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TOM SIZES
8"
10"
3C
3C
3C
3D
3E
3C
3E
131 Hz
131 Hz
147 Hz
165 Hz
131 Hz
165 Hz
2A
2A
2G
2A
2A
2B
2B
2G#
3C
110 Hz
110 Hz
98 Hz
110 Hz
110 Hz
124 Hz
124 Hz
104 Hz
131 Hz
13"
2F
2G#
87.3Hz
104 Hz
2F
2F
2F
2G
2F#
2E
2E
87.3 Hz
87.3 Hz
87.3 Hz
98 Hz
92.5 Hz
82.4 Hz
82.4 Hz
16"
TYPE OF INTERVAL
3G#
208 Hz
131 Hz
12"
14"
3E
165 Hz
2D
2D
2C#
2C
2D
2C#
2C
2C
73.4 Hz
73.4 Hz
69.3 Hz
65.4 Hz
73.4 Hz
69.3 Hz
65.4 Hz
65.4 Hz
Perfect
Perfect
Major
Perfect
Major
Perfect
Call to
Perfect
Major
Major
Fifth
Fifth
Chord
Fourths
Thirds
Fourths
Post
Fourths
Thirds
Thirds
Maximum Resonance: Tune top and bottom lug pitches to the same pitch. Depending on the specific drum, the lug pitch will be between 1.6 and 1.9 times higher in
frequency than the fundamental pitch. To start, multiply the frequency of the desired fundamental note by 1.75 and tune both top and bottom lug-pitches to that
frequency. Then, measure the fundamental pitch of the drum and adjust the pitch of top and bottom heads accordingly.
Example 1. Maximum Resonance with 4 Toms: 10", 12", 14" and 16". Both Heads Equal.
TOM SIZE FUNDAMENTAL NOTE FUNDAMENTAL FREQUENCY TOP and BOTTOM LUG FREQUENCY
10"
3D
147 Hz
12"
2B
124 Hz
14"
2G
98 Hz
172 Hz (= 98 x 1.75)
16"
2D
73.4 Hz
High Resonance: With the bottom head tuned higher, multiply the frequency of the desired fundamental note by 1.85 and tune the bottom head lug-pitch to that
frequency. Then tune the top head lug-pitch to about 1.5 times the fundamental frequency. Then, measure the fundamental pitch of the drum and adjust the pitch of
the top head until it equals the desired frequency. For high resonance with the bottom head tuned lower, simply switch the numbers in the two columns.
Example 2. High Resonance with 4 Toms: 10", 12", 14" and 16". Bottom Head Higher.
TOM SIZE FUNDAMENTAL NOTE FUNDAMENTAL FREQUENCY TOP LUG FREQUENCY BOTTOM LUG FREQUENCY
10"
3D
147 Hz
12"
2B
124 Hz
14"
2G
98 Hz
147 Hz (= 98 x 1.5)
181 Hz (= 98 x 1.85)
16"
2D
73.4 Hz
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Medium Resonance: Follow the instructions in the preceding paragraph using 2.0 times and 1.4 times the fundamental frequency instead of 1.85 and 1.5 times.
Example 3. Medium Resonance with 4 Toms: 10", 12", 14" and 16". Bottom Head Higher.
TOM SIZE FUNDAMENTAL NOTE FUNDAMENTAL FREQUENCY TOP LUG FREQUENCY BOTTOM LUG FREQUENCY
10"
3D
147 Hz
294 Hz (= 147 x 2)
12"
2B
124 Hz
248 Hz (= 124 x 2)
14"
2G
98 Hz
137 Hz (= 98 x 1.4)
196 Hz (= 98 x 2)
16"
2D
73.4 Hz
147 Hz (= 73.4 x 2)
Low Resonance: Follow the same instructions using 2.3 and 1.2 times the fundamental frequency instead of 1.85 and 1.5 times.
Example 4. Low Resonance with 4 Toms: 10", 12", 14" and 16". Bottom Head Higher.
TOM SIZE FUNDAMENTAL NOTE FUNDAMENTAL FREQUENCY TOP LUG FREQUENCY BOTTOM LUG FREQUENCY
10"
3D
147 Hz
12"
2B
124 Hz
14"
2G
98 Hz
118 Hz (= 98 x 1.2)
225 Hz (= 98 x 2.3)
16"
2D
73.4 Hz
88 Hz (= 73.4 x 1.2)
Recommendations
Suggested top and bottom (batter and resonant) head lug tuning frequencies for a typical 14" snare drum are listed below. Depending on the specific drum, and the
thickness of the drum heads, the required frequencies may vary so try these as a starting point and adjust accordingly.
Lug-Frequencies for a typical 14" Snare Drum.
FUNDAMENTAL NOTE
INTERVAL
3E
Perfect Fifth
229 Hz
343 Hz
3F
Perfect Fifth
240 Hz
359 Hz
3F#
Perfect Fifth
252 Hz
378 Hz
3G
Perfect Fifth
266 Hz
398 Hz
3G#
Perfect Fourth
299 Hz
398 Hz
3A
Major Third
318 Hz
400 Hz
3A#
356 Hz
400 Hz
1C
49 Hz
74 Hz
24"
1C#
52 Hz
78 Hz
22-24"
1D
55 Hz
82 Hz
22"
1D#
58 Hz
87 Hz
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1E
61 Hz
91 Hz
20"
1F
64 Hz
96 Hz
20"
1F#
68 Hz
101 Hz
18"
1G
71 Hz
107 Hz
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