Steve,

What is your typical procedure for preparing drums for a (rock) session? Is there a secret for proper tuning?

Thanks alot.


Dan

As a drummer and an engineer I find myself very concerned with the drums and their tuning, etc.

The quick and dirty answer is "make the drum kit sound good right there in the room first." If the drummer's cool with it, I fine tune his drums and damp them or undamp them as I see fit for the style of music they're playing and the desired overall sound.

The biggest problem I run into is people making their drums sound too dead. Sustain and ring is what makes drums sound big in a recording. However, there are just some styles of music, like thrash and grindcore, where tighter sounds and greater attack are needed, and too much ring or sustain just get in the way.

My rule, I just guide myself by what the band wants for their final sound.

cheers,
ben

New skins on drums, resonant skins properly tuned too,
and a good drummer.
You can tune your skins equal (batter and resonant) or batter higher, or just any combination that sound good to you...
I prefer equal tuning, as sustain (actually kind of standing wave) gets longer.