Here at Performance Music we have a large number of teachers, recording engineers, musicians, repair technicians and other personnel to help you learn, repair, maintain and enjoy your musical instruments. Our staff and experts will provide you with the necessary tools to properly care for and maintain your equipment for optimum performance. Here are some tips from our experts to help you care for your equipment.

How To Prevent String Breakage – Greg “Guitar” Garstka

 Yes, I am an expert at breaking strings. And here’s a trick I’ve learned to lessen that occurrence.
Before you put a new string on, take a normal pencil and rub the tip over bridge saddle. The bridge saddle is where the string rests as it comes out of the guitar or tailpiece. You can also rub some pencil lead over the nut near the first fret where the string rests.
WHY does this work? Because pencil lead is graphite, which acts as tiny lubricating ball bearings to smooth out a surface. When a string digs into a surface it can create tiny edges that then slowly cut the string. Also, strings are prone to break in these places due to tension points. So smooth em out and jam on.

Getting The Most From Your Drums – Jay Cole

Drum Tuning & Overtone Control
There is a different approach to overtone control for just about ever drummer out there. With so many different methods and tricks, its impossible to say which one is the best. It all depends what you, the drummer, thinks you drums should sound like.

DRUM HEAD SELECTION

Coated or clear? 

• Coated heads tend to have a warmer and mellower sound.
• Cear heads have a more solid punch and attack to them.

 Single or double ply?

• Single-ply heads are more open sounding and will sustain longer and preferred for the resonant side of the toms.
• Double-ply heads are usually fatter sounding and carry less sustain as the second ply acts as a small muffler, and will take more punishment.

 Speciality Heads

• some manufactures offer drumheads with built in muffle rings for the snare drum and small vents along the outer edge to release more air
  for a dryer sound with less ring.
• Most manufacturers offer both batter and resonant heads for bass drums that have internally built in muffling rings to eliminate the need for a pillow or blanket.
• Two-ply heads with oil fused between them are still made for a really controlled vintage rock sound.

 
TUNING YOUR DRUMS

The main goal when tuning a drum is to get even tension on each lug. This will get the fullest tone and most even tone. After putting the new head and rim back on start by tightening each tension rod with your fingers so that it is lightly flush with the rim. (Don’t put any real tension on them until you have done this for each rod.) Once this is done you can tighten each rod.

The best way to ensure even tension as much as possible is to tighten one lug 3 or 4 full circles of the drum key, then go to the lug that is directly (or as closely) opposite the one you just tuned. EXAMPLE: if you start at the lug that is at 12 o’clock, next go to 6 then to 1, then to 7. Continue like this around all of the lugs until each has the same number of turns from the tuning key.

Now each lug should have 3 or 4 full turns to it and the head should slightly tight and evenly tensioned. From then on repeat the opposite lug pattern like before but using 1 full turn of the key. Keep doing this around and around until the desired pitch is achieved.

NOTE: HEADS WILL STRETCH WHEN THEY ARE BRAND NEW, SO TUNING A LITTLE HIGHER AT FIRST IS A GOOD IDEA. (SOME PEOPLE USE A HEATED HAIR DRYER TO STRETCH OUT THE HEAD QUICKER.)

•  SNARE – most drummers will tune snare batter head a 3rd, 4th, or 5th higher than the resonant snare side. The tighter the resonant head, the more sensitive and responsive the batter head is. Some drummers prefer the opposite tuning the snare side higher, but like everything on the drums, it’s all personal preference.
• TOMS - both heads on the toms should be relatively close in pitch high or low. Personally I tune my toms a tiny bit higher and leave the batter head for fine tuning.
• BASS DRUM – as with the toms both heads should be relatively close to the same pitch but I have found a tighter resonant head and a looser batter head records the best.

  
MUFFLING & OVERTONE CONTROL

I’ve come across and seen many different techniques for muffling drums. From tape to towels and napkins to T-shirts everyone seems to have their own method, but these have worked the best for me and the other drummers I know.

• Plastic muffle rings are made by many different companies to use on the snare and toms. They work well to take away unnecessary ring out but must be cut into smaller pieces if the full circle deadens the sound too much for you.
• Gel squares, specifically MoonGel, are my favorite. They are tiny squares that can be broken up into smaller pieces and placed around the drum to get just the right amount of muffling. They are adhesive like post-it notes, so they can be taken on off to be re-used and won’t leave any residue or film on the drumhead. I use these for my toms and some of my snares.
• Bass drum pillows are made by many different companies in a variety of sizes and shapes to get your desired sound. Most are fitted with Velcro strips with an adhesive side that can stick to the inside of the drum shell so the pillow won’t fall out of place in transit with your drums.
• Felt strips underneath the drum heads for toms and the bass drum work well to get that old-school classic rock sound. (I use a combination of a single felt strip on the resonant side of my bass drum and a small muffling pillow against the batter head that has an internal dampening ring.) This gets me a massive but controlled sound out of my kick.
• Cheaper methods like using a pillow or blanket inside of the bass drum work great too as long as you can get them secured down. Before I used the Velcro strips, my pillow or blanket would get tossed all around inside the drum changing the sound every single time I brought the drum to a new gig. This is especially annoying if there is no port-hole for a mic on the resonant head because there is no way to adjust anything without having to take a head off.

 You can also bring your drums down to Performance Music to have them professional tunes and set up the way you want them. Call 413-568-5383 for more information.

*These methods and techniques are just ideas that I have tried and know of. They are not guaranteed for every drum or sound that you may be trying to get out of your drums. Try different combinations of all of these and see what works best for you. Keep going until you get the sound you want.

Rock on!
Jay