Christmas is right around the corner and I thought it would be a good idea to re-release this blog post that will not just make us drummers look differently at our drums and gives you, the family member, spouse or friend of a drummer some ideas on gifts 🎁 to potentially give that drummer in your life.
The 5 Gifts to make your drums look and sound like a Pro for less then $50 bucks!
I want to start off with two concepts that have really shaped my way of thinking when I approach the maintenance and tuning of my drums. These are for the drummers so let’s get started!
#1 The Art of Drum Tuning!
This is something that is GOING to take time and that you have to be patient with. A lot of drummers want that quick fix like a DrumDial or Tune-Bot when it comes to tuning.
The longevity of those products just don’t last because you’re not truly giving yourself the chance to learn the skill of drum tuning. These products can easily break or get lost and if that happens then what? Additionally, no snare that I have tuned ever has all the tension points at the EXACT same tension. It’s always slightly off and in my option thats part of the beauty of drums and the flaw of us as humans.
Now, I’m not saying that the DrumDial or TuneBot are horrible products or that you should not buy them. I just believe that they unknowingly create more of a problem than they do fixing the problem. They are great tools to get to a solution but is not THE solution.
They tend to make us more lazy and without even knowing it by no longer wanting to put in the full effort to tune our drums or perfect the art of using our ears.
What if you did that with your playing and used things that only helped you in the moment but without that one thing you couldn’t play as good. It’s the same thing with drum tuning and using these products.
By doing this, It makes you rely on that product more than the two free tuning tools that we all are born with……our ears.
Like i mentioned before, the crazy part about drums that I have found to make those products very insignificant is the fact that some of the best sounding drums I have ever heard or tuned are drums that all the tension points are not EXACTLY the same.
No, they are not all over the place but they are just slightly off and not tuned exactly like these products say they do for your drums.
Again, this was not written to take shots at these products or companies. I just want to bring awareness and the focus to tuning drums with your ears and developing that skill before you even pick up one of these products.
Just take the time to invest into these kind of skills. 😉🥁🤓
#2 Stereo Tuning Method or Two Key Method.
This is as simple as it sounds. It’s just taking two keys and instead of doing one tension point at a time you tune the tension point right across from the point you’re currently at simultaneously.
This ensures that you are tuning each point to the same tension while being able to feel each at the same time. I learned this from a video I saw from Kenny Sharretts on his YouTube page and have truly benefited from it!
#3 This flows right into number three and that is Drum Key Choice! For me my go to drum keys are the Remo Quick tech and the Snareweight Speedy drum keys!
These two styles of keys have everything you need in like a rubber spin grip to finger tighten, Hex-shaped top for a power drill, durability, extended length while fits well in your hands and with the Snare weight speedy you can store it silently upside down for easy access.
For someone that does maintenance on a lot of drums these are the best tool’s I have in my tool box along with the knowledge of how to get a drum to the desired sound! If I had to start from scratch I would buy two of these (for stereo tuning) rounding you out to about $22 (for the Remo keys) and $30 (for the Snareweight key). Fantastic buys that will last you for years to come.
#4
This next piece of gear is my go to drum cleaner that I use on all my drum tech and maintenance jobs additionally to using it to clean my own drums……. it is the MusicNomad Drum Detailer! This will run you about $9.99!!
You can clean your entire drum rig with MusicNomad’s Drum Detailer all-purpose cleaning solution. This helps remove dust and fingerprints from your drum shells, eliminate built-up gunk on your drum stands and hardware, and even get the grunge out of your drum throne.
Drum Detailer is safe on all matte and lacquer finishes, and can even be used for light-duty cymbal cleaning. Additionally it produces an anti-static agents which help prevents dust buildup over time. Complete with UV protectants to help prevent fading from sunlight, MusicNomad’s Drum Detailer is the perfect gift for yourself or the drummer in your life!!
#5
Talking about shine, the way I do the final polish to the drum is with this next product and it’s not even for drums it’s for cars and it’s the…..
10pk Microfiber Cleaning Cloths! It will run you about $6 to $10 depending on which one you buy.
Great cloths to put on that final polish to your drums after you have put new heads on and tuned them up. It also works great as a dampener as well. 😉
BONUS Tip
The last thing I would say to really assure you can create an amazing drum sound is changing out your heads every six to eight months.
This is strictly on you because only you know how much the sound has changed over the time you have been playing your drums. This will keep you and your ears used to hearing fresh and great sounding drums all the time! Additionally, this is a great gift if you are the person getting a gift for the drummer in your life, always a safe bet. Just know the brand they like 😉.
I really hope this has helped and if it has share this blog post with friends and drummers you know. Who knows, you might stop someone from buying a snare or drum they don’t need and actually invest some time into the drums they already have. 🤔😉🥁🤓
Have a Happy Holidays and a VERY VERY Merry Christmas!
If you have any questions or you just think I’m wrong or you love this don’t hesitate to leave a comment and lets chat! 😀🤘🏻🥁🤓
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Talk at you guys next time!! ✌🏻✌🏻
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#Christmastime #drumsound #drumtuning
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