On drums...

Saw this in a newer issue of DRUM magazine. Thoughts?

http://www.tune-bot.com/

Hey, Gunnar. The Tune-bot is a tuner with a built in microphone, mounted on a stick. The stick is useful, because it frees up a hand to work on the drum.

I have been using a tuner for years, as a check. Once I have a drum in tune to itself, I then use a tuner to discover pitch, and then adjust if need be. Trying to tune a drum to itself using a tuner is a losing proposition. There are too many harmonics and overtones in a drum, which will lead a tuner astray.

If you are trying to set a drum up, the Tune-bot is probably the long and hard route. If you are ascertaining a note from a tuned drum, the Tune-bot has some interesting features, and is probably the easiest tuner on the market to use for drums. Not worth it to me to replace my hand-held item, but if I had no tuner at all, I'd purchase one. A tuner is another reference tool.


I have been watching a group of guys over at DFO who enthusiastically bought the Tune-bot as soon as it was announced. Disappointment set in fairly rapidly:

http://www.drumforum.org/index.php?/top ... ge__st__20

http://www.drumforum.org/index.php?/top ... ntry703348

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Gregory

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Cliff

River City Trio

What if we did all have the same opinions?

Thanks much for the input guys. As expected, some really good observations. Yeah, doesn't really seem like a big hit over at DFO either!

Bought one, read the posts and had the same problems as everyone else with a wide variation between taps with the stick. So I watched the video a second time and read the instructions the first time and worked great.

Great addition to a drum dial. Drum dial the heads close and then tune bot final. I could not get my 8 to sound the way I wanted but with the tune bot and 10 min. It was done. Did the 10 and 12 and the 14 top head. Will finish up this week on my days off.

I was very surprise how close i was with the drum dial and my ear. A lot of people say it is a waste of time to use these things but even though I was close and the kit sounded good I was surprised what an 1/8 or 1/4 turn could do. The tune bot allows you to find the rod(s) that need that slight adjustment very quickly. It works very well IMHO.

I think Cliff was right on the money with the video. It was not very well done but had all the info. It was not explained clearly on the first run through. There was a lot of jumping around from topic to topic. If you read the instructions and follow them it works well. If you have a problem watch the video and find the fix for the problem.

Take care guys

Hi, Sam, great to hear from you. How's it been going. Still tuning your drums, I see.

Great post. As good as my ears are (once were), tuning is so much easier with objective feedback. I think I can tune a guitar quickly and easily by ear, but drums are more difficult. Tuning maintenance features, from the spring loaded clips of Link era to the modern Tunesafe stuff, have added a new dimension of difficulty by obscuring the feel.

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Gregory

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Cliff

River City Trio

What if we did all have the same opinions?

That all makes sense, Cliff, particularly when using those shells in conjunction with Pinstripes.

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Gregory

Yup. That's another way to solve a tuning problem.

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Cliff

River City Trio

What if we did all have the same opinions?

I'd love to try one of these before I stick my hand in my pocket. I grudged the £70 for the drum dial but to now pay a further £100 for the Tunebot.......Hmm. I think they look like a great tool and I'm sure if used correctly it would be very handy.

I quite liked pinstripes on my SQ2 shells! I will say now having played them with clear emperors on there is no comparision

Pinstripes have a really bad reputation out there.

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Ron