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SonoRon

Post subject: Re: Tune-bot

Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2012 2:10 am

Joined: Fri Apr 02, 2010 5:29 am
Posts: 272
Location: Troon, Scotland, Uk

Sam,

Than you so much for taking the time to write all that down! Much appreciated and I think when I have funds I will give one a try. Sounds like all you have to do is follow the manufacturers instructions and it works really well. I can see why so many people are struggling with it then :lol:

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Ron

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cliff

Post subject: Re: Tune-bot

Posted: Sat Oct 13, 2012 10:02 pm

Joined: Sun Mar 07, 2010 9:57 am
Posts: 1607

I have been intending to pick up a tune bot for a while now, and did finally get the chance to get one on Thursday. Today I got some time to work with it a bit. It does take a little while to get the hang of it and then it quickly becomes very intuitive. It works better the more you get familiar with it, and learn to hone in on the filtered range.

Since it enables near perfection in tuning, it also demands it. Once I got accustomed to how well each head could be put in tune with itself, the slightest degree of discord from lug to lug became intolerable. On my own, I can hear when a lug is a couple of Hz off, but I can not always tell which way. This thing can and does, and it makes it possible to tune every drum to where that last tiny bit of ‘fuzziness’ in harmonics can be eliminated.

Today I made it my project to re-tune my studio kit (bubinga Designers) to a D minor tuning – something I have not done before:

• 16” floor tom – D
• 14” floor tom – F
• 12” rack tom - A
• 8” rack tom – D

A day well spent, as I am very happy with the tuning, and equally pleased with how easy it was to get every drum on pitch and clear as a bell, after a little learning curve.

Here is a link to a quick sample of this tuning.

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Cliff

River City Trio

What if we did all have the same opinions?

Last edited by cliff on Thu Oct 18, 2012 3:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Gregory

Post subject: Re: Tune-bot

Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2012 11:50 am

Joined: Sun Mar 07, 2010 10:59 am
Posts: 3591
Location: Wisconsin, USA

Those triadic tunings are fun. A little harder to use, because of the specificity, in a musical situation; but they are inspiring in their own right. The kit surely sounds good and nicely played, as always.

I presume you got things more or less in condition with the DD initially? How is using the bot different from using your tuner?

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Gregory

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cliff

Post subject: Re: Tune-bot

Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2012 5:48 pm

Joined: Sun Mar 07, 2010 9:57 am
Posts: 1607

Yes. Rough in even estimated tension with the drum dial and then start with the bot. I started with an estimate since I have not used this tuning before, but have used Eb.

The first difference between this and the guitar tuner I usually use is that the bot can be set to filter/ignore frequencies more than an 18% variance from the frequency selected as the centerpoint of the unfiltered range. This allows you to select the harmonic (and a narrow window surrounding it) emanating from the area close to the lug (when so struck), so that you can focus exclusively on getting the head in tune with itself, and then remove the filter to get a reading of the drum's overall fundamental. By iterating this process, you (i) get to the pitch you want, (ii) get all lugs perfectly synched, and, (iii) discover and record the 'edge' frequency reading need to achieve the intended fundamental frequency.

The other difference compared to my guitar tuner is that it offers the option to display either (i) note (A, Bb, etc.) with a needle indicator, or, (ii) digital Hz ), and freezes that value (needle or digital) where the other tuner shows a needle indication for as long as it still hears the frequency.

I know that I had initially thought that it would not be much value added for, but it is useful, and I suspect it works past where my ears are shot.

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Cliff

River City Trio

What if we did all have the same opinions?

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Gregory

Post subject: Re: Tune-bot

Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2012 6:13 pm

Joined: Sun Mar 07, 2010 10:59 am
Posts: 3591
Location: Wisconsin, USA

cliff wrote:

the bot can be set to filter/ignore frequencies more than an 18% variance from the frequency selected as the centerpoint of the unfiltered range..

Hmmm. Good if it works, and from your recording it sounds as if it does, but my faith is weak. How does it know?

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Gregory

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cliff

Post subject: Re: Tune-bot

Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2012 6:39 pm

Joined: Sun Mar 07, 2010 9:57 am
Posts: 1607

Gregory wrote:

cliff wrote:

the bot can be set to filter/ignore frequencies more than an 18% variance from the frequency selected as the centerpoint of the unfiltered range..

Hmmm. Good if it works, and from your recording it sounds as if it does, but my faith is weak. How does it know?

If thy faith be weak, observe, and choose to believe or not.

Kidding aside, I am not sure if you were asking a serious question that I do not understand. How does it know what?

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Cliff

River City Trio

What if we did all have the same opinions?

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Gregory

Post subject: Re: Tune-bot

Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2012 6:55 pm

Joined: Sun Mar 07, 2010 10:59 am
Posts: 3591
Location: Wisconsin, USA

I'm not sure I know, either. Just thinking that if it is only listening to an 18% window of the overall tuning, how does it know where your tuning really is? Or is that your job?

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Gregory

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SonoRon

Post subject: Re: Tune-bot

Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2013 3:22 am

Joined: Fri Apr 02, 2010 5:29 am
Posts: 272
Location: Troon, Scotland, Uk

Sold mine.

Was not getting good results at all which was just so frustrating I gave up on it and now back with the drum dial and my ears. Not sure why but I now feel the result I get with the DD and my ears is more pleasing than it ever was.....Confusing I know!

On reflection I think it's a bit pricey for what it is.

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Ron

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stevesmithfan

Post subject: Re: Tune-bot

Posted: Fri Jun 28, 2013 10:01 am

Joined: Thu May 06, 2010 12:38 am
Posts: 344

SonoRon wrote:

On reflection I think it's a bit pricey for what it is.

Well said Ron. I won the tunebot about a year ago, and prefer the DD.

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SamF

Post subject: Re: Tune-bot

Posted: Sun Jul 14, 2013 1:38 am

Joined: Fri Sep 10, 2010 1:20 am
Posts: 19

I am glad it worked out Cliff,

I love mine but, as I tried to get across in my prior post it does not just come out of the box and tune you set in 5 min. The instructions left room for improvement and they cleaned that up on their web site.

You really need to read the instructions, watch the vids and look at their suggested tunings. Then commit to a few hours (yes hours) working with it. You will find what you would dial in an accept before due to limitations in ears or DD this tool allows a more accurate ability that drives you to chase perfection.

If you invest the time to go through the learning process it becomes much faster the next time around. It can be frustrating at first but worth it.

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