drumming secrets

 

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A good snare drum is pretty much indestructible, provided that you don't drop it off the roof of your house, BUT you can take several steps to keep it in good working order. If you bought your drum new (it's still in the plastic bag), then there's a good chance that it's still clean. However, if you bought the drum USED, you don't know WHERE its been! Here's some spring cleaning tips that I do at least once a year on my own equipment:

Maintenance & Cleaning

 

 

 

(picture 1) This is what you need to start doing maintenance on your snare drum: a cloth, a tuning key, a stick and a new drumhead.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(picture 2) Start by taking off the top head with the drum key (never use a pair of pliers for this job, because you will probably ruin your tension rods straight away!), loosen each tension rod & put them aside.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(picture 3) Now pull off the rim and remove old drumhead.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(picture 4) Take the rim & wipe it down with a clean cloth. If you bought the drum from some giging rock or blues drummer - there's probably a ton of cigarette ashes between the head and the rim!

 

 

 

 

 

 

(picture 5) Next, wipe down the top edge of the shell (this is called the "bearing edge"). If you really want do it right, rub a little PARAFFIN WAX on the bearing edge - just enough for a light coat, but make sure you don't use too much of it! This wax will help make the head slide smoothly over the bearing edge as you tighten the head in the tuning process.

 

 

 

 

 

(picture 6) Before you put the new drum head on the snare drum, give it a good inspection. Now place the head on the shell and make sure you line the drumhead "logo" up with the snare strainer - sometime that helps when you want to quickly identify where the snares are lined up on the drum while you're doing a gig! Make sure that the bearing edge makes contact with the head completely around the drum.

  

 

 

(picture 7) Now set the counter hoop on the head & line up the holes with the tension rod casings. Make sure that the rim makes contact with the head ALL THE WAY around the bearing edge. Is there even spacing between rim of the head and the "lip" of the counter hoop? If not, you might have a warped hoop - you'll be able to tell immediately when you start the tuning process! Now tighten the tension rods with bare hands; this way you can feel exactly if there are any bad rods involved.

Place the rods in each hole in the counter hoop. With your fingers, lightly screw them into the rod casing. They should turn easily - if not, then they may be going in at an angle. Don't force it with a drum key! You can strip out your tension rod or lug casing if you're not careful! Tighten with your fingers until the top of the tension rod JUST MAKES CONTACT with the counter hoop - don't use the drum key just yet. After ALL tension rods are in place, go around the circumference and make each lug "finger tight." You might have to go around a few times - when you tighten one lug, it pulls the counter hoop down and loosens the rods directly next to it. Double check that the head is in full contact with the bearing edge of the shell.

If you're getting some "waves" on one side of the head, you might need to "seat" the head with your hand. Place the palm of your hand in the center of the drum and push down a couple of time. Now check once again that each tension rod is again finger tight.

 

 

  (picture 8) Pick a lug that's at "3 o'clock" & put your drum key on it. Start by tightening the key to the right (righty, tighty - lefty, loosey) ONE HALF TURN ONLY. Have some patience - don't crank the first tension rod a million times! Now, go to the rod that's directly across from the first lug (if you started at 3 o'clock, then go to the one that's at 9 o'clock). As a personal preference, I like to tighten that lug finger tight again before I do a half turn with the drum key. After you tighten the 9 o'clock rod, cross over to the 4 o'clock rod & repeat the process. Keep criss-crossing until you come back to the first tension rod. This time, go around again, but use ONE QUARTER TURNS.

Now you're ready to start making some fine adjustments. Take a finger and push it into the middle of the drum. If the head is too loose, you'll feel a lot of "give" in the drum head - in that case, go around the drum again, using ONE EIGHTH TURNS. The tension of the head is a matter of personal taste, but if you're just starting out & want to learn to play drum rolls, a head that is a little tighter is easier to learn on! Now take a stick and listen while you go around the drumhead and make sure that the tones sound equally pitched. If not, try to adjust it in little steps. I feel like I really should say something about tuning each lug to a pitch, but if you're experienced enough to know what I'm talking about then you probably aren't reading this page! If you've gone through each of the steps above, then you're probably in good shape.

It's time to give those tension rods a good cleaning. Chances are, they are black & coated with old grease and grime! A little bit you can live with, but if you've got nothing better to do - give them a quick bath with some "grease cutting" dishwashing liquid. Remember to not use Mom's good towels - you WON'T be able to get the stains out (I'd go with an old pair of underwear or socks). If you want a quick cleaning job, just wrap your cloth around the bottom of the lug and hold tightly while you "unscrew" it out of your grip. Now inspect it closely: if all of the big chunks of gunk are gone, then you're in good shape.

Before you put the tension rods back on the drum, give the rod casings a quick inspection. Wipe the gunk from the OUTSIDE of the casing, but be careful to not push any stuff INTO the receiving doohickey (what's that called?). If you REALLY need to, you can take a Q-tip with alcohol on it to swab some of it out.

Now that the drum is CLEAN, put the head back on and let's begin tuning the drum!

 

 

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