As it’s likely you are new to drum kits, there are some important things you should know about setting up and maintaining your drum kit. Firstly, there is the matter of tuning your drums. Firstly, you need to know how to tune the snare drum.
Firstly, turn the snares off. This will make it easier to judge the pitch of the drum. You must first tune the top head. Turn each lug using a drum key to make the pitch higher. Do not tune the lugs in a circular sequence; it is better to tune a lug, then tune the one directly opposite to it. Repeat the process for the bottom head. To test whether the snare is in tune, play the drum lightly close to each lug, and ensure that the pitch is the same for all lugs.
For a snare drum, the pitch should be fairly high. On the bass drum, however, you must ensure that the pitch is neither too high nor too low. Tune the front head first, using the same method as for the snare drum, then tune the back head. For the toms, tune the bottom head first, then repeat the methd used for tuning the snare.
You must use your own judgment to determine how high or low you want the drums to sound; much is based on personal preference. There are many other considerations you need to make, one of which is the noise that your drum kit will create. One way to combat this is to use practice pads to dampen the sound of the drums.
Also, to dampen the sound of your bass drum, you can put a duvet inside. It’s very important to take the noise level of your drums into consideration, as you don’t want to upset your neighbours! Another issue which should be considered is whether you are right or left handed. The drum kit you buy will not be any different, but you must set it up differently.
If you are right handed, the snare, hi-hat should both be to your left as you sit down, and the floor tom and ride cymbal should be to your right, and vice versa if you are left handed.
