So after reading thru all 7 pages of this topic, I couldn't find anything about the intervals used for small block tenors.According to Quad Logics tuning logic (for big blocks) all the drums that are two inches apart in size are tuned to a major 3rd while the drums 1 inch apart and a minor 3rd. According to that logic, would that mean that on a normal set of small blocks (8,10,12,13) that the 1 to 2 interval would be a major 3rd, the 2 to 3 interval would be the same, and that it would finish out to a minor 3rd between the 3rd and 4th drums?

Not surprisingly, for me, the tenors I play (Dynasty) aren't tuned to notes. They're quint tenors: 6, 8, 10, 12, 13. We have Remo Ebony Emperor Crimplock heads on them. I've been on them for four years, and have three different tuning methods...

..with the first guy, we basically tightened them as much as possible. For me, this worked well for the highest (6") drum. It sounded O.K. for the 8", but the lowest two sounded way too high. It didn't get the deep tone that I was looking for. The 10" was alright - I don't remember what it sounded like, but it probably wasn't pretty.

...with the second guy, he tried to tune them to a pitch. They sounded fairly good, but they went out of tune easily (for various reasons obviously - how hard they were hit, etc.) They did sound good - all five of them, but they didn't keep the tune long.

...with the third guy, I have am trying to tune the 6" and 8" fairly high - so they have a cracking pop sound. The 10" and the 12" still sound mediocre. I did tune them so they sound the same all around the drum - something that was neglected in the past, but they don't sound good. I still don't know what to go for with these. I will probably go towards tuning them to a pitch. The 13" sounds good. My head is broken, but it gets the resonance and has a low sound. Somewhat like a floor tom of a drum set, but more resonance.

It sounds like you're tuning from the top down. It'll be much easier for you to start with the 4 drum and work your way up to the spocks than the other way around.

Yeah. I'm used to doing it that way. What's the benefit of going up from the lowest? (Just curious. This is actually the first year where I've been looking around enough to realize how much of a joke my drumline is.)

The lower drums are the hardest to get the way you want them to sound, in my opinion. You know how on the spocks you can pretty much just crank 'em without too much thought into it? Well, it's pretty much the opposite for the lower drums. There's a wide range where they'll be too low pitch, and a wide range where they'll be too high. There's a smaller "sweet spot" for the right tone, and by starting with them it's easier to get there and work your way up with the other drums. I don't know if that made any sense... it's a bit tough to put into words

Make perfect sense. Never really thought about that, thanks!

Before I state my tuning practices, I would first like to say that I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks Dynasty is overrated. That aside.........

Throughout high school, I got to march Yamaha and Pearl tenors. As previously stated, by one of the other members, the Yamaha sets tend to sound better cranked. I have the bulk of my tenor playing experience on Pearl tenors. They DO pack quite a bit more tone than Yamaha, although I gotta say they still sound great when cranked. They're actually quite versatile in my opinion. You can make 'em sound good low, cranked, and all points in between.

More recently, I've gotten my hands on some Dynasty tenors, since the line I tech uses a full line of Dynasty. They're alright. Not the best in tone, and not quite as versatile as Pearl, but you can still get them to sound good cranked, or at a medium pitch, but no lower.

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As far as tuning goes, it seems to me that it depends on the set you're using, and the music. As a general rule, if I'm tuning tighter, I make the intervals between drums smaller. Never below a minor third, but on tighter tunings, never above a major third. If I'm at a good medium/medium-high tuning, I tend to structure the intervals as below:

4<->3 = minor third
3<->2 = major third
2<->1 = minor third
Then the spock/glock/shot drum is cranked high enough to cut, without being annoying.

On lower tunings, It's generally perfect 4ths across the board, with the spock a perfect 5th above drum one.

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When taking music into consideration, think of the theme. If you're doing something historic, tune lower. Go for somewhat of an "old-school" sound. Otherwise, medium to cranked is all you really need.

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I've never really thought of tuning to a specific key, but I'm definitely going to try that this week.

OK, so here are some recommendations no matter what size drums you use:

14" - G
13" - B
12" - D
10" - A#
8" - C and above
6" - G and above

Use a pitch source (All Dr. Beat 88s and 90s do this), and tune each lug to the same pitch (this is balancing or clearing the head like timpani).

You can move these around, but these are resonant pitches for the size of the drum.

Try it, adjust to taste, sprinkle with good playing and viola...

NL

I tune them in a minor 7 chord.

Evans info.
Also depending on the drum sie you can tune to these notes.
6" F#
8" C#
10" A
12" F#
13" D
14" Bb

On the four main drums I try to keep it around an octave. Don't want really large intervals.

I tighten the heads with the criss cross method and tap the drum near each tension rod and match all to the desired pitch. I strive to tighten tension evenly as possible with changing pitch.
I like them medium pitches. Not too high and not low where they sound like timpani.

When I was in high school, my instructor didn't tune to specific notes per say. If you know the dumb dog from bugs bunny who would say "which way did he go george, which way did he go?" that is how we tuned the drums across (4,2,1,3). I.E. "which"=drum 4, "way"=drum 2 "did he"=drum 1 and "go"=drum3. Believe it or not it was a quick and easy way to tune and the drums sounded pretty good. Heres a link to the sound clip I'm talking about in case anybody was curious.

http://www.megawavs.com/play.aspx?id=595