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Beginner Level Instructions:

How to Tune a Tom for your Drum Set
By Sean Adams

Table of Contents
I.
A.
B.
II.
A.
B.
C.
D.
III.
A.
B.
C.

Basic Knowledge (Pgs. 2-3)

Parts of a tom (Pg. 2)
Universal tom tuning rules (Pg. 3)
Prep Work (Pgs. 4-9)
Items Needed (Pg. 4)
Acquiring New Heads (Pgs. 5-6)
Disassembly (Pgs. 7-8)
Maintenance (Pg.9)
Tuning (Pgs. 10-13)
Reassembly (Pgs.10)
Balancing sound (Pgs. 11-12)
Optimizing your sound (Pg. 13)

Tom

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Basic Knowledge
Parts of a tom

Lug- This is what squeezes the head and rim to the

drum shell and is the key element in tuning a drum.
(The small circular object beneath the lug is a washer.
It prevents the rim from being damaged by the lug.)

Tom Head- This is what produces/resonates sound when hit

with a drumstick.

Rim- This is what keeps the tom head in place when

tightened down by the lugs.

Lug Mount- This is what the lugs are inserted into and
allows the lugs to be tightened.

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Universal tom rules

Toms have a size to pitch ratio- The smaller the tom, the higher the pitch.
Example: If you own a 12in, 14in, and 16in tom, the 12in should have the highest
pitch, the 16in should have the lowest pitch, and the 14in should be somewhere in
between.

Toms should preferably be stored in 70-80 degree dry areas- If drums are
stored in cold temperatures for too long they will have the potential to lose some of
their tone. The same goes for temperatures too hot. Drums are made of wood as
well, so they should not be put in water for they could be warped if exposed for too
long.

Toms should be handled with care- Tom heads are designed so that they can take
a beating from the drummer to create sound. The rest of the tom, however, is
delicate and should be handled with care while tuning, moving, and playing your
toms. Damage decreases drum value, looks, durability, and potentially your overall
sound.

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Prep Work
Items Needed

Drumsticks

Drum Key

Drum Heads

Tape measure

Drum Cleaner

Paper Towels

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Acquiring New Heads

All steps will work for both floor toms and mounted toms.

Mounted Toms

Floor Toms

Measure your drum head in inches from side to side- This will be the drum
head sizes that you need to purchase. (Do not include rim in measurement)

Wrong way to measure

Right way to measure

16.5in with rim

16in without rim

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Determine what kind of head you would like to purchase- Different head types
and brands will produce different sounds. Talk to a worker from your local music
store for more information.

Acquire new drum heads- There is a batter side head (front/top) of the tom which
needs to be replaced once a month for optimal drum tone and also a resonant side
head (back/bottom) which needs to be replaced every three months.

Batter Side Head

Resonant Side Head

Side note: Different batter and resonant head combinations will also produce
different sounds.

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Disassembly

Carefully remove toms from mounts or remove legs of floor tomsIf toms are mounted on a suspension system of any kind, remove them and place
them on a soft surface as to not to scratch their rims.
If you have floor toms, simply remove the legs by unscrewing them. (Floor tom is
used in this guide)

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For the rest of this guide, repeat instructions as needed when dealing with
batter and resonant side heads.

Remove lugs, rim, and old head-With your drum key, unscrew all lugs on the rim
that are holding your drum head in place and remove the rim and old head.

(Keep lugs in a spot where

you can easily find them
such as a plastic baggie)

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Maintenance

Wipe off inside of drum with dry cloth- Remove any

dust and foreign objects that may have collected within
your drum. (Maintaining your drums gives them better
sound, look, and durability)

Clean off rims, lugs, and drums- Besides wiping dust

off, thoroughly cleaning all parts of a tom is very
important. Degreaser works well for lugs and rims and
local music stores will sell rim cleaner that you can
apply to your drums.

Warning!
If rims and lugs are not maintained it could lead to rusting. This will eventually
degrade the rims looks and durability. If lugs rust, they may be stripped to the
point that they do not tighten down anymore. If rusting occurs either use steel wool
to very lightly take off rust or, if this doesnt work and the damage is too bad, then
you may consider purchasing a new rim and heads.

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Tuning
Reassembly
It is recommended that you work on the resonant (back/bottom) head first

Place head on back of tom so that it loosely fits onto tom.

Place rim on top of that

head- The openings on the
rims should match the holes
for where you will thread
your lugs into the lug
mounts.

Insert lugs into holes of

rim and into lug mountsFinger tighten the lugs until
there is some resistance.

Side note: Try to finger

tighten lugs equally so that it is easier to tune them later on.

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Balancing Sound

Lightly press down on center of head- Place your

hand on the center of the drum head so that there are
wrinkles all around the outer edge of the head.

While doing previous step Tighten any lug with a

drum key so that the wrinkle by the lug fades awayCount how many times you turn the lug so that you can
be close to perfect on equal tightness.

Repeat the previous step for lug on opposite side of

the one you just tightened- Again, make sure you
tighten the lug with the same number of turns.

Repeat two previous steps until all wrinkles are

removed- It is recommended that after you tighten
opposite ends that you then move to tighten a lug to the
right, and then repeat the opposite end tightening
pattern until completely finished.

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Tap on your drum head

with a drum stick beside
each lug to hear the pitchYou want every lug to have
a very similar pitch.
Tightening will make pitch
higher, loosening it will
make pitch lower.

Final Tuning Note

The resonant side head should be tight. When
you press your hand against the resonant side
head there should be very little to no give on the
head. Even after the wrinkles are removed you
may want to give the resonant side head lugs a
couple of turns. If you have to strain to tighten
your head then you have went too far. It needs
to be tight but not constricting. You will want
your batter side head to be looser than your
resonant side head. How loose your batter head
is is up to you and depends on what sound you
want.

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Optimizing your sound

Experiment- The best way to find your perfect sound

is to experiment with different heads, tuning, and
drums.

Record Yourself- Drummers may hear something from behind their kit that
sounds completely different
than if they were around
their kit. If you have access
to an audio recorder of any
kind, then be sure and
record yourself playing on
your toms to know for
certain that your sound is to
your liking.

Purchase a drum tuner- Although a musician should

always train their ears to hear pitch, digital drum tuners
can help you tune your toms accurately.

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