Tuning Kicks and Snares to key of Track

I had a producer from the U.K come over and stay with me for 2 weeks while he was here in Vancouver for a New Years Show. He won producer of the year for South Asian Music in 2005, so he knows what he's talking bout. He told me to always tune the kicks and snares samples I use to the same key of the track I composed. Easier said than done, because how can I find out what key my drum sounds are already in? Once I know that, I can pitch shift it to the key that my track is in, but I need to know what key it is originally in. Now, I could try to do it by ear, but that could be decieving. I was thinking of putting my electronic guitar tuner to the speakers, but I don't think that will work. Anyone thought of this before?

in the end it all comes down to whether it sounds good or not.

using your ears can be deciving, but you have to learn how to rely on them cause sometimes there is no other way.

Sometimes even a perfectly tuned drum doesnt sound the best.

sometimes you arent gonna find the exact tuning of the drum cause there are so many frequences that come into play.

this is what I do. I play the track and i go to the tuning of the kick or snare and move it up and down until it sounds good.

usually i find the best thing to get right is the kick and bass line because they are competing frequencies. solo out just the kick, snare, and bassline.

hihats are usually the easiest, just as long as they arent competing with hi end frequencies you shouldnt really need to tune them so long as your decays are were you want em.

the snare is probably the most audible. Alot of producers actually have 2 of the same snares slightly tuned differantly. So say you have a 1 bar loop, the first snare would be 0 and the second would be tuned up 1 notch or so. it helps push the loop along.

those are some things that i feel work, again, id say it all come down to what sounds good. Theres no real good formula. I havent tried using a tuner but that might work, but might not be 100% acurate either.

ooooh another trick is to play your track and leave the room, listen to the bass frequencies in a differant room, usualy you can tell if somethings out of wack with the bassline.

alot of all this has to do with mixing too. you dont want competing frequencies or clashing frequencies. SOmetimes panning or eq can fix. most of the time you can only tune so much so if the drums doesnt work within a few notches, switch to a new one.

cyrus wrote:this is what I do. I play the track and i go to the tuning of the kick or snare and move it up and down until it sounds good.

Co-sign

Tuning drums is something a few producers do. A few years ago I asked this question of one of my producer friends that has a few gold records under his belt. He says its done, but not necessary. To me, its overkill. In the end, just use your ear. The tuner might work, but why go through that trouble? Your ear will tell you, the best, why something works.

TOMS are usually what drummers tune. I guess if you were doing experimental music, that might be fun.

Your friend isn't wrong though. Thats just the way he likes it.

it isn't a must but it is quite easy to do. 808's generally need this alot, because an 808 kick definately is a note. i tune my drums when i am stacking kicks and snares i also play with the cutoff.

I tune my hats and cymbals.

MaZe

Not everyone does this, but many producers do, such as Dr. Dre, who is known for having those hitting drum samples. And while a producer might not do it, engineers often do.

I know a couple of producers with platinums and Grammys, and they swear by it, and they have produced some of the biggest hits over the past few years...it does help b/c they A/B'd me tuned drums vs. not-tuned, it's a big difference.

I sometimes use the same set of drums for different songs, but I'll tune them differently to give me a whole different feel.

if u guys compress and and eq your individual drums along with tuning, in what order do usually do?

all tuning and trimming is done first
next is compression and last is eq

for me of course


early