12 x 8 tuning issue - Yamaha players help!

[Steve Holmes]

I've had similar experience but have always been pleased with the sound of my 12 when I get to a venue, or hear it from out front of the kit. Granted you want them to sound pleasing while you're playing as well, but overall how a drum sounds when wacking one hit at a time can be better/worse than when you're playing a phrase that includes that drum. I go back and forth from coated amb's to clear emps. All the Altered CD's / and yt vids with the RC's have the 12 in there.

[DSOP]

Take off the 10", and put the 12" in its place and see if that changes your perception of it.

[sejuba]

I kinda feel the same too, although I play Gretsch. My kit has 10, 12 and 14 toms and the 12 inch never sounds "round" enough for my tastes, especially when I have the 3 of them set up. Things get
better when there's only the 12 and 14 together. Anyhow, I got into the habbit of recording my drums whenever I finish tuning them and the 12 tom always sounds as good as the rest (given
they were tuned properly).

Its worth mentioning I have them at low to medium tuning. The higher I go, the less I notice a difference.
heads used: G2 coated, amb coated, EC2, Ebony (those were the ones that came with the kit)

[JayD]

A good friend of mine just had the same problem with the same new drum and size- turned out to be an uneven bearing edge on the bottom! very out of character and Yamaha replaced it immediately with no fuss.

[drumnhands]

First, make sure the hex rod isn't touching the cork protector on the shell behind the mount, that will kill the sustain. Replacing the CL-945 (short hex rod for YESS) with a CL-940 (long hex rod for non-YESS) will fix this issue when it comes up. I personally have tuned many 12x8 toms and not had this problem but I've heard from others that it happens. Try the tom ball clamp with the longet hex rod on your 12x8.

[drum6282]

I had the same problem with my MCA 12x8...never seem to really get to that sweet spot. The only time it was really annoying was in the studio.

I sold the kit about 2 years ago - never investigated the edges, roundness, etc...I do know it wasn't the head.

[Cymbalfeltfetishist]

Just thought I would give you guys an update on my 12 x 8. BTW, I tried almost everything you guys suggested, thank you all.

The first thing I did was test to see if the bearing edges were true, and turns out, they weren’t. Granted, they weren’t that bad, but I wanted them perfect as possible. I tested the rims as well…they were in good shape, and the shell itself was not out-of-round. I ended up take ALL my toms to a guy who fixes these issues. I tested all the toms out, and none of them were perfectly true…but I understand of course that production-line drums aren’t going to be perfect. My anal-retentive-ness kicked in and I thought I might as well do them all if I am going to take the 12 x 8 in anyways.

I had a CL-940 (long hex arm) on stand by, just in case I wanted a little more distance from the tom holder post, so I put that on for the 12 x8. I also raised my rack toms higher after reading about some guys having issues with the tom being too low to the bass drum and perhaps hindering the resonance....??? I’ve never had issues in the past with that issue...but in the spirit of fixing the problem, I did it.

I haven’t played clear heads in at least 15 years...but it was time to re-visit. Steve, I always liked the sound of your drums, and you mentioned you had clear emperors on them sometimes. I ended up putting clear ambassadors on the 10 and 12 and a clear emperor on the 16 floor...I usually put a double ply on the floor tom on all the sets I’ve had just to give it a little extra boom.. ya know. I noticed with the 12 x 8 that it’s a little easier to choke when the tension goes higher...so it’s a little more delicate to get to the sweet spot. That drum needed a little lower tuning to do what I wanted it to do.

The end result of all this was very good. The drum is ringing out like I want it too...all of them are. The notes are clear and I am liking the sustain. I know that Recording Customs have a more controlled sound, so I have to get use to that. But I am liking the tone for sure...I think the clear heads “freshened” things up. With all the work and changes that I did, I can’t really tell WHAT fixed the problem...lol but..

Thanks for all your help. I am a Yamaha man now! and proud of it