Tunebot vs DrumDial 

great video! you helped me

Very good commentary. Intelligent and thorough. Thank you!

I owned a drumdial first for a couple years before getting a bit frustrated and bought a tunebot. Now that I own both I use the drumdial to ensure equal tension across the head to start. I intentionally try to start around 65, because that is usually lower than what i'll be tuning up to with the tunebot later. My favorite thing about the tunebot vs the drumdial, is how the calculations on the website allow you to tune toms to have note relations to one another very easily.

A tip for those who are learning to tune their kit. I bought a drum dial because I didnt know a thing about tuning drums. After having the drum dial for a year, it was definitely an improvement but not exactly spot on tuning. And if you use a drum dial, it takes a very long time to get every lug perfect with each other. Recently, I watched Rick Beatos 3 part series "How to tune your drums like a pro". This video series did wonders for my drum tuning abilities by ear. I combined these videos with a couple other methods to develop a fool proof method for tuning drums for noobs. When tuning the drums, use two keys and tune up lugs directly across from each other at the same time so that your tensions are even, and when you are done tuning by ear/hand, check your drums with the drum dial. They will be close to perfect already, but the drum dial will help you fine tune the drums, and the result is a kit that has never sounded better. I used this method to tune my kit before my first live show and I got tons of compliments of how my kit sounded. As said in this video, if you cant tune by ear , it can be a big set back if you rely solely on one of these devices when a problem inevitably comes up down the road. Just a tip that I hope may help someone.

I just got a tune-bot and I’ve been using the drum dial and for me personally I find the drum dial to be a good way to get to a set starting point and just tune the rest of the way by ear.. but I mic my drum that I’m tuning so after getting all lugs around 85 (batter) and 75 (reso). I do the rest by ear and listening to the kid through the mics I’ve got hooked up. I’m using a Mapex m pro with Aric improta’s custom art/clear heads and I swear those heads make tuning simple! I was using Evan ec2’s and while I’m still using the evans on my 18in floor Tom my 12,13, and 16in toms sing! I’m stoked to use the tune-bit! Thanks for the video

Great review, thanks!

It took me years to learn how to tune my drums by ear. I say use these devices to speed up the process but still develop your ear for precision tuning. They will get you past the cranking stage as you listen to every tap up to the tension you like.

I use both. And Imo, they both work just fine... it's fairly simple..drum dial on snare,floor toms and kick. Tunebot on toms....

I appreciate the insight on the video and your opinion. I’ve played many live gigs over the years in warm weather and cold,rainy,nasty weather and for a drummer if having to use your own kit at a show being able to have then tuned before you go on is something you don’t always have the luxury of doing. As you said with the drum bot it’s got a lot of pros but on the cons side, having to make noise backstage is NOT an option!! I’ve used the dial so many times in all cases imaginable and it never failed me!! Yes, you may have to after getting them close check the tuning but taking your finger and tapping lightly is much different than having a mic and having to hit them hard! I’m not dissing the drum bot! I’m only saying that in situations where you can’t use a drum bot or can’t afford one or you just need something in a hurry, the drum dial if taken care of can make a world of difference in your sound!!

I love the tune bot. I’ve been shocked how out of tension the head can be. So I use both.

Great and accurate review!

I have a 5-lug maple Gretsch shell kit, which are very hard to tune. The Drum Dial changed the world for me. I usually set reso and batter both to between 72 to 75 (meaning the top & bottom heads will have the same reading). This gives me the perfect tone that does not cause the top and bottom to fight each other tonally - and, this cuts down on ringing and humming of the heads. This works well for a "fast release" sound that you'd want for gospel and funk drumming. (For toms wanting more sustain and defined "ring", you'd want to tune them in the 80+ range, and probably have the batter head about 5 higher than the reso). But each person will have their own special preferences. (As a side note, I had a horrible time with the Tunebot - it was way too complicated; but I may have had a defective unit).

also the tune bot is Handy if you have a lot of tomtom's

Its kind of funny how much time we drummers spend tuning and retuning our drums. It can be fun to experiment with highs and lows. But mostly we retune, I think, because we just need to practice more which ultimately makes the drums sound better. BTW I love the drum dial. Its Close enough for a hack like me.

How far does that peg need to be sticking out of the bottom of that drum dial? I noticed as you set it down on the drum, the dial went around a few times. That confuses me.

Nice video. One thing that the 'tune by ear brigade' don't take in to consideration is us guys that have some serious hearing loss! Yes we can still hear a drum kit loud enough when we whack it, and can still appreciate a nicely tuned kit, but as to tap tuning ourselves, forget it! I have found the drum dial invaluable for my own predicament, but have worried about totally relying on it as I have heard there are other factors involved other than exact tension matching. I may well get hold of a Tunebot too now, to try and balance out those little inconsistencies you mention which can arise from using the Drum dial exclusively. Thanks for the video :)

Thx!

I got that drumkit! Sonor select hardwood basswood Bop kit in galaxy sparkle. Except you added a fancy bass drum cymbal stand and wood hoops. They came out the same time as the safari that had a 16 bass and 10 rack instead of a 12. Great kit.

Great video. Everything you said is spot on, especially regarding a drummer should learn the art of tuning by ear if possible before getting any tuning aid. I just purchased a used drum dial, so I’ll give it go for a few months and if I don’t like it, then I’ll be going back to good ole ear tuning.😊

Been playing for many years. Have a decent but not great ear. Could never quite get rid of those dissonant "waves". Bought a Tune-bot and was amazed at how good the drums sound. Bit of a learning curve but not extreme. The charts/tutorials they provide are great...allow you to experiment. Being able to save individual drum settings on the unit is helpful. I still fine tune by ear but the Tune-bot gets me very close. Love my Tune-bot!

I have the drum dial and the drumtune pro app. I do use the drum dial to get me to a starting point of 70 then from there I use the app to fine tune. Still getting used to using the app. I want to tune them correctly to perfect 4th increments with a slight downward bend. The shells are Walnut/Birch and I want to go for a punchy sound with a fat bottom end. My toms are 10, 12, and 16 with a 22” bass. Andy advice on where to start? I’m just starting to play again after a 20 year absence, and would appreciate any advise. Thanks. .

Would love to hear your drum sounds

Use the wallet and drumstick. Dry taps. If you mess up start loose and count the turns. Seriously though i might try one of the two after decades of learning the trial and error way. You don't worry about the ringing unless it's a tympani. Sometimes you actually unbalance the tension on purpose to create a zone for hitting.

I can't get this to work on my new Roland TD 25 kit, I'll probably take it back to guitar center and get a refund oh well.

THANKS FOR THE TIPS SCOTT PATTERSON! :)

What type of beaters are those on your Axis Pedal? :o

What kind of shells are those in the background?

does the tunebot do each head seperatly?meaning if i have a 5 piece set will it tell you what it should sound like?

which one better for congas....

Great video.

Question for someone thats used both. So with Tune Bot, you know how it gives you one reading if you hit the center of the drum, and another (higher) reading when you check it at each lug!? So for example, if the middle reads 75HZ, each lug will be say 140HZ .(not the exact number, but something like that, and lets use it for example sake). With the Drum Dial, since you mainly adjust it on each lug to get your Note(HZ), say you were getting 75HZ on each lug with the Drum Dial, then on the Tune Bot would the equivalent matching tuning be 140Hz on each Lug since the overall tuning in the middle was 75HZ? And again, when I gave the example of the lugs being exactly 140HZ if the middle(overall) was reading 75HZ, that was just an example/estimate, but I know its something like that or in the ballpark, so for the sake of example lets just say if the Tune Bot is reading 75HZ when you get the overall by hitting the middle then each lug would read 140HZ .

Not sure If it’s a new feature but you can hold down a button and put it in high frequency mode for the snare.

What's your fav kick pedal axis or Dw?

Both!

DrumDial the best!!!

The Tunebot is $40 more than the DrumDial. I'm getting the DrumDial! It is as reliable.

Bought a Tune Bot and a Drum Dial. The Tune Bot is waaaay more accurate and combined the tuning calculator has allowed me to get excellent tone from my whole kit with minimal effort. I tried the Drum Dial today and found it just way to finicky. I didn't get a good sound. When I used the Drum Dial and Tune Bot together, I was shocked to find how much variation in tone there is between, e.g., 70 and 70.25 using the Drum Dial, it just isn't accurate enough to do the job.

Would a drum dial really help someone who can't tune at all? I've been playing for like a year and can't tune to save my life, I'm not sure if my kinda lower end pearl drum set is to blame but they sound kinda bad. Help me

what you recomend? say please, Tune Bot or DrumDial ? hmm?

Technology is great and I'm not putting this option down in any way, but it all comes down to how good and in tune your drum sounds. I have bought turners and I end u getting rid of them. what I do is just throw some quarter turns on ur lugs up or down and use ur freaking ears. Theres a lot more to it then what I said but I'm not getting into that. If you have ears you can tune a set in 5 min. That's just me I have that ability. If you do to then say thankyou lord.

drum dial any day.. no need to hit the drum.. and even tune bot will not get you the perfect tuning on a kit, as you will always have to fine tune by ear to get rid of weird overtones messing with the snare drum or something else.. I can tune by ear way fasster than TuneBot.. but I always use DrumDial to start.. ( i have written down all my drums tuning pr. head and head type) .. and then fine tune by ear. Regarding bearing edge I also build drums, so my edges are as close to perfect as it goes.. and the very tiny deviations will not in real life mean anything to the drum dial.. the distance form the rim though: THAT is WAY more important!.. so use the distance measure thingy..

If you are getting different frequencies on certain tension rods with the tensions the same on drum dial, you have a problem with your bearing edge, your hoop, or a bad head. Go watch the drum dial tutorials and you would know that. The drum dial is great for detecting problems with your drums. This is not a drawback as you portray it, it is a benefit.

drumdial vs tama tension watch?

The drum dial is only supposed to get you close the the same pitch.

I own both but I prefer the tunebot

The problem with tunebot is that you can't really tune the snare drum reso head with it. For toms it works fine though.

I would not touch that moon gel.

What are over tones?

I have Drum Dial...and Tunebot..both are Great tools..You cannot hear the Diffrence between them..DrumDial is faster..Thats it😊😊😊

elephant in the room...Drum Dial: shouldnt that drum be LEVEL not at an angle? How about keeping it in the center?

I'm gonna buy a drumdial even if tunebot could be better, the drumdial just is very simple

tune bot

Gimmicks

ya ever been in a store and the display kits sound like shit(minus the ego drummers who a rocking the display kits like their opening at monsters of rock 1985) how does a store allow the drum department jackass to tune like crap? Especially when that could affect NEW sales? Not to mention they sell these tools. I prefer ear tuning.

I tune by ear. No big thing. Tune your kit to intervals that please you. It's not rocket science. 😎

much cheaper and the same with dtumtune pro 2.0 on android

Complete bullshit about sound waves. Drum sound is a complex sound with different overtones, and at least two voices - shell + head and some shitty filtering doesn't clear it out. Both TB and DD are good as meters when you know the exact tuning you're trying to achieve. But as a basic tuner TB is inappropriate. I've seen a lot of videos where it showed not what you actually have been hearing. The only way to tune your drum is check it with any reference tone app until you like the tuning, then write down the values TB or DD showing. But you can't rely on TB measures of the frequency - too often it showed the overtone or some rubbish.

this unit should not be sold more then $ 19.95. to produce this product is dirt especially the tunebot.

I think the tune bot is very useful especially if you have a thicker head ( Remo Clear Emperor ) on the batter side, and thinner head ( Remo Clear Ambassador ) on the reso side. Not sure if the top and bottom should be the same pitch for best sound.?

I own a DrumDial as well as a Neary Drum Torque. I plan on buying a Tunebot. I think it will be especially nice to have for studio use. It's true the DrumDial is not always accurate. I have found the thinner the head, the more accurate it is. I just now replaced my 22" bass head with an Aquarian Super Kick II and the muffling ring on the underside, which is where it is measuring, throws it off. I wound up grabbing my Neary to get a more accurate tension and finishing up by ear. The Neary is pretty old school and the plastic tip it has is a pain. I have an Evans Drum Torque Key on the way that will probably replace the Neary all together. They are just tools though and you really should learn how to tune by ear.