Tuning Your Tubanos

• Paul Corbiere & Tereasa Evans
• Posted 5/30/22
• 0 comments

Fresh-out-of-the-box Tubanos do not need to be tuned immediately. Remo has already torqued them with the optimal tension needed for that specific drums’ tonal range. Because of this, they automatically sound amazing! 

If your drums start sounding like a tabletop or thuds, it’s time to tune! When it is time to tune, first let your drums acclimate to your room for a few days.

Step 1: Organize Your Tubanos

First, group your Tubanos together by sizes, 10″- high, 12″-medium, and 14″ low. 

Step 2: Select Your Reference Drum

Let’s start with the medium 12” Tubanos. Find the medium (12”) drum that sounds the best to you and use that as your reference point. The goal is to match the “tone” of your selected reference drum across the board.

Step 3: Tune the 12″ – Medium Tubanos

Choose the best tuning method for your personal preference. One method is to tighten in a “star” or “steering wheel” pattern. Another option is to tune around the instrument in a clockwise or counter-clockwise manner, lug by lug. Using your 12″- medium reference drum, begin tuning each drum individually by turning the swivel key a ¼, ½, or full turn per lug to distribute the tension across the drum evenly. By striking the drumhead nearest the lug, you’ll get an idea of how much tension is on that lug compared to the other lugs. Use the sound at each lug as your guide for how far to tighten each lug. To help distribute the tension, you can press down firmly into the center of the drumhead to evenly stretch out and balance the sound. Then follow suit with the remaining 12″-medium Tubanos. 

Step 4: Tune the 14″ – Low Tubanos

Next, move onto the low (14”) drum. Pick the Tubano that sounds a Major 4th below the 12”-medium Tubanos. Another method is to choose the 14”-low Tubano that sounds best compared to your tuned 12” Tubanos.  This is a personal sound preference. Pick the drum that best resonates with you. Tune the remainder of the low Tubanos to that particular drum.

Step 5: Tune the 10″ – High Tubanos

Last, conquer your 10″- high Tubanos. The same premise applies to the 14″- low Tubanos.  Choose a drum sounding pleasing to your ear, or best matching a fourth above the 12” – medium Tubano. Again, this is a personal sound preference. Tune the single 10″- high drum, then move on to tune the remaining 10″ – high Tubanos. 

Ultimately, it’s what sounds good to you. It doesn’t always have to be perfect unless you’re playing in a key that won’t intermix well. Let the drum sing, vibrate, and demonstrate its resonance! Tune as needed.  

Paul Corbière, a World Music Drumming instructor and elementary music teacher, shares his process to tune your tubanos. He walks you through establishing a low, middle, and high tone on the different sized drums. Then he explains the step-by-step process of achieving a matched pitch between same-sized drums in this video.