TUNE-BOT DRUM TUNER REVIEW, UPDATED SEPTEMBER 2025
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| TUNE-BOT DRUM TUNER CLIPPED TO DRUM RIM |
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| DW DRUMSET in High on Technology studio |
In 2012 I built an all new DW drum set for our recording studio, I had a teacher come work with me weekly and he taught me how to play them. More than ever I really wanted to learn how to tune them better and get them sounding the best possible. I was obsessed with getting it right, but what is right? Everybody has their own idea, I've never met two drummers who agree about how drums should be tuned.
I tried apps on my iPhone, I tried little torque wrenches, I tried dial tuning aids. None of this resulted in the best tone. Then I read an interview with a studio drummer who was using the Tune-Bot drum tuner. He was raving about how he could get consistent tone and eliminate sympathetic vibrations by tuning the upper and lower heads to the correct different frequencies.
WELCOME TUNE-BOT
I'm going to cut to the chase, if you're not absolutely positively delighted about the way you're tuning your drums buy one of these, it's a game changer. Tune-Bot definitely works.
Guitar players have been using tuners for years. Finally Drummers have a professional tool that can help them accurately and consistently tune drums to the right pitches.
Before I bought Tune-Bot I pulled all my drums out and retuned the whole kit from the ground up. I was determined to learn how. I wasted two days experimenting, then ordered Tune-Bot.
I calculated the pitches for my six toms and tuned them to the suggested frequencies. Like magic: now drummers come in to the studio and complain about tuning. The kit plays like a real musical instrument, the toms are tuned to major-thirds and they sound great.
I can retune any drum (except the bass drum) in 10 minutes (includes unmounting it, tuning and reinstalling).
I tried apps on my iPhone, I tried little torque wrenches, I tried dial tuning aids. None of this resulted in the best tone. Then I read an interview with a studio drummer who was using the Tune-Bot drum tuner. He was raving about how he could get consistent tone and eliminate sympathetic vibrations by tuning the upper and lower heads to the correct different frequencies.
WELCOME TUNE-BOT
I'm going to cut to the chase, if you're not absolutely positively delighted about the way you're tuning your drums buy one of these, it's a game changer. Tune-Bot definitely works.
Guitar players have been using tuners for years. Finally Drummers have a professional tool that can help them accurately and consistently tune drums to the right pitches.
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| TUNING CALCULATOR ON TUNE-BOT WEB SITE |
What are those pitches you ask? The Tune-Bot web site is filled with useful information to help you understand the science behind their suggested tuning. They provide a calculator (also available as an app for iPhone and android) that will help you find exactly what pitches to tune the upper and lower head on each drum. You answer some simple questions about your drum set and the tone you like, then the calculator suggests the frequencies for each head on the top and bottom of each drum, no more guessing.
Before I bought Tune-Bot I pulled all my drums out and retuned the whole kit from the ground up. I was determined to learn how. I wasted two days experimenting, then ordered Tune-Bot.
I calculated the pitches for my six toms and tuned them to the suggested frequencies. Like magic: now drummers come in to the studio and complain about tuning. The kit plays like a real musical instrument, the toms are tuned to major-thirds and they sound great.
I can retune any drum (except the bass drum) in 10 minutes (includes unmounting it, tuning and reinstalling).
Once you learn how to read the display and follow the directions for tuning you'll be doing it too. Imagine never wasting any more time trying to make your drums sound good? No more guessing. Try and tune drums when you have a cold and stuffy nose and ears. I guarantee Tune-Bot does not care how you feel, it will help you tune your drums the same every time.
DAMPEN WITH TUNING NOT TOWELS, GEL AND PADS
Without Tune-Bot it's easy to get the tuning WRONG between the top and bottom heads. When they're NOT tuned right you end up with big annoying, sustaining, overtones that need to be dampened somehow. For years drummers and engineers have been using towels, gels, pads and rings to dampen the heads, trying to control or eliminate those annoying resonances.
Tune-Bot lets you get resonance under control naturally, by accurately tuning the upper and lower head to precise - but different - frequencies that naturally control overtones. When you get them tuned to the right frequencies, your drums will ring and sound BIG and FULL without annoying, sustaining tones. The sound of your drums will be clearer when you no longer need tape or pads or gel from the moon to control resonance.
DAMPEN WITH TUNING NOT TOWELS, GEL AND PADS
Without Tune-Bot it's easy to get the tuning WRONG between the top and bottom heads. When they're NOT tuned right you end up with big annoying, sustaining, overtones that need to be dampened somehow. For years drummers and engineers have been using towels, gels, pads and rings to dampen the heads, trying to control or eliminate those annoying resonances.
Tune-Bot lets you get resonance under control naturally, by accurately tuning the upper and lower head to precise - but different - frequencies that naturally control overtones. When you get them tuned to the right frequencies, your drums will ring and sound BIG and FULL without annoying, sustaining tones. The sound of your drums will be clearer when you no longer need tape or pads or gel from the moon to control resonance.
TUNE-BOT HELPS WHEN CHOOSING DRUM HEADS
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| OUR STUDIO DRUM SET, BLACK HEADS ARE DOUBLE THICKNESS, SNARE HEAD HAS INTERNAL CONTROL RINGS |
After I got Tune-Bot and began experimenting with it I broke out my stash of spare heads and tried lots of different combinations. I went back to using clear resonant heads and thicker (black) double ply heads on the four largest toms. This got me a big tone without too much sustain. The stock DW heads on the small rack toms sounded nice after they were tuned to the kit.
TUNE-BOT INFO
Over-Tone Labs has a lot of useful tuning information on the Tune-Bot web site. The selections of pitches for controlling sympathetic resonance is invaluable but you need the tool to get back to the same tuning each time.
HOW DO YOU USE TUNE-BOT?
It's easy, Tune-Bot clips to the rim of the drum your tuning. A microphone inside Tune-Bot extends over the drum head. You hit the drum to establish the current tuning and then work the tuning from there based off the numbers you read on the screen of Tune-Bot. If you want the full directions there is a link to them at the end of this article.
INTERNAL MEMORY STORAGE
Tune-Bot has storage locations in it so you can store the relative pitches you use most often. This makes it even faster to tune up before a gig.
DRUMMERS ARE CHEAP, SO IS TUNE-BOT
I've seen drum kits that haven't had a head changed in way too long. If you don't have the money to buy heads Tune-Bot is probably not for you.
Tune-Bot costs $110 on Amazon, I just checked (Sept 2025). It was on sale when I bought mine. There is now a second lower priced model with fewer features, I have not tried it so I can't comment on it's performance.
WOULD I BUY IT AGAIN?
Personally I'd buy the $100 Tune-Bot in a heartbeat if mine was lost or stolen. If you're recording drums, Tune-Bot is as essential as sticks, it's the difference between average drum tone and FABULOUS DRUM TONE. Tune-Bot makes tuning consistent and repeatable. If you need to do overdubs a year from now, you can return to the exact tuning you used with Tune-Bot. This is the single most important tool a drummer has besides a drum key.
HOW DO YOU USE TUNE-BOT?
It's easy, Tune-Bot clips to the rim of the drum your tuning. A microphone inside Tune-Bot extends over the drum head. You hit the drum to establish the current tuning and then work the tuning from there based off the numbers you read on the screen of Tune-Bot. If you want the full directions there is a link to them at the end of this article.
INTERNAL MEMORY STORAGE
Tune-Bot has storage locations in it so you can store the relative pitches you use most often. This makes it even faster to tune up before a gig.
DRUMMERS ARE CHEAP, SO IS TUNE-BOT
I've seen drum kits that haven't had a head changed in way too long. If you don't have the money to buy heads Tune-Bot is probably not for you.
Tune-Bot costs $110 on Amazon, I just checked (Sept 2025). It was on sale when I bought mine. There is now a second lower priced model with fewer features, I have not tried it so I can't comment on it's performance.
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| LOWER PRICED TUNE-BOT GIG MODEL |
Personally I'd buy the $100 Tune-Bot in a heartbeat if mine was lost or stolen. If you're recording drums, Tune-Bot is as essential as sticks, it's the difference between average drum tone and FABULOUS DRUM TONE. Tune-Bot makes tuning consistent and repeatable. If you need to do overdubs a year from now, you can return to the exact tuning you used with Tune-Bot. This is the single most important tool a drummer has besides a drum key.
www.tune-bot.com is the address you'll want to check out.
Good luck, happy drum tuning and good music to all!
Revised ©Sept 2025 by Mark King, it is NOT ok to copy or quote without written permission.
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| TUNE-BOT BY OVERTONE LABS |
