Rotek Drums tuning system
A new, revolutionary way to tune drums is upon us... Article written by Arny Bailey Back to Cover
Whenever I hear, “Hey Arny, do ________
you have a moment?” there’s always a little voice inside that says, “Run for your life!” I suppose I’ve simply had too many instances where that statement has been followed by, “I have something to tell you about Amway” to not shutter. Since starting Weekend Musician though, I have had a lot of opportunities to learn about new technologies and gadgets and had I actually turned tail and ran the last time I heard this, I would have missed out on a really cool new innovation in drum technology.
So there I am breaking down and packing up following a gig when my drummer, Brad Bean, speaks those words….”Hey Arny, do you have a moment?” Since it was Brad, I was reasonably sure I wasn’t going to be sold a new skin treatment, vitamin supplement or hair conditioner. That said, I haven’t actually had a “moment” since 1983 and certainly didn’t have one in the middle of a tear down….but it was Brad.
In tow were a couple of gentlemen, one toting a very nice looking drum ____
Say goodbye to the "old" way of tuning
drums. There is a much easier method coming soon - read on!
case which intrigued me. I remember thinking, “An audition with only one drum? This should be interesting!” Then, I recalled Brad mentioning a new drum technology that allowed single point tuning and realized I was about to be wowed.
The inventor, David Spinazzola, took out the drum and demonstrated his new product while the entire band looked on. I’ve always been amazed through my years on the planet that the best inventions seem to be the simplest of ideas. The overall response from the on-lookers seemed to be “Duh…why didn’t someone think of this before?!!”
Although I would describe myself as a vocalist who plays guitar, I actually started playing drums back in 8th grade when my parents surprised me with a Ludwig set they had picked up for $50 at some thrift shop (probably worth thousands today). Like most beginning drummers, the kit’s first home was in the living room, later relocated to the garage where it became the best place for my mom to _
air dry clothing. I’ve still dabbled through the years and would feel comfortable sitting in with most classic rock club bands. Although I would not classify myself as a drummer, I have had enough experience using those pesky drum keys (well, looking for them would be a better description), to know a good idea when I see it.
David Spinazzola explains his new RotekDrums Tuning System as follows:
The concept for this tuning system started in 2004. I took up drums again and
felt tuning was quite an ordeal, and though I read every online tuning guide
I could find including "The drum __
Version 4 of the tuning system. Notice the eccentric lugs and separate inner hoop and outer rotating adjuster hoop.
guide I could find including "The drum tuning bible" I felt there had to be a better way. I thought the most obvious answer would be to come up with something that tuned the drum similar to screwing a lid on a jar.
The original prototype was a huge disappointment, it had huge threads
like a nut and bolt and it had to be clamped to a table to provide
enough stability to rotate the tuner.
I looked at such issues as binding, friction, the effects of the tuner
turning against the drum head's rim. I added a rollerized interface similar
to "Lazy
Susan" between the drum head and the tuner which allowed the tuner
to rotate and not twist the drum head with it, I also reduced the thread
contact area, and though this improved matters, the tuner was not even
close. One day while I was commuting back and forth to work in the San
Francisco Bay Area, I came up with the solution and version 2 was born. This
new system employed a very gradual cam mechanism and very little drag
and allowed for quick removal and installation of the drum head. After
____
successful testing I filed for my firstUS patent application. I showed this tuning system to a major drum company, I had the pleasure of meeting with the founder and co-founder and others on their staff. We talked back and forth ___
for months about licensing the tuning system and where it fit in their
product line. Based off the feedback from this company, version
3 was built which was much more compact and allowed drums to be positioned
as close ______
together as existing drums. In 2006, the US patent was granted
and I continued to test and look for ways to improve sound, tunability,
and more easily mass produced. The goal was to have a fully rollerized
drum tuning system that was easy to tune, light weight and
have great sound quality.
In 2007, Version 4 was created which included so many changes it required a second
patent application. The newest system was much thinner, had half the mass of
version 3, mimicked the qualities of current drum tuning systems while adding
the ease of tuning this system was designed for in the first place. The newest
tuning system is made of Billet Aluminum and can be retrofitted to existing
drums. The "Full Floater" design is installed on the batter side
while a standard hoop is mounted on the resonant head, rods connecting the two
forming sort of a bird cage when the shell is removed. Full floaters are commonly
used on marching band drums made by Pearl and Ludwig, and companies like
Sleishman. The newest and preferred _
design employs eccentric adjustable lugs which raise and lower the tuning mechanism to allow for a wide variety of drum heads from all manufacturers to be used. This design has separate tuners on both the batter and resonant
heads, and tuning of the resonant head can be done without removing the drum from the mount or stand. The beauty of the new lugs is that there is no load or distortion of the drum shell, all load is along the vertical axis of the _
drum shell. I wanted this new system to resonate for days....
and it does, the new lugs have a very small footprint on the drum shell,
this allows for maximum resonance. Anyone who has heard these
drums comments on the volume and how open the drums sound. All
of my prototypes use Maple Keller shells, 4mm 6 ply shells, and all bearing
edges trued up to perfection.
Like die cast hoops, these tuning systems are not very forgiving of poor
quality bearing edges, the better the quality of the bearing
edge, the better this tuning system functions.
Of course, Weekend Musician (WM) had a couple of questions for the inventor, David Spinnazzola (DS)
WM - Is there a way to lock down the tuner so it won't loosen up?
DS - No, there is no need for it, there is enough friction to keep the system from vibrating loose. In addition, the ramp on the camming mechanism is so gradual, the load on the rollers is sufficient to keep it from moving once the desired tuning is achieved. My ______
_
original design included a knurled thumb screw but it was never necessary.
WM - Does it tune evenly?
DS - Yes, it tunes evenly. As with a die cast hoop with its’ inherent rigidity, it pulls down evenly on the drum head. Of course it requires excellent bearing edges and good quality heads
by Aquarian, Evans and Remo to name a few. New heads once stretched tune up quite nicely. Also, I've found that tuning the batter and resonant heads with each other had a much larger effect on sound quality than perfect tension on the drum head. This is not to say it does not tune evenly, it does and it does it quickly. A drum head can be changed in around 30 seconds. I have several video's on Youtube, enter "RotekDrums" as the key word in your search and you will see all 6 (currently) video's.
WM – Is the tuning system available for all drum head sizes?
DS – Presently, I am working on building additional sizes including 10", 14", 16" sizes. A new 12" snare is being tested (14" on the way) which employs the "full floater" concept, it's very open and the rim shots among the best I have ever heard.
WM – Will the tuning system be available as a retrofit kit or will it only be available on a proprietary drum kit?
Tuning is achieved by rotating the rotator hoop clockwise or counterclockwise. The grip plate is sometimes referred to by onlookers as “brass knuckles”. As the rotator is turned by using the tool and drum stick, the cleats which are located radially around the outer perimeter of the tuner rotate into position of the next hole. As one cleat moves out of range of the grip plate, a new cleat is moved into position.
Full floater offers the ultimate in simplicity, lower costs and a very open sound. This is actually more like a version 3.5, if you notice the rotator and inner hoop, there are no external wheels, instead around 300 + ball bearings separate the two components. Once the drum head is removed, the shell comes out completely leaving a “bird cage” framework. Any shell can be inserted at this time, allowing for quick color changes, or material changes for a different sound.
This is a 12” snare drum utilizing the “full floater” design. Rotating only the top tuner applies tension to both drum heads simultaneously. This little drum cracks! The holes positioned around the rotator are there to reduce mass, part of an ongoing experiment while developing the version 4 tuning system.
DS – The tuning system will be available separately as a retrofit for existing drum sets, in sets (batter and resonant), to custom drum companies, and to OEM's. We will also be building custom drums with these systems installed. I felt it would be better to be the "Goodyear Tires" which can be fit to any drum set instead of "GM". If I had been locked into one drum manufacturer, the market share would be smaller.
WM – Will there be a tuning setup for the kick drum as well?
DS - We will not be building bass drum tuning systems as it would be too large, and we feel unnecessary at this time.
WM – When will this be available on the open market?
DS- I have consulted with manufacturers and am in the process of
raising capital to start manufacturing. A single 5 piece prototype
drum set will be available for select drummers in the Seattle area
to test. When mass produced, they will be made of die cast aluminum
due to the sound quality and light weight of aluminum. I chose aluminum
because of an experience I had in a small shop in Leavenworth WA. There
were these Corinthian wind chimes, they sounded beautiful, they resonated
forever and were crystal clear, at that moment I was convinced Aluminum
was the way to go. I am thrilled to be living in the Seattle area because
so many great bands have come from Washington and the music scene is
as strong as ever.
According to David Spinazzola, select demonstrations will be scheduled at your local Guitar Center in the very near future. Anyone interested in seeing the prototype tuning system in person as well as drummers interested in testing or gigging using the 5 piece set, please contact David Spinazzola at .
Arny Bailey
MEET THE WRITER - ARNY BAILEY
President of In Form, Inc. Media Design and Chief Editor of Weekend Musician is a licensed architect practicing in the Pacific Northwest and weekend musician currently fronting ABOUT FACE, a classic rock cover band and The Grand Delusion a Tribute to the music of Styx and Journey.