Hi,
I have a 1970 Rogers drum kit. I just bought new heads for all the drums. (12"-wing tom, 16" floor tom, 20" bass drum, and 14" snare). I not sure of the correct way to tune them, or if there is even a "correct" way to tune them. The drums will be used for jazz playing. Does anyone have any suggestions.
Thanks!
Al

Al -

I'd suggest taking this question over to the rec.music.makers.percussion newsgroup - while I'm sure many of the marimba players who frequent this message board can offer advice on tuning a drum set, you'll find a greater number of drum set experts over there.

Another option (if you are a member of the Percussive Arts Society) is to post this question on their Conference Center message board; you can get there at www.pas.org.

But while I'm writing...basically, for the toms, get the batter (top) and sounding (bottom) heads tuned to either the same pitch, or the bottom head higher than the top; for jazz playing, don't muffle the bass drum with anything more than felt strips. Check out records featuring Art Blakey, Philly Joe Jones, Max Roach, et al, to get a reference for the "classic" jazz drum set sound.

Good luck,

Jim