This tuner is amazing, after months of frustration and not getting the right sound, I bought the drum dial. My drums are so much better now. What a great investment. Definitely recommend! But it now, and make your drums sound like they should.

My wife bought me my first set of drums, Tama Swingstars. I watched the DVD that came with them, and scoured the internet for tuning tips. I did my best, with every move they'd go from sounding OK to yuck. By the time I was done with them, they sounded muddy and choked. I made myself crazy trying to tune each head to itself, then to each other, then to the next drum. Just when I thought I had one right, I'd tweak it just to get it to sound better with the others and next thing you know they're all a mess again. So I went to the TAMA website looking for any help I could find, and found their FAQ, which said something about a Tuning Watch. An AH HAH moment. There's such a thing as Drum Tuners! I'm on a budget, and 80 bucks for TAMA's was a bit much, so I kept digging around the web and found the Drum Dial. I bought one today, and wish I had sooner. One by one, I took each drum off my kit, and put the gauge on 'em. Some were close, and some were bass ackwards. Once I got the hang of adjusting each a little bit (try to suppress the need for instant gratification), I was able to dial them all in to the lower of the pressure ranges listed on the provided chart. Then I sat down to play my drums. They each sounded very clean, but not pitched quite right. Once I figured out which were off pitch, I used the drum key on them right on the kit, and got them as close as I could. Then I took them off the kit again one by one and made sure each lug on each drum had the same reading. Done. I now have one very nicely tuned set of drums that even prompted a comment from my wife, who ordinarily doesn't pay attention to things like tone and pitch. Thanks to the Drum Dial, I now know that when it comes time to upgrade my heads from the TAMA OEM's, I'll be able to tune my set and still keep my sanity. If you get one, be careful with the bottom head on a snare, it's thin and the dial can poke indentations into it. Other than that, this tool is worthwhile.

I've been playing for fourty years now and I always tuned my drums by ear but not anymore. The drum dial is very easy to use but it does take a little time to adjust the lugs, it's well worth the time and money. One thing for sure, It's much faster than tuning by ear. My drums sound awesome.

This thing has a great weight to it. No doubt it's well built and a quality product. A little bit tricky and takes a little getting used to. Once you've got the hang of it... it takes tuning a drum to itself to a new level. I've been playing for around 20 years and have always had the ability to TAKE MY TIME and tune a drum very well. However, after taking a break for a few years I've seem to have lost a step. So I thought I try this thing. This little thing finds tension and pitch discrepencies at each lug that the human ear can't possibly pick up.For tuning a drum to itself it's incredible. Once you've got the head in tune you'll have to tune-up or detune to find a pitch that works for you b/c their tuning chart is a good guide to start with but won't tune your kit for you. It seems to tune everything a little too high for me, especially the floor tom and the bass drum. Definitely worth the buck. This thing makes for an excellent foundation before tuning and ensures, without a doubt, that every drum is in tune w/ itself before searching for that magic pitch that works for you.

I ordered a drum dial drum tuner, but when I went to use it (and yes, I followed the instructions) I ended up poking a hole in my new drumhead. I shipped it back to drum dial a couple days ago, and I hope to test it when it - or a new one - comes back in working order. (One of their reps told me that it was not working and to ship it back for repair/replacement.) As far as the product goes I think it will be excellent. The Drum Dial is heavy and seems to be well built. I doubt you could break it. You could probably break the plastic cover on the gage, but the unit would retain functionality. Hope I get it back soon.