Drum Key

As a drummer, your drum key is your lifeline. That two-thousand dollar kit you bought is nothing without this tiny little two-dollar key. With it, your set can sound amazing, without it, your tuneless drum heads sound like a pawn shop special.

I am amazed at the variety of drum keys available these days. I have been using standard keys for so long that the last time I went to purchase one I was overwhelmed.

Now you can find drill bits, ratchets and all kinds of keys similar to a Swiss Army Knife. Below you will find a bunch of these models and some of my thoughts on the “usefulness” of each.

Standard Keys

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. No bells and whistles, these keys just do what they’re supposed to do. I prefer these because:

A) They work
B) They’re inexpensive

I lose too many keys to be spending a lot of money on them. Standard keys work just as well as any other key and if I lose a two dollar tuning instrument, I’m not as mad as I would be if I lost a 26 dollar Evans Torque model.

Never Lose Another Drum Key Again!!!

There are all kinds of keys on the market that are designed for the mindless drummer, such as myself. These models are supposed to ensure that you keep your tuning instrument someplace you’ll never lose it.

Well, I’ve lost plenty of these, but they do make for a convenient key. These handy models use clip ons, lanyards, keychains, and even magnets to stay put where you need them. As a side note, most standard drum keys (shown above) have a hole in them that you can use to put a keychain or rope through for handy access.

High Tech Keys

Then somebody decided these regular drum keys just aren’t doing enough. They need to be faster and have more power. So…they came up with these babies, ratchets, drill bits, and speed keys.

I have the speed key shown below and must say I do not care for it. I use my standard keys over this thing every time. If you actually try to build up speed when you’re loosening and tightening your lugs, this thing tends to fly off the tension rod.

Plus, when you’re tuning, you don’t really want to go fast anyway. You need to be able to make minor adjustments and then listen. It is nice for totally removing the tension rods when changing heads, but for most of my work, I use a standard key.

I’ve never used a ratchet or drill bit model, but I could see the ratchet coming in handy. The drill bit seems a little much.

Drum Tuning Keys

I’ve given you a few things to consider when purchasing a key. I’d be interested to hear your thoughts too. Leave a comment below and let us know what you like to use.

If you’re interested in any of the keys above, you can find them and more right here. Products open in a new tab.





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