THE DRUM MODIFICATION THREAD.

[NUTHA JASON]

a member sent me this question and before i answer it i wanted other people's input and experience as well. this might be a good place for all sorts of modification ideas.

j
Hello
I recently purchased a dated Tama Rockstar as i was looking for some
sort of
project related to my drums and, eventually, to create a personalised
Kit
which would look, feel and sound the way i wanted. I am fond of the
sound of
the kick drum on this model and i was wanting some advice on how id go
about
painting the drum in the fashion i wanted. Is it as easy as one may
guess?
would it just require me stripping the plastic rap off the drum and
painting
it? or is there a way of going about this? Also there is a tom mount
on the
drum. I was looking at having this removed or replaced for a newer
version.
I have seen a few modified kits where this has been done but was not
sure of
the effect this created on the sound.
Thank You For Listening
Alex.
Also, if your From GB do you know anywhere that sells legs for Kick
drums?

[Thinshells]

In one of the recent issues of Modern Drummer there is a good piece on re-covering drums.

After removing and sanding the shells you can repaint.

For hardware and parts, there are a lot of places that sell stuff like kick spurs, like www.amdrumparts.com

The best place to inquire about drum repair would probably be www.drumsmith.com and I think there is a site called Ghoste note, drum shed or something like that. That's pretty much all they do there is build and modify drums.

[boomboomda]

You can take off the wrap, but be sure to get all the glue of the shells. If you want to paint them with a solid color do not sand the shells to smooth, the paint needs some grip to hold on. ( maybe 400 grit max. 600 grit)
If you good at spray painting you can try it yourself, but I would suggest you put a sort of automotive laquer over the paint to get a nice shiny look. Be sure that all those layers of paint and laquers are not too thick, otherwise it will choke the sound of the shell.
The other thing you can do is , as soon as you took off the wrap, and you like the look of the wood just sand it and put a laquer on top of the shell for a nice natural finish.
I do not know any supplier of drum hardware in the UK.

[NUTHA JASON]

i would take it very slowly. to start with i would only try peeling the wrap from the base part of the bass drum so if there are any negative results they won't show.

the most iportant thing about any modification is not to change the good sound characteristics of the drum...this means above all else, protecting the bearing edges. take off the wrap, lightly sand to remove any glue, put masking tape over the bearing edges. put several primer coats and then lightly sand with a high density paper (1200 grit or more) , then add several light coats of colour. most important to follow the manufacturer odf the coating's advice at all times.
also investigate types of laquer or varnish to put over the finish. look up resin gel coats as well. this will help make the finish last longer.
compressor powered spray paint is much superior to canned stuff. see if you can borrow one, or take your shells to a car respraying company for a quote. they will do a great job.

j

[VSD]

Good points, and in some cases the drum manufacturers wrapped shells that were
not the best cosmetically. The wrap would cover up imperfections in the wood. I can't say that about Tama.

So the drums in question would probably need to be painted and probably would require extensive work if they were going to be stained. Also remember to cover each interior hole with tape so the paint and over spray does not get to the interior of the shell.

In regards to the switching of tom mounts it depends on certain factors. If they match up with the same hole pattern ( very unlikely) then there is not much to worry about. If on the other hand they do not, then you will need to get some dowel rods that fit snug. After the wrap is removed then plug the holes with the dowel and a little glue. Cut them with the appropriate tool and sand.

In regards to removing the wrap depending on the glue, you might need to slightly heat it with a heat gun to soften it. This of course has adverse affects if you heat it too long and potentially burn the wrap and or create unhealthy fumes. (do it outside)

The sound is an entirely different factor and there are many schools of thought on that. Many custom drum builders refuse to wrap drums because they feel that changes the tonality of the wood and restricts vibration of the shell.

In the end if the drum has the sound you require, it probably will not drastically change the sound by removing the wrap.

Going in the opposite direction and taking a painted or stained drum then adding wrap, you need to make sure heads will fit with the increase of material.

Hope some of that helps

David

[Drad-dog]

That's a good call about the heads. I've only ever peeled one drumset. When I was done, the heads were all a little too big. It didn't turn out to be a problem- after all, the bearing edges and the hoops were the same. But if I had a drum I liked the sound of, I might worry a little. Also, the wood on the kit I worked on looked like crap! Rockstar is probably better than what I was working with but you might end up with a kit that dosen't look so hot.

Sounds like a fun project anyway, good luck!

[dr_worm]

Often wrapped drums do not have a suitable wood surface for a good painted or stained finish. You need sand and seal, sand and seal, sand and seal......then if you stain it the liquid makes the wood expand and you have some slight splintering and unevenness. So you lightly sand and restain to taste. Make sure it's completely dust free (use damp cloth) before the lacquer goes on - spray it on, do not use a brush - and let the shells dry in a sealed, dust-free environment. Then polish with fine grit paper like 2400. Then you should have some awesome drums.

[Skitch]

I'm not certain of all of the pariculars in this case, but I will offer what litle experience I have. First, you will need to have access to all the right tools. A good putty knife will help you gat the old wrap off of the drum. Also, Tama used to use what I call a keyed split aluminum grommet on the vent hole. You will need to remove this grommet. I used a flat blade screw driver to remove mine, but there is potential to mar and scuff the inside of the shell; I warned you! You will neeed to prepare the shell for refinishing and this may mean filling in a lap joint (this is an intetionally sunk part which Tama used to make the seam on a wrapped drum fit more flushly against the outside. There is an excellent article ina back issue of modern Drummer on the refinishing process. It was written by the guy at DW who does all of the painted drums. I will try to find out more on this as time allows. If you know of someone who has the MD archive, you may even be able to research it there. As far as bass drum spurs, if you wanthe factory Tama spurs, contact Dale's Drum shop in Harrisburg PA. They are a dealer of Tama replacement parts and thier number is 877-704-5682. If you need anything else from me, feel free to contact me at www.1stdrumlessonsonline.com

Best of luck!

[georgebird]

for things like adding floor tom legs, re doing bearing edges and converting toms into snares id jus talk to guys who own shops such as andy's guitar shop in London. they can help you. and converting stuff doesnt cost as much as u might think. if you want to do it yourself look in bargin bins and spare bits bins in shops, you can pick up things like floor leg clamps for a few quid. ive tried modifying my drums a few times and most have been resounding failures. i would however recomend that people get their bearing edges re-done. it's amazing how much difference it makes. if you've got a drum which just doesnt sound as good as it used to no matter what you try, get the heads off and you'l prbly find the bearing edges are rounded, dented and sometimes soft.

[Builder]

Having learned a very simple method to do so, I just build my own gear. The shells are easy to roll up. I do them in italian poplar or birch (haven't tried maple yet. its pretty stiff).
I just sold my last kit. 20x20 kick (big thunder for a smaller size), 14x12 suspended floor, 6, 8, 10, 13 racks and a 14x8 snare (Nice bottom end).

My next project will be a BIG kit. Double bass (28x28 cannons) 10, 12, 13, 14 racks, 18x16 floor and 14x10 snare. 12 ply shells all (i play pretty hard). I'll post pics as the project progresses.

Build a jig with two pieces of wood cut to the inside diameter of the shell with a single cross member to create the first seam. Use brads to secure the sheet. Then, positioning the next seam 180 degrees from the first, apply DAP weldwood to both the outer surface of the first and inner surface of the second sheet, roll the next ply on. Then position the 3rd seam 90 degrees from the 2nd, same gluing process. Position the 4th 180 degrees from the 3rd and do the same thing again. Use a rolling pin on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th sheets to ensure bonding. let the shell sit for a few hours to be sure the glue has set up. Then mark off both ends to the inside of the jig and cut off the jig ends. Remove the cross member with a pair of pliers (gently). The brads will come out of the 1st sheet. Use a planer to even up the shell ends. A granite slab or a good counter top will serve to level the ends. Now cut your sound edges (vertical with 45s or 30x45 or 45x45 depending on your tastes.
Edges can be cut with a router or with a half round wood file. Then line off your shells for hardware (use the rims to mark off with. The bass has to be done with a tape measure). Repeat this process for all the shells. Cut snare beds on the snare drum shell. This kit will be covered with either sheet brass or bronze. Mounting hardware (lug casings, etc. will be finished in brass). As i said I'll post pics as I get them. Ciao, Rich the Builder

[Loge]

Very impressive, Rich. Really look forward to seeing pictures of your work. Some picts of your shop would be cool too.

L

[PdoubleE]

I just striped down my Older pearl export select snare......and i want to do somthing with it.. I have a good friend that is into woodworking...and i am thinking about getting an exotic burl veneer to put on it. Then i want to get my edges all redone and that good stuff..all new hardware. My main concern is the veneer. Dose anyone have experence with this stuff?i know its really thin and brittle....but they make stuff to soften it up. Any input would be greatly appreaciated.

[LumberjackIvan]

I have an old Slingerland set that although it looks rather pathetic, sounds amazing. I want to put artwork on it instead of the rusted shells it now has. From reading this thread I've picked up some tips but not enough to feel confident about doing it. I guess Im just asking for someone to sum up how to modify a set and where to buy the materials needed. It would be very appreciated.

[Coz]

Good points from most...The thing about Tama drums unlike other models they use an adhisive on the entire wrap so removal will be more difficult than most wrap coverings.

Here are some useful links. I was thinking of refinshing a new Yamaha set because the wrap was Ugg! But it looks like a huge undertaking.

http://www.acousticdrums.com/members/refinish.html
http://www.drumdojo.com/tech/recovering.htm
http://www.jamminsam.com/drum_material.htm

http://www.tamadrum.co.jp/world/tamaism/index.html

Coz out!

[mr. inards]

Where can I get lugs powdercoated a different color? DW for some reason would not do lime green lugs, only black chrome nickel and gold.

[umpsphan]

i took my kit (stripped down) to a body shop, and personal scheme slapped on. worth the money, honestly

[rendezvous_drummer]

today i finally decided to take off the black wrapping on my drums, because it is damn ugly. just one question though. when i take the wrap off, will it affect the fitting of the heads on the drums?

[gaspesien]

Rendezvous, no it shouldn't cause any problems, the edge is still the same.

Im looking for a way to burn a graphic on mine, anybody has done this before. My drum is a pearl export made of ugly looking poplar.
I want to keep the natural finish with a clear and a burnt drawing on the wood, should be nice.

[altered_beast]

Hi there. Having read all of the above, I'm not really all that confident about stripping my kit down myself etc (I've been playing for 9 years and I've never come across the terms "wrap" and "bearing edges" but then I don't know much about the technicalities of the drums, more just playing them lol... what are "wrap" and "bearing edges"?). Does anyone know of anywhere in the UK that will strip down drums and re-paint/ whatever them to custom colours etc etc? I'm due to have an operation in August so won't be able to play for a couple of months, this will be an ideal time for me to have these done as it'll take away the temptation to play when I'm not supposed to, plus I'll get an awesome looking kit. I have a Yamaha 9000 series kit from the late 80's, it's in a bright scarlet red, but I have a Recording Custom 12x10" tom, when I ordered I told the guy on the phone that the kit was a bright cherry red, he said "Yea, no problem, Yamaha only do one red on the Recording Cusrom"... Yea, they do now tool, but what about back then? Anyway, the 12x10" is a lush dark red colour, but the rest of the kit is bright scarlet red. It kinda stands out a bit. I'd like it all matching and looking sweet, maybe in black?

So anyway, back to the original question, anyone know of anywhere in the UK that does it? Preferably in Lincolnshire/ Cambridgeshire/ Nottinghamshire/ Yorkshire area (I don't want to have to travel hundreds of miles, but if there's somewhere that will do an astoundingly good job in, say, South London, I'll travel to it!!)

Thanks!!

Al

[d.c.drummer]

I stripped my terrible Pearl snare (summer boredom) and staind it with shiny natural finish. And it looks better than Hiedi Klum in a swimsuit. (ok i'm exaggerating)

Make sure you sand off all the glue. Also i would strip the snare before I toched the toms or bass. Also trying to redo laquer is as pointless a boat on dryland.

[d.c.drummer]

Hi there. Having read all of the above, I'm not really all that confident about stripping my kit down myself etc (I've been playing for 9 years and I've never come across the terms "wrap" and "bearing edges" but then I don't know much about the technicalities of the drums, more just playing them lol... what are "wrap" and "bearing edges"?). I'm due to have an operation in August so won't be able to play for a couple of months, this will be an ideal time for me to have these done as it'll take away the temptation to play when I'm not supposed to, plus I'll get an awesome looking kit.

Al
Best of luck w/ that operation. Bearing edges are where the head meets te shell. The wrap is the material put on a non-stained drum. If you touch your wood drum and your not toucing colored wood there is a wrap on your drum. If you aren't confident, go to your local music sHop and post and add or ask one of the guys behind the counter if they know anyone.. I would do it for $150- U.S.

[d.c.drummer]

Rendezvous, no it shouldn't cause any problems, the edge is still the same.

Im looking for a way to burn a graphic on mine, anybody has done this before. My drum is a pearl export made of ugly looking poplar.
I want to keep the natural finish with a clear and a burnt drawing on the wood, should be nice.

Can use hot wire but it is tedios and very dangerous. Andby the way, how did you get the wrap from around the sound hole?

[d.c.drummer]

I just striped down my Older pearl export select snare......and i want to do somthing with it.. I have a good friend that is into woodworking...and i am thinking about getting an exotic burl veneer to put on it. Then i want to get my edges all redone and that good stuff..all new hardware. My main concern is the veneer. Dose anyone have experence with this stuff?i know its really thin and brittle....but they make stuff to soften it up. Any input would be greatly appreaciated.
If your really serious take it to an antique shop. (may cost more than you paid for the kit) and ask if the they know a veneerist.

[baz]

...I have used a hardwood flooring paste wax as a finish over raw wood shells, and have been very pleased with the results.

It takes a lot of elbow grease, but it is well worth it.

A great place to find odds and ends for drum modification, and repair is at your local Home Depot, or some other large home improvement center. You can find wood plugs to fill in holes, screws, washers, tools, stain, wax, laquer, and even some exotic veneers.

Barry

[Jay.B.]

Could somebody with a Pearl masters custom or similar, preferably a recent kit, tell me the lug bolt centre spacing so I can see if they will fit my BLX as I would like to customise my kit by putting the latest design bridge lugs on all of my shells, but don't want to re-drill them.

Thank you in advance,

Jay

[ZDrums24]

heres the situation: i am a college freshman currently helping out a local marching band drum line. my eventual plan is establish a marching band at my old high school or reestablish the marching band of the school across town (still havent decided if giving up navy blue for purple in the uniform is worth a nearby football field and the history). anyway, they have decent bass drums and tenors kicking around the music department, but the snares are the old style marching drums with the high tension lugs that run the length of the shell. when i get around to this little project, i want to refinish the drums and grab a few of the new style high tension drums. when going about this, i figured buying some keller tom shells and pearl hardware (less drilling than dynasty or yamaha) and just assembling the drums myself would probably be cheaper and more time effective than buying preassembled drums and refinishing them.

the question: how exactly do you go about getting those ultra shallow snare beds in the shells?

[defunkt]

Hey guys I was thinking I would take off this wrap I have on my old kit and just put a stain or something like that on it. I'm not to sure how to go about this so I was hoping I could get some advice or ideas because I really need it. The wrap has actually split on one of the toms which has tempted me to try this. Any help would be appreciated.

[LumberjackIvan]

Where can you send your snare away to get it rechromed. I have a old ludwig chrome snare and the chrome is peeling a bit. Can it be fixed? And where? Please help.

[MilfordCubicle]

I need to know asap if applying wood putty to a shell wood effect the sound. Heres the situation I took off the wrap off my drum and found that the shell had like a split. It apparently was made like this. The shell is not cracked, don't get me wrong but there is a crevase. So is applying wood putty a good idea or not? Thanks

[SeanyBoy-The-Astronaut]

So I'm saving up for a new kit right now to replace my begginer but it will take a while. I like the shallow toms and have some pretty non-shallow ones right now. Does any one know if it's safe to cut out like a few inches from the middle of your tom and somehow get them back together?
thanks:
Sean A.

[Latin Groover]

Well ive started, taking the hardware off now, just picked up the stain. Ive been taking photos, when im done ill post a thread, but man am i excited!...

[Latin Groover]

It turned out ok i got the wraps off quite well. I just pried the staples from underneath when i had some room to get under there. Now im off to sanding. If anyone else is having trouble with their wraps or they are just bringing to much wood of with the glue, HEATING. Heating from above with a hairdryer worked absolute wonders. I started heating the glue but that just made it looser it would still bring some splinters off with it, but if you heat the wrap, not the glue directly, not one bit of wood(not even a splinter) came off. Pity it was only when i was up to my 13"tom that i fugured this out. Do them in order of biggest to smallest. Start with the bass drum cause the wrap is underneath which is impossable to see so start there.

[Wavelength]

I have a small, good sounding Remo Quadura kit (8", 10" and 12" toms & 18" bass drum) which is made from Acousticon. I've considered refinishing them and cutting new bearing edges for them. However, I'm not quite sure whether the material is durable enough to be cut to a new shape. It almost seems the bearing edges were pressed into the drums. Have you had any experience on the subject?

I also noticed that the insides of the two smaller toms are covered with a thin layer of black, soft, paperlike material. How will removing this layer affect their sound? I'd imagine it would make the sound a bit more resonant and brighter.

[maddrummr]

I was wondering if there is some kind of Laquer, or some shiny transperent paint that i could paint my Pacific MX to make my emerald fade shine like no other.

I would like it cheap, but good quality.

Thanks

[SLEEPY BRiGHT EYEZ]

I would like it cheap, but good quality.


Don't they all... :)

If you are just trying to make your existing finish shine, why not just clean and wax it?

[maddrummr]

Well ill tell you my drumset stays free of dust 98%, its covered unless im playing it and after i play i dust it. There is no real shine from transperent or laquer paint on there to wax so...yea. Maybe ill wax the bottom of the bass and see what happens, if it shines then thats awesome, if it doesnt, well its not like anyones gonna see it anyway.
Any specific wax or polish i should use?

[tamadrummer132]

Well ill tell you my drumset stays free of dust 98%, its covered unless im playing it and after i play i dust it.
Any specific wax or polish i should use?

you really are mad....

[tamadrummer132]

my refinishing job: an old pacific snare from my first drumset (the set was a 5 piece for 550 dollars.. so this snare is basically worthless). so far i have stripped the plastic stuff off, and now im beginning to sand, although the wood keeps graining up and little pieces fall off.. not to mention i hardly have any sand paper and hvae been working witht he same piece this whole time, BUT its coming together and hopefully it will sound good, and look good

x)

[tamadrummer132]

holy





CRAP!

this thing is beautiful!!! i have this whole set in this black wrap, i think im going to refinish the whole thing then sell it as a 4 piece!!!


yummy.

[darth_vater89]

hmmm, just stripped the midnight blue off my swingstar snare drum.

wood looked alright but a bit to pale for my taste.

sanded and put on jarrah wood stain, 1 coat of laquer (half mineral turps half estapol) then 3 coats of tung oil. looks pretty sweet.


p.s - if your hardware needs powdercoating take it to the powdercoaters!! ask them when they will be doing a set of whatever colour aand theyll gladly do it. cost me $15 AUS for all snare drum hardware except tension rods.



may the forks be with you

[jackothedrummer1]

There is an unkown brand of drums (blackhorse) at my Church. This kit has been through some interesting times. I'm not sure what the original finish was, but now it has some weird finish that resembles a green truck bed-liner. I believe the shells are mahogany on the inside and possibly pine on the outer shell (I sanded one section off to the grain).

THE QUESTIONS:

Will removing this - incredibly disgusting looking substance - affect the sound of the shells drastically? The toms sound pretty good (considering over 3 year old DENTED heads) and the bass drum sounds nice. They are surprisingly resonant but not terribly over resonant.

Also, how do I move the ventilation rings that are in each of the drums?

[IDDrummer]

Here is a little blog about my most recent modification attempt:

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.ListAll&friendID=155152272

Not quite what I expected, to say the least!

[Deathmetalconga]

Here is a little blog about my most recent modification attempt:

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.ListAll&friendID=155152272

Not quite what I expected, to say the least!

OUCH! Not good. What on Earth possessed you to mess with the snare beds? I'm good with tools and such, but I'd no sooner mess with the bearing edge or snare bed than I would give myself a vasectomy. Leave such things to the experts.

[IDDrummer]

Live and learn, I guess! I'd been reading up on it various internet forums and it sounded doable. I did it, all right - put my foot in it.

I sometimes get these urges to try things just to see what will happen, but I try to keep them relatively inexpensive and not too dangerous. My wife just says it's a man-gene thing, thinking I can make it better by tinkering with it.

At least this one wasn't dangerous.

[tamadrummer132]

I have a tama rockstar fusion set which i have looking to refinish. Right now its a simple red finish, and its just boring to me. I am looking for a natural/ stain finish mainly because i dont want to pay mucho bucks for a new wrap.

I re-did some old pacifics that i had, and when i pulled off the wrap it pulled off some of the wood, basically ruining the grain. What can i do this time to make sure that when i take off the wrap it will virtually look like the inside of the shell? Please answer asap!

[Mikecore]

Regarding removal of factory wraps. Sometimes heat from an industrial "blow dryer" works to soften the glue, but if your drum co. has a thing for gluing the entire wrap to the shell, it won't be easy. Patience is sometimes the key here. Also, if you hose a drumshell by ripping the wrap off, relax. A Keller shell isn't that expensive and it might even sound better. If you cannot do bearing edges: A) buy a router table and learn how, B) get somebody like Precision Drum Co. to do the edges for you and then assemble the thing yourself. Any way you look at it you're taking a chance, so don't worry. Building drums is relatively easy compared to making cymbals! :)


( :)* <-----------smiling because he doesn't know there's a spider on his lip.)

[Unix]

Usually rap finish are apply with contact ciment glue, so use laquer thinner it will soften the glue enough to remove the rap without damaging the shell.

[The Levee Breaker]

Hi there. Having read all of the above, I'm not really all that confident about stripping my kit down myself etc (I've been playing for 9 years and I've never come across the terms "wrap" and "bearing edges" but then I don't know much about the technicalities of the drums, more just playing them lol... what are "wrap" and "bearing edges"?). Does anyone know of anywhere in the UK that will strip down drums and re-paint/ whatever them to custom colours etc etc? I'm due to have an operation in August so won't be able to play for a couple of months, this will be an ideal time for me to have these done as it'll take away the temptation to play when I'm not supposed to, plus I'll get an awesome looking kit. I have a Yamaha 9000 series kit from the late 80's, it's in a bright scarlet red, but I have a Recording Custom 12x10" tom, when I ordered I told the guy on the phone that the kit was a bright cherry red, he said "Yea, no problem, Yamaha only do one red on the Recording Cusrom"... Yea, they do now tool, but what about back then? Anyway, the 12x10" is a lush dark red colour, but the rest of the kit is bright scarlet red. It kinda stands out a bit. I'd like it all matching and looking sweet, maybe in black?

So anyway, back to the original question, anyone know of anywhere in the UK that does it? Preferably in Lincolnshire/ Cambridgeshire/ Nottinghamshire/ Yorkshire area (I don't want to have to travel hundreds of miles, but if there's somewhere that will do an astoundingly good job in, say, South London, I'll travel to it!!)

Thanks!!

Al

Well, I know this was a little while ago but, there is a guy i know, who is currently making me a custom kit, in red sparkle (28,14,16) and he also does refinishing of drums. His name's Alan Gilby of Richmo Drums. here's the site:www.richmo.com It isn't much, but email him and ask. It's definitely worth a try isn't it? He's also the guy who made the *LEGENDARY* premier resonator double shelled kit in the late seventies. So, give him a try. Hope this helps you

[The Levee Breaker]

Tough topic. I don't have drums right now. I'm waiting for 'em.

[dea]

I have a Yamaha Stage Custom Advantage kit that I really like. Wonderful features for the money. Anyway, I'd like to make it a bit more unique from a sound point of view. My first thought was to pick up some high end rims that could add some uniqueness to the sound. What do you think about this? If this is something commonly done, is there a preference for what folks believe to be primo rims to upgrade too?

I like a more vintage sound. Warm and fat. I like to do rim shots on my toms as well as my snare.

[punkdrummer1]

I have a Yamaha Stage Custom Advantage kit that I really like. Wonderful features for the money. Anyway, I'd like to make it a bit more unique from a sound point of view. My first thought was to pick up some high end rims that could add some uniqueness to the sound. What do you think about this? If this is something commonly done, is there a preference for what folks believe to be primo rims to upgrade too?

I like a more vintage sound. Warm and fat. I like to do rim shots on my toms as well as my snare.

Fork Out the money for wood hoops!!!! It would look pretty cool, or make your own wood hoops, which would be cheaper, but some hard work. Mind you, you would be very proud :D

[danander11]

Heyas,

Regarding the re-wrapping of drum shells.. here is one alternative that you may wish to consider.. PLease keep in mind that I am in no way associated with these guys, nor endorsed by them... I just like their product).

Go to http://www.rockenwraps.com/index2.html and take a look. Scott Rockenfield (the drummer for Queensryche) has a comapany that specialises in re-wrap kits for drums and heads.. ( I use a 24" decal on the reso head of my kick).

You can choose any "off the shelf" patterns that he has or you can have your own made up for just a couple of bucks more. There are some killer designs there. A few companies are beginning to use them for custom sets... The best part is.. you can remove the wrap when you want a change with no damage to your existing finish or shells!

There is a kit in a local music store here in Sydney that had taken an old kit and used the Rockenwraps and ended up with a fantastic looking set.. they hung it on a wall for everyone to see.. It really is a good product.

For guys looking for a killer logo head, get a decal or head made with whatever you want on it and look good.. ( a pic of my decal can be seen in message #49 at http://www.drummerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30834 )

Cheers!

[Bob Smith]

you can get coustom heads at drumart.com (http://drumart.com)

[baz]

...playing with screwdrivers again.

I, like so many other drummers bought an acrolite some years ago. I did not use it very much, so following my natural inclination towards tinkering, I stripped it, and used many of the parts for other projects. I was bored today, and the drum shops were closed, so I thought that I would see if I could put the little beast back together again.

http://inlinethumb18.webshots.com/38033/2938857100032450736S600x600Q85.jpg (http://entertainment.webshots.com/photo/2938857100032450736rRJFhM)

I found the lugs, but I could not find the springs or the lug nuts, so I had to dig through every rat pile in my shrine to find what I needed. I could not find springs, so I got this brainwave and cut up some tubing to use instead.

http://inlinethumb18.webshots.com/35857/2566397930032450736S600x600Q85.jpg (http://entertainment.webshots.com/photo/2566397930032450736hoINVk)

I bought a length of this tubing to cut up for cymbal sleeves. I found it at a home brew/ winemaking shop. It was pretty cheap, and it works great for protecting cymbals . You will have to excuse this picture as it is a little out of focus, but you should get the idea.

http://inlinethumb63.webshots.com/40062/2616394280032450736S600x600Q85.jpg (http://entertainment.webshots.com/photo/2616394280032450736bcnrrD)

as you can see, the tubing fit the lugs, and it is flexible, and rattle free. I used the bracket from a gibralter tom clamp as my template, as it was the right length for the insert.

http://inlinethumb36.webshots.com/28963/2725231610032450736S600x600Q85.jpg (http://entertainment.webshots.com/photo/2725231610032450736nMYwNT)

I had to scrounge for the lug nuts. I did not have enough of the right size, so I used what I had. You can see if you look at the two lugs pictured here that the length of each is different. I also had to scrounge around for the rods. I also could not find the original butt plate, or the nuts and bolts for the throw off, so I had to pull out the old cordless and use a Gibralter throw off that I had.

http://inlinethumb25.webshots.com/40472/2944110240032450736S600x600Q85.jpg (http://entertainment.webshots.com/photo/2944110240032450736ZowrXz)

As it was with that little piece-0-crap snare that I frankensteined back together, this snare is not any form of drum building art. It was just another excersise in improvisation that allowed me to transfer a bunch of odds and ends into a usable drum.

http://inlinethumb29.webshots.com/38876/2223257890032450736S600x600Q85.jpg (http://entertainment.webshots.com/photo/2223257890032450736mlgrST)

I could save myself a lot of effort buy just leaving this damn stuff alone in the first place, but what fun is that ?

Barry

[Tylerdrums109]

...playing with screwdrivers again.

I, like so many other drummers bought an acrolite some years ago. I did not use it very much, so following my natural inclination towards tinkering, I stripped it, and used many of the parts for other projects. I was bored today, and the drum shops were closed, so I thought that I would see if I could put the little beast back together again.

http://inlinethumb18.webshots.com/38033/2938857100032450736S600x600Q85.jpg (http://entertainment.webshots.com/photo/2938857100032450736rRJFhM)

I found the lugs, but I could not find the springs or the lug nuts, so I had to dig through every rat pile in my shrine to find what I needed. I could not find springs, so I got this brainwave and cut up some tubing to use instead.

http://inlinethumb18.webshots.com/35857/2566397930032450736S600x600Q85.jpg (http://entertainment.webshots.com/photo/2566397930032450736hoINVk)

I bought a length of this tubing to cut up for cymbal sleeves. I found it at a home brew/ winemaking shop. It was pretty cheap, and it works great for protecting cymbals . You will have to excuse this picture as it is a little out of focus, but you should get the idea.

http://inlinethumb63.webshots.com/40062/2616394280032450736S600x600Q85.jpg (http://entertainment.webshots.com/photo/2616394280032450736bcnrrD)

as you can see, the tubing fit the lugs, and it is flexible, and rattle free. I used the bracket from a gibralter tom clamp as my template, as it was the right length for the insert.

http://inlinethumb36.webshots.com/28963/2725231610032450736S600x600Q85.jpg (http://entertainment.webshots.com/photo/2725231610032450736nMYwNT)

I had to scrounge for the lug nuts. I did not have enough of the right size, so I used what I had. You can see if you look at the two lugs pictured here that the length of each is different. I also had to scrounge around for the rods. I also could not find the original butt plate, or the nuts and bolts for the throw off, so I had to pull out the old cordless and use a Gibralter throw off that I had.

http://inlinethumb25.webshots.com/40472/2944110240032450736S600x600Q85.jpg (http://entertainment.webshots.com/photo/2944110240032450736ZowrXz)

As it was with that little piece-0-crap snare that I frankensteined back together, this snare is not any form of drum building art. It was just another excersise in improvisation that allowed me to transfer a bunch of odds and ends into a usable drum.

http://inlinethumb29.webshots.com/38876/2223257890032450736S600x600Q85.jpg (http://entertainment.webshots.com/photo/2223257890032450736mlgrST)

I could save myself a lot of effort buy just leaving this damn stuff alone in the first place, but what fun is that ?

Barry

I have that same snare...how does yours sound and what heads do u have on it...i really like mine but i think it could sound better...i have a coated weather king on it with some crappy snare side head on the other end

[baz]

I have that same snare...how does yours sound and what heads do u have on it...i really like mine but i think it could sound better...i have a coated weather king on it with some crappy snare side head on the other end

...Tyler.

I have a coated ambassador over ambassador snare on this. To my ears, it sounds pretty good, but my taste may be very different than yours. I have a pair of the old Premier die cast hoops on this, but I am going to switch back to triple flange. I also had to change out the strainer and butt plate to Gibralter. I can not say how that may have affected the sound (if at all). As I said in my post, my intent with this snare was to put together a usable drum from what was a pile of parts.

Barry

[Clubdrums]

Does anyone here know if Mapex uses glue for the whole wrap? I'm considering refinishing my Pro-m. Does anyone have experience with mapex?

[Latin Groover]

Does anyone here know if Mapex uses glue for the whole wrap? I'm considering refinishing my Pro-m. Does anyone have experience with mapex?

A Pro-M; no. But No kit will, but i have heard stories of some cheaper kits, such as low level CB's or percussion plus etc. That have actually had glue all the way around. But i don't see why. Kits like that are trying to produce the cheapest product possible, and why they would waste al; that glue, i don't know.

[matthew]

Tama Rockstar (2001 model) 5 piece
22", 14"x6.5" snare, 12", 13", and 16" toms.

The drums started out like this
http://img369.imageshack.us/img369/4430/24765599hm7.jpg

and now look like this
http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/5808/dsc01034stv0.jpg
http://img369.imageshack.us/img369/2176/dsc01033sqo7.jpg
http://img56.imageshack.us/img56/5617/dsc01041sup5.jpg
http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/6434/dsc01039sgu4.jpg
http://img105.imageshack.us/img105/711/dsc01038shu2.jpg
http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/9728/dsc01037sqw6.jpg
http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/3234/dsc01035ssq3.jpg

It was laquer red, but I stripped away the laquer, stained and varnished it, this is the finished product. I also had to replace the black plastic bass drum hoops with chrome hoops, replacing the bolts with vintage styled claws at the same time. I haven't set up all the cymbals I own, keeping it to the basic (and pretty) K Constantinople family of hats (13"), crash and flat ride, which is a pretty unique set up. The tom tom holder mounted from the bass drum was next to go, it looks crap, so I replaced it with a snare stand holding the tom, making the entire drum set wood and chrome... very happy. Furthermore, the skins, their all single ply battered of some description... = good jazz/vintage sound.

[Les Ismore]

For the love of god man!

[matthew]

For the love of god man!
yes? what do you mean?

[Drumalltheway]

I have a Yamaha Stage Custom Advantage kit that I really like. Wonderful features for the money. Anyway, I'd like to make it a bit more unique from a sound point of view. My first thought was to pick up some high end rims that could add some uniqueness to the sound. What do you think about this? If this is something commonly done, is there a preference for what folks believe to be primo rims to upgrade too?

I like a more vintage sound. Warm and fat. I like to do rim shots on my toms as well as my snare.

Ring can do the trick if the bearing edge was well made. You can also think about just using different type of drumhead.

[Beaton29]

just wondering if someone can help me...

I stripped the wrap off some old CB's and decided to stain a bold strip along the middle the drum horizontally. Problem is that the stain ran a little bit and the edges are not 100% perfect at all. Also, I made the mistake off brushing i the stain sideways to the grain rather than with it
I'm debating whether i should cover it up with some kind of material bordering the stripe's edges to cover up the run...or try to create some kind of fade to the rim of the drum... or should I should I just paint the whole shell and forget about getting fancy.

thanks

[Bish]

just wondering if someone can help me...

I stripped the wrap off some old CB's and decided to stain a bold strip along the middle the drum horizontally. Problem is that the stain ran a little bit and the edges are not 100% perfect at all. Also, I made the mistake off brushing i the stain sideways to the grain rather than with it
I'm debating whether i should cover it up with some kind of material bordering the stripe's edges to cover up the run...or try to create some kind of fade to the rim of the drum... or should I should I just paint the whole shell and forget about getting fancy.

thanks

You could always make the strip wider to cover up the running?

[drumhead61]

If you are really set on that strip you can always resand and start over and do it the way you should have done...sounds to me you had a look you wanted and now are settling for something less...its your world bud

just wondering if someone can help me...

I stripped the wrap off some old CB's and decided to stain a bold strip along the middle the drum horizontally. Problem is that the stain ran a little bit and the edges are not 100% perfect at all. Also, I made the mistake off brushing i the stain sideways to the grain rather than with it
I'm debating whether i should cover it up with some kind of material bordering the stripe's edges to cover up the run...or try to create some kind of fade to the rim of the drum... or should I should I just paint the whole shell and forget about getting fancy.

thanks

[paul_creedy]

After much thought, and quite a few unsuccessful attempts to drill a clean hole through some scrap ply, I added some extra venting to my M Birch snare, more out of curiosity than anything else.

http://www.arrowheadguitars.co.uk/pics/mapexvent.jpg


It does seem to have dried things up a little compared to before, though that might be my imagination

It certainly sits nicely with the kit, and is a pleasantly subtle change to the main snare, so I'm happy - count how many weekends until I drill more holes to see what happens then :O)

[buttstastic]

Not sure if this goes in this thread or not, but here's a quick way to add some flare to your drum set that i did.

I went to Walmart (yes Walmart) abd bought a small green flashlight (like REALLY small but really bright), some velcro and attatched the flashlight inside my bass drum. I got it in a spot so that it looks like the light is coming out of the sound hole. The velcro is great cause if you don't like it, or want to point the light another way, you can.

Not the flashiest modification ever, but it's cheap (total cost was like $30), easy and it'll make you stand out alittle.

[shanecon]

So I have a crusty old Powerbeat drumkit and I wanna turn it into Elvin Jones yellow kit thats on the video of him on this website haha. Ive stripped it right back to naked wooden shells I reckon I can replicate the look of it.. but

HOW DO I IMPROVE THE SOUND OF THE SHELLS.

should I be sanding inside smoothing it out? putting resin on the edges? what will change the sound.. Im thinkin that coated ambassadors will be the go..

ps I want a jazz sound.. pretty crucial criteria really

some ideas and help thrown around would be very much appreciated. thanks

[SGT_Drummer]

So I have a crusty old Powerbeat drumkit and I wanna turn it into Elvin Jones yellow kit thats on the video of him on this website haha. Ive stripped it right back to naked wooden shells I reckon I can replicate the look of it.. but

HOW DO I IMPROVE THE SOUND OF THE SHELLS.

should I be sanding inside smoothing it out? putting resin on the edges? what will change the sound.. Im thinkin that coated ambassadors will be the go..

ps I want a jazz sound.. pretty crucial criteria really

some ideas and help thrown around would be very much appreciated. thanks

well first off yes the heads should offer a significant change. i'm new to drum mods and builds but i would say to have a look at your bearing edges, you may want to customize those a bit. there's always venting, which is a little harder to undo. but look at the pictures attached and you'll see what i mean when i say ANYTHING can be accomplished. i don't really know how to achieve the desired jazz sound, but do wish you the best of luck in finding someone who does lol.

[shanecon]

thanks for the reply srge. I went and had another look at mine, Ive got some little cosmetic splint chips not too deep around where the tuning pegs are/were. Are these going to drastically effect the drum sound.. will they at all, how can I fix them properley, can I fill them with resin or will the sound be secondclass? heres some photos of the shells, Id appreciate any ideas.

[CASP3Rdrummer]

in the last days i was thinking about re-cutting the bearing edges on my kit but first of all i can't do my self so i'll need to take it to some technician but what kind of? would any carpenter be able to do it?

[spirit]

I was wondering if there is some kind of Laquer, or some shiny transperent paint that i could paint my Pacific MX to make my emerald fade shine like no other.

I would like it cheap, but good quality.

Thanks

I will give you a little known tip--Use proffessional floor gloss- JOhnsons clear high gloss is good, its designed to be uV stable, wont shrink and will not coulour the wood..apply it to a freshly sanded drum after using no higher than 600 grit and damp wiping to remove the dust- after dry.
Use a lint free cloth and always go with the grain, apply in thin coats and leave an hour to dry between coats, no need to sand between coats as it will bond cleanly with the previous coat.BUt damp wipe and let dry to remove dust.
Apply upto 5 coats and when cured after around a day- it can be ssanded flat with 1200 grit using a backing pad..then buffed with a lambswool pad for an extreme high gloss pro finish!

Its way cheaper than guitar and drum specific stuff and I know about it, because I use it often on jobs when I strip and seal gym floors!

NOte- mask the drum to close all holes and bearing edges. Sand the joins in wood as wood glue build up there and will show up as a hard line later if you dont! Dont rush this entire process and you will have a great job!

Pucker perfect finish mate!

[Nick G.]

im too scared to do this although i may try with a drum i dont really use much just to test
heres a site i found that has a pretty good walk through guide:

http://soft.com.sg/forum/gear-drums/82880-refinishing-your-drumset-getting-awesome-natural-finish-diy.html (http://soft.com.sg/forum/gear-drums/82880-refinishing-your-drumset-getting-awesome-natural-finish-diy.html")

[Moldy]

My first acoustic drumset, a Tama Rockstar kit. I went from this:

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j247/MonkofAkan/n781054951_1326592_5782.jpg

to this:

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j247/MonkofAkan/n781054951_1599861_6847635.jpg

I apologize for the fuzziness, and the flash. It was taken literally minutes before I moved out of my old place.

And I was really really happy Tama glued heavily only on the seam of the wrap, except the bass drum hoops. Those were horrid to clean up.

[stillgroovin]

I wanted to share my experience with my Gretsch Catalina Maple kit. There has been a enormous amount of discussion here about drum quality, and affordability. Often it seems that the the only way to achieve that pro=sound is to plink down BIG bucks on a pro kit or a custom job. This in itself is fine, especially if you can afford to do this or if you are a working drummer that needs this kind of imediate quality. Guys like me that aren't working all the time or just can't afford $5,000 for a kit are often resigned to buying the intermediate stuff, which in its own rite isn't bad, but never seems to quite measure up in the sound department. Well, here's what I did about it. I researched the differences between the the Gretsch Renown and the Catalina line and to my surprise found very little seperating the pro line from the intermediate line. Basically it involves labor and sealing. The Renown line's shells are finished with silver sealer ( a Gretsch thing that improves the sound through resonance and sealing the pores of the wood). Other than that, the Catalina series lacks - A. Finished interiors on the shells and B. good heads. Heres what I did. I dis- assembled all the drums and sanded the interiors with 300 grit paper so that they were baby skin smooth. Then I sealed the interiors with Teak oil, applying several coats until the interiors were sealed and had a nice low sheen. The sealer, although not the silver paint ,that Gretsch uses on the Renown line, accomplished the same thing. That being, smooth sealed resonant interiors, that improve the sound. I then added Evans G2 over G1'heads and tuned them up. The bass drum has a Emad batter and the stock reso and I am using the Evans Emad pillow for just a little muffling. The difference is phenominal !!!! to say the least!. I will put my Catalinas up against any high end Gretsch kit and I bet you wouldn't hear the difference. Pro kit with a little sweat equity..........not bad,eh? Let me know what you think and If you try this.

[elcid]

Just purchased this old KB/BB Supra snare drum from e-bay which was bought with the explicit intention of converting it into a super sensitive drum (already have a p70 SS strainer for it ready to go), but the shell is a disaster since according to posted pics and seller's own description most of the chrome plating has flaked off--is going to require a lot of work to prep for eventual wet sanding and buffing so wind up looking something like my '66 Acro snare.

Anyway, the pros of this purchase are that allegedly the rims are COB (want them for the '66 Ludwig 6.5" super sensitive if they indeed turn out to be chrome plated brass hoops), has a well preserved Keystone badge, and both basebat muffler's lever and white felt muffler appear to be in excellent shape too (could sell them in e-bay and make more than what originally paid for the drum but won't).

The one essential aspect for a successful outcome is knowing the size and placement pattern measurements of the center rod bushings' holes--same goes for the throw-off mechanism's mounting holes (am praying that the existing p83 strainer's and butt end plate's hole pattern match those of the the p70 so that the swap can be accomplished with the least amount of fuzzing and effort, but will drill new ones if the need arises)--something that am not privy to.
Can anyone here provide me with those direly needed measurements? Will immensely appreciate any help with this situation. Thanks!...

-elcid

[eddiehimself]

You'll never guess what this is going to be...

http://photos-f-2.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs150.snc1/5570_1108965172361_1473790586_30307237_4259077_n.j pg

That's right! It's my previously trans amber (orange) starclassic performer kit wrapped all in camo fabric, including the seat!

[RMS]

I have a 90's Sonor Force 2001 kit in black wrap with faux-tube lugs. The kit still looks good except for some bubbling wrap on top of the bass drum, from playing long gigs in the sun, I think. Anyways I was thinking about removing the wrap and Marbleizing the outside of my kit. Anyone ever tried this?

I think I'm also going to finish the inside of my shells with a shellac or something, to brighten the sound up a bit. Inspired by Vibra-fibing.

I'll let you know how it goes if I ever get around to it, haha

[elcid]

Where can you send your snare away to get it rechromed. I have a old ludwig chrome snare and the chrome is peeling a bit. Can it be fixed? And where? Please help.

I have the same problem with a 5" Supra snare I recently bought off e-bay and which I want to convert into a Super Sensitive drum (have all the parts to do it with)...but rather than have the shell re-chromed am going to have it sandblasted and then progressively wet-sand until it resembles a shiny "raw" '60s Acro (Ludwig used the same aluminum shell on both...Supras and 6.5" deep Acros having 10-lugs rather than 8; have '66 and '69 KB Acros, one with a baseball bat and the other with the small round mufflers...both outfitted with 8 "bowtie" lugs).

Hope this helps...

-elcid

[Makedrums1]

Well, I just made a boo boo with this drum set
http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs058.snc3/14545_560629118137_54601171_32956968_1140879_n.jpg
I put 1" tom lugs on the bass drum...tom lugs don't have the height for the tension rods to screw in straight if you use them on a bass drum....so I'm getting the 2" BASS DRUM lugs shipped to me as we speak. I plan on drilling another hole an inch below the lower lug hole for the 2 in lug....then i'll have an extra hole in the middle...I could just leave it and use them for my air vents all 20 of them!...but I think i'm going to try to stick LED lights in the holes and somehow use a trigger to light them up every time I kick it. I'll keep you posted....

[RWK]

The Renown line's shells are finished with silver sealer ( a Gretsch thing that improves the sound through resonance and sealing the pores of the wood). Other than that, the Catalina series lacks - A. Finished interiors on the shells and B. good heads. Heres what I did. I dis- assembled all the drums and sanded the interiors with 300 grit paper so that they were baby skin smooth. Then I sealed the interiors with Teak oil, applying several coats until the interiors were sealed and had a nice low sheen. The sealer, although not the silver paint ,that Gretsch uses on the Renown line, accomplished the same thing. That being, smooth sealed resonant interiors, that improve the sound. I then added Evans G2 over G1'heads and tuned them up.

I like the idea of sealing the interior with sealer or Teak Oil, what difference did you find in the sound, lower? warmer ?

[Makedrums1]

For those of you interested in modifying your drums (specifically wrapping your drums) I have written a short blog about how to wrap your drums, and will be adding more to it very soon. Find it at www.makedrums.com/blog (http://www.makedrums.com/blog) Enjoy!

[BGH]

I've been involved for the last couple of months in piecing together my dream kit with used Yamaha Recording Custom drums. Reasons are 1) cost of new vs used and 2) I prefer the older drums of the RC line. I decided I would buy the exact sizes I wanted, regardless of color, and refinish as needed. I'd be going for a black look, thinking that I could re-lacquer odd colors to black. I did research before I started buying drums, and I thought I could pull it off.

It worked. I lucked in to finding most of the drums in black, and had to refinish 3 drums out of 9 that I bought: 8, 10 and 12" toms. The 12 was gray, the 10 red and the 8 white. I won't elaborate on the process, unless someone is really interested. If so, just post a reply and I'll give more details. For now, I'll just say that I carefully used a hi-gloss black lacquer paint in spray cans. Don't try this unless you have a very well ventilated area, like a garage, etc. The fumes of this paint are potent. And the air temperature needs to be reasonably warm for the paint to set-up properly.

You can see the results. Not bad for a first timer. I don't have a photo of the 12" tom before I started, so you see just the 10" and 8" before and after, and the 12" after in both shots.

[psycho]

I play a fairly high-end set of Yamaha Birch Custom Absoutes and just added a Maple Custom Absolute bass drum. The set is vintage natural matte-finish, but the BD is gloss - so it doesn't match. I'm thinking about stripping off the gloss and adding a light stain. What else do I need to do?

My worry is about the stripping agent leaking into the shell and compromising the sound. I also know zero about sealing the shells, if that's necessary, or how to protect the bearing edges.

Does anyone have experience refinishing higher quality drums?

Many thanks!
Psycho

[BGH]

Use painters tape and seal the edges and holes. This is the 8" tom in my pictures below, after taping and applying primer.

Its always a great idea to try a test case before tackling the real drum you want to work on. If you can find a beat-up lacquered drum to test out your ideas, you'll have some experience before you start in on the kick drum.

[psycho]

Did you put tape over the badge? And, did the finish end up rough around the badge?

My set has the matte finish; can you point me in the right direction for a matte lacquer?

Thanks,
Mike

[BGH]

Did you put tape over the badge? And, did the finish end up rough around the badge?

My set has the matte finish; can you point me in the right direction for a matte lacquer?

Thanks,
Mike

I could write a book on this topic, so its a bit tough to give you all of the details, here. You have 2 major issues: 1) How to remove the current finish 2) How to apply the new finish.

Removal: Even if you attempt to use paint stripper, you're going to need to sand the shell after, to make sure you have it down to bare wood and any residue from the stipper is gone. Wipe the whole thing down with a wet rag after you sand. Use finer grades of sandpaper as you go. The other option is to sand from the beginning and not use stripper. You would need to use a heavier sand paper to start with to get the lacquer off. However, you need to be real careful with sanding to keep everything nice and smooth. Stay away from the bearing edges.

Yes, I put tape over the badge and carefully removed it once the lacquer was fully dried. I took a sharp pocket knife and carefully scored (ran it around) the edges of the badge, to make sure the tape would pull off from the new lacquer. If you do this too soon, you can pull the paint off with it.

However, in your case, it sounds like your kit is stained, not a lacquer like the kick drum. Lacquer is a high gloss paint, not a satin stain. The new kick could also have clear lacquer over stain. Why don't you post some photos? So, once you have it down to the bare shell, you're going to be staining, not re-lacquering as I did. Correct? Staining should be easier than painting. The trick will be to try and match the color and hue of the stain.

I'm sure you can find tips on the web about staining drums or wood in general. If the drums match, except the new new kick is glossy and the other drums are satin, the other option is to just leave it the way it is and avoid all of this. Posting some photos would help.

[Jessiah331]

Hey!
I'm thinking about painting my shells on a project (yes, its cheap...and currently has a wrap) kit. Buddy owns a paint shop so I just have to buy the paint and have the tools ;)

My big question is, while I'm doing this I'm thinking about making my bass's (is that right?) virgins, but does anyone know what's best to fill in the holes, or something of the sort?

Also, any confirmed finishes to make the paint glossy? Just an auto paint gloss?

Thanks!

[BGH]

Hey!
I'm thinking about painting my shells on a project (yes, its cheap...and currently has a wrap) kit. Buddy owns a paint shop so I just have to buy the paint and have the tools ;)
+
My big question is, while I'm doing this I'm thinking about making my bass's (is that right?) virgins, but does anyone know what's best to fill in the holes, or something of the sort?

Also, any confirmed finishes to make the paint glossy? Just an auto paint gloss?

Thanks!

If your buddy owns a paint shop, he can probably adivse you. The challenges I see:

I assume you are removing the wrap. You don't know what kind of can of worms that will open up. If the wrap is fully glued, that will be a job. If its only spot glued, you're in better shape. Remove the wrap carefully. You want to avoid chippng the shells. I would fill in small holes with wood filler. You most likely will need to sand the shells prior to painting, after you've filled in imperfections. Use gradually finer grades of sandpaper.

Your buddy will probably recommend using a couple of coates of primer as a base. I believe you could use any automotive lacquer paint to get a glossy finish. He probably has some metallic paints that would look very nice on a kit. You can also have a coat of clear applied as a final coat, for higher gloss.

As far as making your bass drum a virgin, the holes that would be created by removing a tom mount could be pretty large. You'd probably not want to fill that in with wood filler. If you could have someone fabricate a plate for you to mount in place of the tom mount, that might be the thing to do. Here's a thread on the topic of plates for Yamaha kick drums:

http://www.drummerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=45718&highlight=like+a+virgin

Finally, if you go forward with this, post some before and after pics.

Good luck!

[psycho]

Chrome Blemmishes.

I have 3 mis-matched pieces that I'm going to wrap. But 2 of the pieces have chrome that has not been well cared for. Other than paying the small fortune chrome shops want, is there an effective technique to use on the pits and blemishes?

Many thanks!

Mike (Psycho)

[Jessiah331]

I did know a little about the painting, I've worked with him in the past. My main deal was dealing with the giant tom arm holes. I saw that thread for the plates, which kicked some major arse, but the guy went belly up... Hence me being here.

Chrome Blemmishes.

I have 3 mis-matched pieces that I'm going to wrap. But 2 of the pieces have chrome that has not been well cared for. Other than paying the small fortune chrome shops want, is there an effective technique to use on the pits and blemishes?

Many thanks!

Mike (Psycho)

What chrome pieces? Hoops, bolts, etc can all be replaced for pretty darn cheap if that's the case.

[psycho]

What chrome pieces? Hoops, bolts, etc can all be replaced for pretty darn cheap if that's the case.[/QUOTE]

Hoops and llugs. Can you point me to a good source for replacing them? Thanks!

[BGH]

I did know a little about the painting, I've worked with him in the past. My main deal was dealing with the giant tom arm holes. I saw that thread for the plates, which kicked some major arse, but the guy went belly up... Hence me being here.

I get the feeling he can still make the plates. It sounds like he just can't get anything printed on them, like he was with the Yamaha logos. Why don't you contact him? Filling in large holes is going to be a headache. I believe his user ID is SoCalMike. I've purchased a couple of things from him.

[Jessiah331]

What chrome pieces? Hoops, bolts, etc can all be replaced for pretty darn cheap if that's the case.

Hoops and llugs. Can you point me to a good source for replacing them? Thanks![/quote]

A start would be Ebay? I've seen a ton of parts go for cheap there. If that's inconvenient there is www.drummaker.com. They have a HUGE selection of pretty much everything.

And I'll send SoCalMike a message, solid plates would be fine.

[GRUNTERSDAD]

I built a piccolo snare using parts from www.amdrumparts.com. It is on the right.
The drum on the left was a light stained maple snare that I am making part of a Bumble Bee Bop kit. I sanded enough to get the clear down to a dull finish and then used spray paint. I used fine line painters tape to put on the black and then the yellow stripes. I may still clear it. Not sure yet.

[RobertM]

That bumble-bee finish looks great, GD. Post pics when you finish the kit. Just love yellow drums, so this finish is very cool.

I built a piccolo snare using parts from www.amdrumparts.com. It is on the right.
The drum on the left was a light stained maple snare that I am making part of a Bumble Bee Bop kit. I sanded enough to get the clear down to a dull finish and then used spray paint. I used fine line painters tape to put on the black and then the yellow stripes. I may still clear it. Not sure yet.

[BGH]

I built a piccolo snare using parts from www.amdrumparts.com. It is on the right.
The drum on the left was a light stained maple snare that I am making part of a Bumble Bee Bop kit. I sanded enough to get the clear down to a dull finish and then used spray paint. I used fine line painters tape to put on the black and then the yellow stripes. I may still clear it. Not sure yet.

Nice job. Doing it yourself and having it work out, is the best feeling. Great name too: Bumble Bee Bop!

[Masheanhed]

This wasn't so much a modification as a refinishing project. I started buying individual Sonor Force 2001 pieces over a period of a year to make a "throw in the car" practice kit. Ended up with four pieces: two in cherry, one in natural, and one in black finish. Stripped them down and repainted them to match. Did a blue "flick" job over white and then shot it with about five coats of clear coat. Has a look between glass and satin. I ended up playing this kit more than I thought and after three years the paint job has endured pretty well. Only one chip and that was from a pretty good hit from slapping the bass drum with my bass pedal while breaking it down.

[romenydrummer64]

This is my refinish project. I have a 7 piece Ludwig Accent CS (entry level) but I like them and decided to refinish them in mahogany tones. I used Cabot Brown Mahogany followed by a 2nd lighter coat of Minwax Bombay Mahogany. 2 coats of polyeurothane and I think that should suffice. I wanted a rough natural look, but not so rough that it looked sloppy.
My goal was to make the kit look as though somebody had made it out of wall paneling.

I removed the piano black wrap which thankfully was only glued at the seams. I then used "goof Off" to remove the glue, and sanded the shells with 220 grit sandpaper.

I was able to create a "virgin" bass drum by adding mesh tape to the inside of the bass drum where the tom mount holes were drilled. I then filled it all in with wood putty and sanded that down.

After that, I applied the 1st coat of the cabot stain, let it dry, and lightly spot sanded it to reduce the depth of color in some areas while leaving the stain alone in other areas.
I then applied the 2nd coat of minwax bombay mahogany and then 2 coats of poly. I also added new grommets to all the toms and the snare. The bass head grommet actually stayed intact enough to reuse. The pics below show the process as well as the before and after pics.

[maidenfan215]

I've been involved for the last couple of months in piecing together my dream kit with used Yamaha Recording Custom drums. Reasons are 1) cost of new vs used and 2) I prefer the older drums of the RC line. I decided I would buy the exact sizes I wanted, regardless of color, and refinish as needed. I'd be going for a black look, thinking that I could re-lacquer odd colors to black. I did research before I started buying drums, and I thought I could pull it off.

It worked. I lucked in to finding most of the drums in black, and had to refinish 3 drums out of 9 that I bought: 8, 10 and 12" toms. The 12 was gray, the 10 red and the 8 white. I won't elaborate on the process, unless someone is really interested. If so, just post a reply and I'll give more details. For now, I'll just say that I carefully used a hi-gloss black lacquer paint in spray cans. Don't try this unless you have a very well ventilated area, like a garage, etc. The fumes of this paint are potent. And the air temperature needs to be reasonably warm for the paint to set-up properly.

You can see the results. Not bad for a first timer. I don't have a photo of the 12" tom before I started, so you see just the 10" and 8" before and after, and the 12" after in both shots.

first off, very nice kit dude, and i have a question. is the shell of your snare copper???

[Ludo]

Here's the recent job I've done on a DW 6x12 snare. The "psyché" blue finish ply got me seasick as it was impossible to focus on it properly. It looks way better in honey gold laquer finish. Pix will have a better speech:



Ludo

[badsvn2000]

Hey guys, so i have taken the leap and started to re wrap my drums. Being a remo mastertouch it does not have a woodgrain finish under the original wrap so i have gone for a maple veneer to get the look i am after. I have also used an american walnut strip veneer along the bottom of the drum but sadly I could only get it in 1" strips as i was wanting 2". It is all looking pretty good so far with the 14" tom i have started on but i still have to add the stain and matt clearcoat plus a bit more sanding and filling of a few little gaps as the veneer split upon application :( apart from that i think my kit will look like new once im done. I will even polish up the lugs and get some new hoops as some are a bit rusty and warped.

But hey what do you lot think??

[manderman]

Hi, everyone.
I have a sonor 3005 kit (piano black) and I really love it, the sound and etc. It's a real workhorse for me.
I was thinking of maybe somekind of updgrade for it- take off the wraps and apply a nice finish, change the hoops to die cast (I want some more focused sound).
The problem is that I don't is it worth to spend additional money on this kit.
Is there any sense in doing such an upgrade for a non-high end kit or should I just save some money and buy something expensive?

Many thanks in advance!

[super rad stuff]

alright, so check this out. i've got a cheapie dixon kit, got it for $399 new, came with everything, and had that ugly generic wine red wrap. i got tired of it, so i decided to peel off the wraps and give it a paint job. coolest thing i could think of was a blue VH theme. here's a pic-story:
http://img809.imageshack.us/img809/1299/drumsblack.jpg

http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/3027/drumstape.jpg

http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/1144/drumswhite.jpg

http://img535.imageshack.us/img535/6093/drumsblackwhitemasked2.jpg

http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/2038/drumsblue.jpg

http://img571.imageshack.us/img571/4831/drumscompletelycomplete.jpg

i've still got the stock cymbals that came with the kit, but everything else sounds much better than it did when it had the wrap on.

[joe2712]

Does anyone know how to paint your drum hoops without spending a large amount of money? ( what time of paint etc)

[mrh]

I've got a mid 50's slingerland snare that has been, I can only imagine, painted and had sparkles added (there is paint on the inside of the shell, so I doubt that is the original factory finish). I'm looking to sand it down and re-finish it, however there is the small issue of the badge. How should I go about sanding down the shell while keeping the badge on, or even taking the badge off somehow?

[AtonalConductor]

This wasn't so much a modification as a refinishing project. I started buying individual Sonor Force 2001 pieces over a period of a year to make a "throw in the car" practice kit. Ended up with four pieces: two in cherry, one in natural, and one in black finish. Stripped them down and repainted them to match. Did a blue "flick" job over white and then shot it with about five coats of clear coat. Has a look between glass and satin. I ended up playing this kit more than I thought and after three years the paint job has endured pretty well. Only one chip and that was from a pretty good hit from slapping the bass drum with my bass pedal while breaking it down.

This is a fantastic finish! Sorely tempting to do this to my own kit.

[dexterbydesign]

I am really interested in creating the "60's Oyster" effect on a kit that I'm refinishing. The only problem is I have no idea how to. I am assuming that it involves multiple paints (obvious, I know) but I'm not quite sure how the effect is created. If anyone has any experience in this area please point me in the right direction. What I'm after looks something like this but I'm going in a different direction colour-wise. Maybe some green in there somewhere.

http://www.sjcdrums.com/uploads/gallery/large/nomadsofprague_kit.jpg

[pbm2112]

Does anyone know of anyone who does this work in England (ideally South East) and can make good the holes in a sparkle finish? I want a 12 x 10" tom cut down to a 12 x 9", but want it really well done! CHEERS.

[stillgroovin]

This is actually a follow up post to the one I had written about sealing the interiors of my Gretsch catalina maple"s. After finishing the job I replaced the Evans G2 over G1 coated heads and I was happy with the sound....for a while. I've always been a coated head kinda guy and had the thought in my head that the clear heads were too bright and loud. Well after a number of months and a lot of reading I eventually changed the heads out for coated G1's over G-plus clears. WOW I thought. The G2's, being two ply heads, were really muffling the true tone of the shells. The use of the G-plus heads as reso's was an even better Idea, since they increased the resonance by 100 percent. There have been a lot of threads on this and you would think that this combo just wouldn't work, but the G plus heads are a single ply 10ml head that actually vibrates more than it's thinner , more used, reso head. This worked for a while until I decided to take the plunge and change all the batter heads to G1 clear. Wow again. The sealed interiors and the clear batters were the combination I was looking for all this time. What a beautiful Open resonant clear maple sound. Just thought you Gretsch cat owners would be motivated by this .

[latzanimal]

I am really interested in creating the "60's Oyster" effect on a kit that I'm refinishing. The only problem is I have no idea how to. I am assuming that it involves multiple paints (obvious, I know) but I'm not quite sure how the effect is created. If anyone has any experience in this area please point me in the right direction. What I'm after looks something like this but I'm going in a different direction colour-wise. Maybe some green in there somewhere.

http://www.sjcdrums.com/uploads/gallery/large/nomadsofprague_kit.jpg

Here is one way to do it...

Scroll down.... (http://www.guitaristjeffmiller.com/guitars12.htm)

[ludwig71]

I need help with my 71 Ludwig kit. I've had the bearing edges re-cut years ago - slight improvement, but not enough.

For years I've lived with the 22 X 14 inch bass drum's bop feel when the beater hits the batter head.

I'd like to know if I can have the bearing edge on the bass drum re-cut again 2 X 45 degree angles. Right now the outside bearing edge is too rounded - I want less wood contact on the head - like on the newer drums.

I find that the tuning and mainly feel is inconsistent. Has anyone had any experience cutting these older bearing edges on vintage kits?

OR, I'll take all the black oyster pearl wrap of all 3 drums, and just buy a Keller Maple bass drum 22 X 18.

My drumset is as follows:
22 X 14 bass drum
13 X 9 tom
16 X 16 floor tom.

[ComptonMusic]

One of my full set-ups.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v682/comptonmusic/DSC02794.jpg
One of a smaller stature.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v682/comptonmusic/DSC03231.jpg
All my drums are wrapped in matching tapestry. 26', 22', 18', 2-16", 13", 12", 10", 13" and 14" snares.

[dexterbydesign]

Does anybody know where i can get some Pearl badges from? I am refinishing a kit and the current badges aren't really badges but aluminium pieces that bent to hell when taking the wraps off the drums. Any help would be appreciated.

[BGH]

I know I have sinned, but I couldn't help it. This drum was in bad shape.

I picked up a 1966 Supra that was in worse shape than I thought. The rims were bad, the shell was scraped and scratched, the wires kind of funky, etc. The worst thing was-the chrome on the bottom bearing edge had a bunch of deep chips. I don't know how this could have happened, unless some previous owner had used it as a timbale, without the bottom rim-on a snare stand without rubber ends. So I decided I had to refurbish this drum, but didn't want to spend any real money on it. Its a players drum, so I didn't care about trying to 'restore' it to original.

First, I took some course sand paper and sanded the bottom bearing edge down to the aluminum. Once it was smooth, sanded with finer grade paper. Sanded the entire shell with medium, then fine paper. Painted it with some Rustoleum 'Hammered' copper spray paint. This paint hides imperfections, since it applies a hammered looking finish. Ditched the rims, and installed rims I had from a 1980's Yamaha Recording Custom snare (I had put wood rims on that drum). The RC rims are about the same thickness as the original Supra rims. Put a new Evans hazy 300 snare side head and a set of Puresound Blasters. I left the muffler out, as I'm not huge on internal mufflers.

The drum now not only sounds great, but looks great as well. Very happy with how it turned out. Perfect drum to take out.

[W3isome89]

One of my full set-ups.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v682/comptonmusic/DSC02794.jpg
One of a smaller stature.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v682/comptonmusic/DSC03231.jpg
All my drums are wrapped in matching tapestry. 26', 22', 18', 2-16", 13", 12", 10", 13" and 14" snares.

Hey, I'm currently working on a setup similar to your second kit. I'm using a 16x18" Floor Tom from an abandoned Lazer Kit as both an 'upright' cocktail kit-style bass drum and a floor tom.

How did you negotiated the sound between both? i stretched a small cloth along the bottom head so that I could have a more muffled bass sound, but it has sort of killed the tom's sustain, but that could probably be a matter of changing out the heads... they're brandless.

How does drilling a hole in the side like I can see in your pic help? does it help amplify the bass?

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=466532826028&set=a.466532566028.249736.658106028

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=466532736028&set=a.466532566028.249736.658106028

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=464702491028&set=a.456423706028.245458.658106028

I am contemplating the ideo of drilling a hole in the side like yours, but i'd like some advice first :)

[JENGLISH817]

Hey guys I am about ready to refinish my drums and I need some help. I want to do a sparkle finish in either green or purple. I dont want a wrap, I want to paint the drums. Can anyone tell me 1) what would be the best paint for the drums and 2) how to make a sparkle finish?

Thanks

[GRUNTERSDAD]

If you want then done right take them to an auto paint shop or someone with painting experience.

[JENGLISH817]

I'm not too worried about a fantastic job, because this is an old cheap set that I want to get some practice on customizing and whatnot. This is something I wanna learn to do and this is a good kit for me to start on. If this was a much more expensive kit I would take your advice for sure though haha

[Joey182]

I'm not too worried about a fantastic job, because this is an old cheap set that I want to get some practice on customizing and whatnot. This is something I wanna learn to do and this is a good kit for me to start on. If this was a much more expensive kit I would take your advice for sure though haha

Go get Krylon.
I forget the name, but type in Krylon sparkle paint and you'll get it. The paint is flakes of sparkly color!

[cdstockard]

this thread got me excited and inspired me to try to refinish an old tom i have!! hooray!!

its a Diamond brand tom, if any of you are familiar with the brand. its just an entry level kit and i believe the wood is poplar? (according to my grandfather who at least acts like he knows woods xD) and i just peeled the wrap off which was literally double stick taped on!!!


its good to feel inspired. thank you!!

[dexterbydesign]

Three months in the making (money related :S). My Pearl Forum circa 2004 re-wrap from Caron Fibre to Ringo Starr-esque 60's Oyster Black :) (Sorry for the picture quality).

http://i56.tinypic.com/6t2poo.jpg

http://i56.tinypic.com/r89rhy.jpg

http://i52.tinypic.com/2czofw4.jpg

http://i55.tinypic.com/2njaav6.jpg

http://i54.tinypic.com/14kjtxs.jpg

[Rhett]

Hey guys I am about ready to refinish my drums and I need some help. I want to do a sparkle finish in either green or purple. I dont want a wrap, I want to paint the drums. Can anyone tell me 1) what would be the best paint for the drums and 2) how to make a sparkle finish?

Thanks

As a drum builder, I would say not to attempt a sprayed sparkle finish unless you have lots of experience finishing drums already. This type of finish is one of the most difficult to master. An auto shop would be able to do it for you, but if I were you, I would just wrap it in a sparkle wrap, or try a different finish. I did this kit with paint I bought from Lowes. It was the first kit I ever painted, and it turned out great.

http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/37296_129675343729736_126257717404832_200592_34697 44_n.jpg

[sjczildjian]

Here is a $5 mod I did on my drum kit. I used to be all chrome (like chad smiths kit - will have to try and dig up a pic of it)

So anyway... nipped down to the news agents.... bought some gift wrap.

CHECK IT OUT LMFAO!!! - Yes, I did it for a joke...

BEAT THAT!

[Cephalic]

converted a 16x14 rack tom into a kick... if you look at it, you'd probably wonder why since the parts i put into the drum are probably worth more than the drum itself. but, i wanted to do it so i did. that's the best reason you'll get out of me. :)

I can go into detail about the whole process if anyone's interested. I even raised the lugs a bit so they'd fit better with the bass drum spurs. Granted, it's not 100% finished. I'm going to probably replace all the spurs with some small die-cast ones (already have two and they fit great), and I haven't finished the BD hoops. Not sure what I want to do yet... kinda depends on what I do with the rest of my Rockstar drums. I'd like to sell them, but maybe I'll keep some to have a small matching kit--12tt, 14ft, and 16bd would be cool.

I really regret porting it though... hate to buy new heads already, but I'm really considering it.
http://img853.imageshack.us/img853/9707/27051209.jpg

[Steffan]

I'm thinking about completely taking apart my blue DDrum, and wrapping it with a redish color, then putting PDP wood hoops on the snare then possibly getting black hoops and all that jazz for the toms and bass drum, good idea? bad idea?

[AJ3000]

just thought I'd come to the party with a couple of the refinishes I have on some stuff.

the first is an old pearl export (Ignore the display head, it was a spare I had laying about) that I use as an old beater kit. the thing was pretty much wrecked when I got hold of it. little bit of time and a spend of less than £10 and this was the result! double wrapping the hoops was a bit of a pain, but i got there in the end!

the second is a mapex meridian maple exotic snare i just did recently. I found the material and wanted to see it on a kit so had a go.

tell me what you think people!

AJ

[frog]

hey everyone! heres an old tama rockstar that was a black wrap, i stripped the wrap off and decided to do some cool stuff on it :)

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y30/slipbik/tomfloor.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y30/slipbik/tomfuzzy.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y30/slipbik/P1152019.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y30/slipbik/P1152015.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y30/slipbik/P1152014.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y30/slipbik/P1152012.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y30/slipbik/P1152020.jpg

[Zickos]

That's pretty neat, especially when photographed in that out door setting!

[GRUNTERSDAD]

A while back I bought a 16 inch floor tom to go with my Gretsch Renown set.
The tom is a Gretsch Catalina Maple and when I put my clear heads on the toms the Cat looked out of place because of the lack of Silver Sealer. So I ventured off to my local Nuts and Bolts dealer and bought a can of said silver sealer. Will post pix when the project is complete.

[GRUNTERSDAD]

And from the secrecy of my workshop, "garage" I have applied the secret sauce, I mean secret sealer. Waiting for a good drying time and then reassembly. Sorry Fred, the secret is out, but you are still an ACE of a guy.

[GRUNTERSDAD]

The drum is finished and reassembled. While I had it apart I ran some 220 grit along the bearing egdes to clean them up a bit. Now as for sound. Unless my tuning skills are vastly improved over the last four hours, this drum sounds much better. I'm sure the paint had something to do with that whether it was the Gretsch Secret sealer or not. Who knows they may also use ACE Hardware paint by the barrell. It is warmer, less harsh sounding. Now go paint all of your drums quick.

[bobdadruma]

All that you need to do now Grunt is to replace the badge with a Renown one.

[IDDrummer]

My latest modification. I finally got around to putting an XLR jack into the bass drum shell.

[IDDrummer]

OK, here is the finished and reassembled drum with cable plugged in!

[bobdadruma]

Nice Job IDDrummer,
What mic did you use?
Estimate of total cost?

[IDDrummer]

Thanks Bob!

I'm using the same Audix D6 I've used for maybe 5-6 years. That was about $199. The Kelly Shu mount I have had for about two years - that cost around $40, I think. And then there was the cable that I shortened - I think that was about $35. But all that stuff I already had and would use regardless of the jack installation.

The XLR jack itself cost me $5; the correctly sized drill bit was $4.50; screws, washers, and lock washers were around $2. Foam gasket was free packing material from a shipment at work. So, the materials for this part of the project were just under $12.

The wear and tear on my nerves in deciding to drill my beloved bass drum shell was considerably higher! lol But I'm happy now - the install looks fine and the sound of the drum wasn't effected at all, as far as I can tell.

[IDDrummer]

The drum is finished and reassembled. While I had it apart I ran some 220 grit along the bearing egdes to clean them up a bit. Now as for sound. Unless my tuning skills are vastly improved over the last four hours, this drum sounds much better. I'm sure the paint had something to do with that whether it was the Gretsch Secret sealer or not. Who knows they may also use ACE Hardware paint by the barrell. It is warmer, less harsh sounding. Now go paint all of your drums quick.

That paint job looks great, GD! Did you have to sand down the inside of the shell to get the sealer to soak in, or was the wood unfinished? While I was working on that Ludwig Classic Maple BD I found that the clear coat they use inside the drums is quite heavy and tough! May not be silver, but I bet it influences the sound!

Nice work!

[bobdadruma]

The install looks great. The XLR plug in the side of the drum looks a hell of a lot better than a mic sticking through a hole in the reso head.
Not a cheap modification though.

I can't see how it wold change the sound of the drum in a noticeable way.
So, The project comes in at around $250US.

[IDDrummer]

The install looks great. The XLR plug in the side of the drum looks a hell of a lot better than a mic sticking through a hole in the reso head.
Not a cheap modification though.

I can't see how it wold change the sound of the drum in a noticeable way.
So, The project comes in at around $250US.

Yes, if you don't already own the mic and cable. If you do, and you've been micing from the front, I'd call it a $50 mod, for the Shu mount and the jack.

I undertook this entire process because I hate a ported reso head. It just sounds and feels wrong to me, lol! So, baby steps for the past couple of years, and now it is set up just how I want it!

[PenguinAudio]

Why don't you seen drums that are varnished/stained on the inside as well as the outside?

I'm about to begin de-wrapping my maple kit and do a Tobacco Satin Oil finish, and I think it would look awesome with the inside done and clear heads.

Has anyone here done that, or seen it done?

[Netz Ausg]

Why don't you seen drums that are varnished/stained on the inside as well as the outside?

I'm about to begin de-wrapping my maple kit and do a Tobacco Satin Oil finish, and I think it would look awesome with the inside done and clear heads.

Has anyone here done that, or seen it done?

A hard drying varnish or paint would increase the reflictiveness of the shells interior, thus increasing attack and reducing sustain. Case in point, Hayman Vibrasonic drums use a Polyurathane paint to achieve exactly this.

I believe some Tama Superstars have stained interiors, but without effect on sound.

So, it can be done, but keep in mind what it could possibly do to effect the drums sound.

[Nuka]

Hey all, I'm doing a job on my Mapex Horizon; a humble and misunderstood kit.

There's an attachment below, sorry for the watermark but I don't have one of my actual kit, just mine has an extra tom (8") in the run which is white and the run follows black white after that. (I'll try to get pics soon).

Anyway, I'm not rewrapping it as such, though I am getting a custom decal job over the existing wrap (it won't affect depths of anything for hoops etc) and also getting bass res heads done.

I'm also reheading the whole thing for a nicer, deeper sound.

And now onto my question. I'm also thinking about staining the insides of the shells. They're the white wood and I want it a nice rich, dark brown.

So does anyone have any tips, like how and what to use?

I'll get pics up once it's all done :D

Here's how it is atm (just the colours are reveresed and there's the extra tom in the beginning of the run).

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/148338_467524332336_523362336_6010241_3412720_n.jp g

[BGH]

Why don't you seen drums that are varnished/stained on the inside as well as the outside?

I'm about to begin de-wrapping my maple kit and do a Tobacco Satin Oil finish, and I think it would look awesome with the inside done and clear heads.

Has anyone here done that, or seen it done?

Yamaha Recording Customs have stained interiors. Their shells are extremely well made. The stain seals the interior nicely and it does look great. The Cherrywood finish drums have a red stained interior that looks very classy.

[GRUNTERSDAD]

That paint job looks great, GD! Did you have to sand down the inside of the shell to get the sealer to soak in, or was the wood unfinished? While I was working on that Ludwig Classic Maple BD I found that the clear coat they use inside the drums is quite heavy and tough! May not be silver, but I bet it influences the sound!

Nice work!

If there was a sealer on the drum I couldn't tell. The paint went on easily enough. One reason to paint the inside was that with clear heads the drum just stood out like a sore thumb. Now that it is also sliver inside it looks more like it belongs to the set.
If I had wanted a brighter sound I would have been in trouble. I'm going to see if Gretsch wants to buy the left over paint from Ace.

[GRUNTERSDAD]

This is the Bumble Bee Bop set I made from four different brand drums. 18 x 16 converted floor tom with wood hoops, claws and t-rods from 3 different sellers. I think I had 8 or more different sources for the drum parts.

[Tom Dawson]

Hi -

Really impressive mods here! When I have time I'll have to check them out in more detail.

I'm a newby and an amateur drummer but I decided that it was time to replace my old Royce kit with something a little better, so I got a Ludwig CS Accent Combo Rock for a good price off Ebay, with an extra kick and 8 x 10 tom thrown in. I was considering a Gretsch Catalina which I'm sure would have been a better set overall, but decided to cheap out because I thought I had a mod that might allow the CS toms to punch above their weight acoustically.

It looks like the tom shells are 6 ply, all light colored wood. If anybody knows what Ludwig means exactly by 'select veneer' here, please tell me. All basswood? Basswood & some birch, or something else? IAC, I assumed the worst. So when I got the drums I bought a 4 oz bottle of thin CA model glue (penetrating super glue) and painted the insides of the tom shells and bearing surfaces with it using a cheap foam paintbrush. I did this outside because the CA fumes while it was curing were horrendous. I figured the results couldn't be too awful because CA basically hardens up to acrylic plastic like used in Vistalite drums:) If anybody else tries, this, don't get the CA glue on the outside of the shell - it's tough to impossible to get off without marring the finish as I found out the hard way. Fortunately, I was able to remove it using acetone and a lot of elbow grease without fatally marring the wrap, which I was able to polish up again with a lot more elbow grease.

I haven't got the drum kit together yet - still waiting for the second kick and the 10 x 8 tom as well as the Remo pinstripe and Aquarian Super Kick 2 batter heads with Falam patches, but the tom shells are definitely stiffer - I'm guessing as much as twice as stiff as they were before I painted their insides with CA glue, so maybe I'll get a better sound than the dead 'thud' sound I've heard some people say basswood gives.

Also, has anybody tried adding mass to the center region of the kick's resonant head, like maybe gluing a cut down single ply head to it? I wonder if giving it more of a diaphragm motion with a bit of extra mass could give more LF output and punch to the sound? Also, I was wondering if doing this might possibly allow tuning the resonant head lower with less wrinkling. I'm not planning to cut a hole in the kick resonant head, so this could be an option.

Thanks much for any response, and I'll be back to check out this site again soon.

[Boom]

Also, has anybody tried adding mass to the center region of the kick's resonant head, like maybe gluing a cut down single ply head to it? I wonder if giving it more of a diaphragm motion with a bit of extra mass could give more LF output and punch to the sound? .

I've read quite a few posts where drummers will take an older head and cut out the center of it and tape it over the center of the batter head as you've described. And they all say it adds to the punch of the drum (more articulation).

So, if you have an old head laying around or one that is slightly damaged and you plan on tossing it anyway, it is a free experiment that would only take a few minutes to try out. Give it a whirl and let us know what you think about it.

[Nuka]

May I also mention the EQ pads you can buy for such a purpose?

Just in case :D

[ineedaclutch]

The head is a clear Emp for the reso side of a Tama Starclassic Bubinga/Birch 24x18 kick. I like this head on the reso for what this group requires. I am fortunate to use several kits for different projects. The small grommet is my compromise on a ported head for a cover trio rock group I play with fairly often. They house their own P.A. Let it be known. I DISLIKE CLICKY KICKS! They were used to having a "clicky" kick sound for their modern songs (20% of their night). I explained how my full reso would provide plenty of click and, more importantly, low-end provided amps and cabs were not too close to the kick and external mic. We had a discussion similar to this...

Them: "Where are your pillows?"
Me: On my bed. Why?
Them: Fine. Where is the hole?
Me: Well... If you must know...
Them: Nevermind. How does it sound?
Me: Turn on the mains.
Press button.
Them: Why is there so much bass?
Me: (face palm) Because it's a bass drum.

We found a happy ground between low end and punch acoustically and I told them I would replicate it over a P.A.

So... This went on for a few gigs and they wanted more attack. I attribute this to their lack of knowledge on running sound; be it FOH or Mons.

Anywho...
I came up with this. I checked out the Kelley Shu mounts and realized I had everything but the cordage in my garage. One trip to HD, minus $7.99, and my internal kick mic is complete. This pic is of a PG52 instead of the Audix or Heil I would normally use. It is installed in my Starclassic Maple 20" kick (in the pic), but was easily switched onto the 24 B/B. The group was more than pleased and I got to keep my almost full (less 3/4") reso.

[AceyB]

I'm fairly new to all this, so technical terms don't really mean much to me. Anyhow, I've been drumming a year or so on my boyfriends kit. He's now got a new kit and decided that because the old one was past it's best he'd just give it to me (thanking my lucky stars). It's not actually all that bad, just happens to have been passed around a lot. I've now got a whole set of new remo heads and am building up on cymbals but the kit looks horrid.

It's cream.

I've been reading up on recustomising and from what I can make out it's better to strip the wrap from the shells before doing anything. And I'm up for doing it and know all about the prep needed before hand (My dad has had various jobs) but I wanted to know if staining or spraying would be better if there's much difference. I've heard sprays can later crack but presumably if it's good enough quality and done in the right weather it would work?

I'd like to use two colours on my shells (purple and black) so I'm thinking spraying would be better but I'd like some insight first

Cheers

[Trilogy72]

The drum is finished and reassembled. While I had it apart I ran some 220 grit along the bearing egdes to clean them up a bit. Now as for sound. Unless my tuning skills are vastly improved over the last four hours, this drum sounds much better. I'm sure the paint had something to do with that whether it was the Gretsch Secret sealer or not. Who knows they may also use ACE Hardware paint by the barrell. It is warmer, less harsh sounding. Now go paint all of your drums quick.

Looks good! How many coats did you do and did you sand between coats?

[wildbill]

I posted this project I'm working on in a 'toms' thread, but it probably should have gone here instead.

These were 'piano black' wrapped, Yamaha 7000 series, circa 1980, 22x14 bass, and 13x9 and 14x10 toms (BD mounted when I started).

I cut them down to half depth, sanded a bit, and re-drilled to re-position the hardware.

That's about as far as I can take it right now, but I'll post another pic if I make more progress.

[GRUNTERSDAD]

Looks good! How many coats did you do and did you sand between coats?

I did two coats and used a green pad in between. Thanks

[wildbill]

This is the Bumble Bee Bop set I made from four different brand drums. 18 x 16 converted floor tom with wood hoops, claws and t-rods from 3 different sellers. I think I had 8 or more different sources for the drum parts.


Sounds like a real 'labor of love'. The end result looks great.

[GRUNTERSDAD]

Thanks. Just keeps me out of the bar. Took a while to amass all of the parts but that kept me from rushing.

[Bretton]

http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/431760_10150563059167063_523027062_9529186_2098342 655_n.jpghttp://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/420406_10150563058697063_523027062_9529185_1932600 207_n.jpg
http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/424386_10150563037007063_523027062_9529093_1779593 787_n.jpg

most recently, I stained the insides of my toms ebony for aesthetic purposes.
(before for comparison) http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/407499_10150528778007063_523027062_9418490_3190437 13_n.jpg

before that, i painted my hoops and lugs red, and built a router table and put rounder bearing edges on everything.

before that, I cut down a 14" floor tom from 14" to 8.65" (golden ratio) for my rack tom.

[LucasTD]

I'm looking to strip my amber fade down and make it ruby fade... What's the best way to do this... The drums Are to have the wood grain showing so any help would be greatly appreciated :) x

[longgun]

This is a great thread....some real cool mods out there......here is a pic of my acrolite. A buddy of mine "duracoated" it in camo colors and it is now a ...... camolite! Check it out:

[longgun]

As a drum builder, I would say not to attempt a sprayed sparkle finish unless you have lots of experience finishing drums already. This type of finish is one of the most difficult to master. An auto shop would be able to do it for you, but if I were you, I would just wrap it in a sparkle wrap, or try a different finish. I did this kit with paint I bought from Lowes. It was the first kit I ever painted, and it turned out great.

http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/37296_129675343729736_126257717404832_200592_34697 44_n.jpg

....Beautiful....You did that with paint from Lowes? That is gorgeous

[throughthecities]

So I'm repainting and finishing an old cheap kit for my brother's birthday. I have painted the shells with regular latex based interior wall paint (lime green leftover from painting my kitchen)
I want that standard high gloss lacquer finish that's on most finished sets, but I am becoming very indecisive about what to choose for the coating.

The lady at home depot said I should only use high gloss polycrylic (only comes in a can- not spray form)

Then as I'm reading various forums/blogs, they say urethane, and stay away from lacquer. But other places say lacquer works just fine.

Needless to say, I'm pretty befuddled with what to choose and what will work best with my interior latex paint job.

Oh, and what works best for cleaning up old, rust-spotted hoops, lugs, etc?

Anyone have any suggestions?

[Richards1008]

I see alot of modifications in the visual realm, Anyone ever cut down toms?

I have so far, built my own keller shell 5.5x14 snare, refinished that awhile back, and taken a wrap off an old 8" Rogers tom and refinished it in black satin stain to match my raven black yamaha stage custom.

I would like to cut down the toms, thinking at least an inch and a half off each with the exception of the 8".

I have access to a 15" lathe, so I can accurately cut down the shells, then Probably build a table router setup to recut bearing edges.

Then now this thread is inspiring me to repaint my whole kit... GM Sunburst Orange and black hardware anyone?

[Richards1008]

Double Post...

MY modification to an old rogers 8" tom to retrofit a yamaha YESS mount...

MAde brackets...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v296/Xxway2fast4uxX/drums/100_2490.jpg

Machined standoffs...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v296/Xxway2fast4uxX/drums/100_2491.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v296/Xxway2fast4uxX/drums/100_2492.jpg

Made a retainer plate
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v296/Xxway2fast4uxX/drums/100_2493.jpg

Holes Drilled
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v296/Xxway2fast4uxX/drums/100_2494.jpg

Mount assembled with ruber washers for insulation
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v296/Xxway2fast4uxX/drums/100_2495.jpg

Mounted up
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v296/Xxway2fast4uxX/drums/100_2496.jpg

[drummerboyfitz]

So I'm repainting and finishing an old cheap kit for my brother's birthday. I have painted the shells with regular latex based interior wall paint (lime green leftover from painting my kitchen)
I want that standard high gloss lacquer finish that's on most finished sets, but I am becoming very indecisive about what to choose for the coating.

The lady at home depot said I should only use high gloss polycrylic (only comes in a can- not spray form)

Then as I'm reading various forums/blogs, they say urethane, and stay away from lacquer. But other places say lacquer works just fine.

Needless to say, I'm pretty befuddled with what to choose and what will work best with my interior latex paint job.

Oh, and what works best for cleaning up old, rust-spotted hoops, lugs, etc?

Anyone have any suggestions?
I have refinished quite a few drums and my favorite finish (so far, I've tried a lot of different ones) is a floor finish made by Varathane. I use their water based polyurethane for gloss coats. It dries fast, looks brilliant, and the more (very thin) coats you use, the more glossy the finish. As far as rusted hardware goes, I've found that super fine steel wool works well. Use the finest grade you can find, and work each spot slowly and carefully so as not to scratch the chrome.

[drummerboyfitz]

Why don't you seen drums that are varnished/stained on the inside as well as the outside?

I'm about to begin de-wrapping my maple kit and do a Tobacco Satin Oil finish, and I think it would look awesome with the inside done and clear heads.

Has anyone here done that, or seen it done?

I really like running over the interior of a shell I'm finishing with a 400 grit sandpaper (once!), cleaning it, then rubbing it down with teak oil. Teak oil is an oil based finish used to waterproof, rehydrate, and stain boat decks. I've found it's perfect for the interior of a drum - especially with older shells, which tend to be very dry. The oil leaves a beautiful color on the wood, allowing the natural grain to show through.

[AirborneSFC]

So I want a 16" floor tom for my Prolite kit:

A. $900 USD to order from a dealer stateside

B. 578 Euros to order here in Germany (about $751)

C. I found a used 16x16 S Class Pro Maple floor tom.

So a 5mm all around shell vs 4mm + 2mm at the reinforcing rings for the Prolites. I don't think there will be much of a sound difference.

Now if I choose to be perfectionist I will buy me a set of the updated lugs, drill another set of holes and call it a day. The plan is to take high quality pictures of my kit (or use ones from Sonor's brochures) and have a high quality graphic vinyl printed. Will either do self adhesive or use a spray on type.

[bearblastbeats]

Last year I was going through my dad's shed and grabbed his old Luddy that he hasn't used in about a decade. This is a late 1970's Ludwig octa-plus he purchased new about 30+ years ago.

My dad never took take of it so for a fathers day present I took it upon my self to breathe new life back into this kit.

I stripped the Marine Pearl wrap from it since it was pealing away from the toms. Each tom had a line of rivets pressed into the shell to hold the seams of the wrap together. After removing all of the adhesive I then filled all the holes and cracks with "plastic wood". I then sanded the kit for about 50 hours with a hand sander, not an electric palm sander (didn't want it to come out of round) and re cut the bearing edges.

After sanding, I then put three coats of lacquer on it. I decided against a stain because the wood had so much character to it all ready. I soaked all of the hardware in a 5 gallon bucket filled with denatured alcohol for a day or two then scrubbed the grime off it with a tooth brush.

When I re-assembled it, I decided against putting some of the unnecessary hardware on the toms to keep the weight down.


The next thing I plan to do with this kit is to convert the 18" floor to a bass drum. The 24 BD is just too much. I will then do the same steps I did originally with the two left over smaller toms and use the smallest as a rack (I think its an 8, maybe a 10) and use the 14 as the floor tom. Pics will follow

[sptimmeh]

Man bearblastbeats or whatever your name is how much do you charge? :P That is some nice work...

[ZTruax24]

Why exactly do drummers change all the stock heads and cymbals?.......im a drummer, i was trying to explain it to my parents with getting a new set and they dont understand.

[Nuka]

Why exactly do drummers change all the stock heads and cymbals?.......im a drummer, i was trying to explain it to my parents with getting a new set and they dont understand.

I don't change the heads, I use them till I need to change them (as I don't have the cash) and while I get used to the new drums. If I change kits and have decent heads on the older one, I might swap them over.

The cymbals however are more "I like these ones, because I like them. They are MY sound." If I were to get a new kit and it came with a set, I'd try them out, see if there's a couple I like and sell the rest (or if they aren't too bad keep them for "just in case").

I had the stock heads (Remo UX) on My kit for ages... they weren't too bad. And I would still have the "stock" cymbals (Paiste PST3) now had they not been stolen.

[TXC]

Why exactly do drummers change all the stock heads and cymbals?.......im a drummer, i was trying to explain it to my parents with getting a new set and they dont understand.

Sound quality, a good set of heads tuned properly is the determining factor on whether or not your drums produce eargasms, or if they make people leave the building. After a while, the heads will lose their bounce and their ability to sustain a good tone, old heads will also un-tune fairly easily, so you will find yourself with a different sounding drumset by the end of your show. I can always tell, especially on my snare, when I need a new head because the tension rods with come loose and wobbly after intense rimshots. Tom wise, I just look at how they look and feel coming off the stick. If stick marks have turned your clear head completely opaque, thats usually my cue to pick up a set of new heads.
Resonant heads (the bottom ones) pretty much never need replaced after you put a good set on, stock reso's are fine, but spending $30 to pick up some good reso's makes a huge difference in sound if you can tune it right to the pitch of your shells.

[zarrdoss]

PDP ace mod 6.5 x 14
I got one of these cheap off E-bay and decided the hoops and throw are not to my liking. So I got some Gibraltar 2.3mm hoops and a DW mag throw, I also added some nylon washers to the tension rods and greased them. The mag throw fits in the same holes as the stock throw but you do need to drill them out a little to accommodate the larger bolts. I put grosgrain ribbon and some Puresound blasters, An Aquarian clear reso and Hi-energy and now it is an awesome snare.

53139

[scottellis94]

Any of y'all dealt a PDP X7 (8,10,12,14,16,22,14x5)? Any tips on what I can do to really make those guys sing? I still have the original kit snare as well... It sucks, but I don't have the dough for a completely new snare! I play a lot of modern jazz, funk, folk, alt rock. And some Latin and hip hop and even the occasional metal groove? When I do play live it's really small venues. Like bars and clubs.

[canada_rokzz]

Interior drum mic's for my "new to me" PDP CX maple kit.

Just bent a piece of 1" flat bar (steel) and drilled the holes to match the pattern of my PDP drums. Mounted my CAD mic. Next step, mount the XLR M connector to the shell

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8229/8481088894_6771f20375_z.jpg

Also taking the silver sparkle wrap of, and going to order something from Bum Wrap Drum Co... Details to follow.

[T.Blazer]

I need some advise, I have stripped the black wrap off the cheap old floor tom that I have been using with my PDP kit, which is red stained birch with a matte Finnish. I had the local Colombia paint store match up some stain, but now I need to protect it. Is poly ok or should I go with lacquer ? and reasoning behind either.

[goodcat1337]

Does anyone know if you can strip powder coated hardware? Or is it possible to re-paint powder coated hardware a different color? I want to switch my lugs and tension rods from powder coated silver to brass or even gold powder coated if possible.

A guy at my local shop said there is pretty much nothing you can do to powder coated hardware, but I'm not 100% sure he wasn't just trying to sell hardware parts to me.