Wraps or finished shell. What floats your boat & why.

Andy

Honorary Member
Not only do I like the look of a wood finish, I've always thought a wrap will mute the tone coming from the outside of the shell. Am I wrong? To confuse me further, I've seen some stunning wraps lately that tempt me towards getting a second setup that's wrapped. I'm interested to know what your preferences are & why.
 
While I clearly understand the benefits of a wrap, I could never bring myself to buy a kit with one if given the choice of a 'finished' drum. Especially at the same price.
 
There are lots of great-looking drum kits out there. But I really love wood finishes, though.

I've wondered about the effect of wraps too but I never had the nerve to have a wrap removed, just in case its makes the drum sound worse. You don't know till you do it, I guess.
 
my new mapex kit has a nice lacquer fade finish, which i really like. as much as i like it, the downside is i feel like i need to be super careful with my drums because if i gouge that finish it'll look terrible and probably be hard to fix. a wrap finish is usually a lot more durable and can take a beating and still look good.
 
I have both kinds of kits there are plusses and minuses to both.

Wraps are more durable against scratches and scrapes. They do not chip so when somebody knocks a ride cymbal into your kit you don't get a chipped finish. The problem with wraps is heat. If your drums are in road cases in the back of a trailer in the summer it gets REALLY hot in there and the glue will start to melt, leak, shrink, come undone. etc. I don't know the time line for this, but it did happen to my ludwig kit (which is 40 years old)
As for the sound I really doubt that wraps affect the resonance at all. I have heard wrapped drums resonate forever with no effect. Most of the dw kits I have played have been wrapped and they sing forever. My ludwigs are very resonant also.

Finished shell - lacquer the main plus to these is they look gorgeous. They also have little to no effect on the sound of the drum. They are really durable in high-heat situations. The biggest problem is that they are easily scratched and chipped. You have to baby them and be very careful. That being said even if your careful sometimes are just out of your control. I have let 2 drummers use my lacquered kit and both of them put scratches in the paint. People are idiots. One drummer put the snare drum right against the rack tom, and lowered the rack tom onto the hoop at the same time. Another drummer put the rack tom all the way over into a cowbell and it rubbed a hole in the finish.
 
I'm a sucker for anything with a wood grain.

Both my drum kits have a wood grain. And I was raised on the notion that a wrap inhibits the drum from resonating freely, so I've never considered a wrap.

And I love my wood grains kits, and I will never git rid of them.

But I will say if I ever buy another kit (or get up the nerve to make my own kit) it will be a wrap.

Because a nice wood grain finish means every time I take my kit out, I need to put in my big heavy duty plastic foam lined cases, and keep an eye on it at the club to make sure it stays pristine (and my 16 year old Signia kit does still look new). My next kit I want a wrap so I can put in the car with a light weight bag or maybe even just blankets, and not worry about it getting scratched. Something I can just wipe down easily if anything were to get spilled on it. Just a kit that doesn't require the huge production of casing it up any time I want to take it somewhere.
 
I've owned and have been happy with both. My current set is a wood grain Sonor S series set, and while i love the way it looks and sounds, it's starting to show the effects of gigging.
I have a couple of pretty good dings in the bass drum and the floor tom(leg mounted of course), which is really a bummer.

My old Ludwig wraps held up really well for years, but as far as the projection goes, I couldn't offer an opinion because they were outfitted with those lovely blue Evans hydraulic heads.
 
I've had a few of both and honestly, I prefer wraps now. I am unable to detect any difference in the sound, even in the slightest sense. They look fantastic and they hold up far better to punishment. A lacquer finish is even sensitive to being wiped off and will show scratches sooner than a wrap. Another plus - 10, 20, 30 years down the road, the wrap can be removed and the drums can be refinished any way you like...almost making them brand new again.

I just picked up my Ludwig Classic Maples this morning w/ the new Silver Glass Glitter wrap.
 
I prefer an oil finish. I had a Frankenstein kit wrapped years ago and was amazed how much it changed the sound. Killed it is more like it. I have to think the method the guy used to wrap them wasn't optimal since I've heard other wrapped kits that sound good. Still...

A nice wood finish works for me (my last two kits have been a simple black stain). I don't get too freaked out anymore when my drums pick up a rash here and there (I have a Sharpie that "fixes" the most offensive scratches!). At this point, they're working drums that are well on their way to looking like something out of a Clapton guitar collection.
 
I prefer wraps, and it's strictly a durability issue. I know that if I started chipping, denting, and/or scratching up a beautiful lacquered finish, it would really bug me. I guess I'm shallow that way.
 
I prefer an oil finish. I had a Frankenstein kit wrapped years ago and was amazed how much it changed the sound. Killed it is more like it. I have to think the method the guy used to wrap them wasn't optimal since I've heard other wrapped kits that sound good. Still...
.
Great responses so far guys, & very helpful to me. Keep 'em coming!

Mike, useful bit of real world info there. The engineer in me thinks that when you bond two dissimilar materials together, you change or counteract the natural harmonic frequencies of each individual material (expect DMC to chip in here ref: stave/solid constructions). I didn't put this in the OP so as not to colour the responses, but I have a direct experience that mirrors yours Mike, in reverse. I once owned a superb Sonor kick drum that sported a mirror chrome wrap. The wrap became damaged so I stripped the drum. The difference in tone was huge. Much more warmth & depth. No difference in volume & projection, but the sound close up was wonderful by comparison to the wrapped incarnation. That said, when I stood 20ft away from the drum, I couldn't tell the difference. This leads me to believe that the only difference in sound is due to the resonance of the outer surface of the shell. Perhaps someone who knows more about this than me can fill in the gaps.

I'm getting the durability benefits of a wrap, & as Caddy points out, you can change the wrap over time. I do find the gloss lacquer on natural finishes is very sensitive to scuffing, but the matt finishes seem durable to me. One thing you'll never get from a wood finish is outright drama from an audience perspective. That aspect of a wrap is very appealing. Of course, you wouldn't dream of finishing a stave/segmented/steam bent kit with a wrap, would you?

I'm thinking of getting a 26" kick drum so I can go out with just kick, snare & a few cymbals, no toms. As there will only be one drum, I'm tempted to bling it up. Thoughts?
 
I'm thinking of getting a 26" kick drum so I can go out with just kick, snare & a few cymbals, no toms. As there will only be one drum, I'm tempted to bling it up. Thoughts?
I have a thought on this not related to finish. What is your concept for this setup? If it's portability, the 26" kick seems counter-intuitive. Even without any toms, a kick that size is a bear to move around. But if it's a particular sound you're looking for, that's another thing.

As for the finish thing, I like the idea of blinging up the kick in this kind of setup.
 
I've only owned 3 kits and all of them have been wrapped. Like others have said, scratch resistance and durability makes wraps appealing, especially for gigging kits. What's sad is the wrap on my 1987 Pearl Export kit held up better than the wrap on both of my DW kits.

I got my 2nd DW kit (free) because of the wrap was peeling at the seams and DW did a horrible job trying to repair it. Honestly, it only took about 2 years for the wrap to start pulling on this kit. These drums have spent most of their life in a climate controlled church too. Never in a hot vehicle or exposed to any harsh weather conditions.

If I buy another kit, it will be a wood finish. I love the way the wood looks and the different finishes you can get with them.
 
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The engineer in me thinks that when you bond two dissimilar materials together, you change or counteract the natural harmonic frequencies of each individual material...
I share your concern on this, which is why on my last kit I opted for an oiled finish as opposed to a poly lacquer. It's been buffed pretty good so while not as shiny as a lacquer, it's not matte or satin either.

I get wowed and tempted to want some of these glass sparkle kits that are of the lacquer variety, but I have to wonder how much material they're adhering to the shell and what dampening effect that might have. I'm thinking there might not be as much difference between lacquer and wrap as there is between an oil and a wrap, but I could be wrong.

A drum builder on another forum thought that what went wrong with the wrap job on that kit I mentioned was that the wrap was applied over the top of a lacquer, which itself was fairly thick and did its own deadening (just another type of plastic wrap as he described it), so in effect, I had two wraps going and that's what killed the sound.
 
I just unwrapped a set to make my Bumble Bee Bop set, and on three of the drums the wrap could only make them sound better. From what I saw underneath the wrap, the outer layer or ply of wood was terrible looking and was used of course to cut costs since it makes no since to put a wrap over good looking lumber. You would have to have two identical sets, one wrapped and one not with the same plies througout which I doubt you will find for the above mentioned reason, to make a quality comparison as to sound. I'm sure wrapping kills some resonance but I'm not sure if our ears can tell. And then do the major companies use one less ply on wraps so as to keep the shells the same thickness. I had a set of Taye in blue glass glitter, and now my Renowns are lacquered and I like them both. If you are uber cautious and have caring band mates you could get by with lacquer. If not then wrap them for sure.
 
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I have a beautiful '82 vintage Tama kit in Super Mahogany finish and It sounds great. On stage it disappears into the darkness. After the house lights come up and I'm putting it back into cases, I hear someone say "Those are beautiful". Last year I bought a Ludwig Centennial kit in green sparkle wrap. It practically glows under the slightest stage lighting. These drums also sound great.
 
I have a thought on this not related to finish. What is your concept for this setup? If it's portability, the 26" kick seems counter-intuitive. Even without any toms, a kick that size is a bear to move around. But if it's a particular sound you're looking for, that's another thing.

As for the finish thing, I like the idea of blinging up the kick in this kind of setup.
My thinking is a total opposite sound & approach to my present kit. I want something that concentrates exclusively on big grooves delivered with lightning & thunder. I have a beautiful 13" Spaun maple stave snare that's aching to be partnered with an earthquake kick. I love the juxtaposition of a high tuned popping wood snare with the thunderous growl of an open & deep 26" kick. Ooooooh, goosebumps!

If you are uber cautious and have caring band mates you could get by with lacquer. If not then wrap them for sure.
Thanks GD, I suppose I'm blessed with caring more about what feels right to me rather than the consequences of my decision. I am careful though and my band mates would be ex band mates if they were careless enough to damage my stuff.
 
I like and own both wrapped drums and lacquered drums... I love wraps for gigging durability and I'm a sucker for the vintage appeal of some wraps.... But I also love a beautiful transparent lacquer finish. Especially natural maple or a dark cherry or walnut type finish.
 
I *was* a sucker for wood grain finishes, too, but after I got my Gretsch Renown I got over it. No matter how careful I am, stuff happens and now I hate to take them out on a job. I'm sure they're great furniture in someone's spare bedroom but that finish is too delicate for all the one nighters I do. They do sound good though.

So I fell back to my old reliable '77 Rogers kit with the meh black wrap. I never liked the bass sound, but the mic helps with that. And the wrap takes a beating. I only wish I'd ordered something more interesting like black oyster pearl when I got that set. But I like the fact I can carry the bass and FT in my back seat without cases and set up fast.
 
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