Is this dumb?

[greenstar323]

I've been really loving some of the finishes offered by Bumwrap. The wood fades look sick on their facebook page.

I've sort of been wanting a PDP concept maple set. Trying to wait for a used one to come up for the right price, but is it stupid to buy a new kit and then rewrap it? I don't love any of their finishes.

I don't know if I could handle doing it to a new kit, but I'd like the one with black hardware and they rarely come up used.

 

[konaboy]

Wouldn't make sense to me to do that to a new kit. Kind of why you buy a new one to get exactly what you want.

 

[STXBob]

Yeah, if you're going to drop new kit money, get the new kit you want. There's not a hell of a lot of difference at the price point of PDP Concept between PDP Concept and everyone else's offerings at that price point. So get the look you want and to hell with the brand name.

Alternately, scour used listings looking for something like this. You can wrap that and have a decent kit for cheap. Or this: Keller maple shells, you add hardware from your favorite supplier.

 

[greenstar323]

Yeah I don't personally love the finishes on the pdp's which is why I'm trying to find a used set. I wouldn't even mind birch if I could find a used set with 2 floor toms. I've done the custom thing twice and just wanted a set that's already out together that I can just add wrap to.

 

[PorkPieGuy]

Dude, do whatever you want and just be happy with it.

I totally understand why you are doing this. It's not like you are wanting just a plain-Jane drum set. You are wanting some that looks good, right? Some of those wood veneers and finishes come at a remarkable markup. I see kits all of the time on the BumWrap with all kinds of wood finishes.

There are a couple of reasons NOT to go with Bumwrap though:

1. Sometimes it's easy to see where the scan "starts over" in the wood grain. It's really hard to explain. Look at the tops of the kicks in this picture. See how it sort of mirrors the other side? Veneers aren't supposed to do this on drums:

Depending on where the seam is on the wrap, this may be your only choice is to wrap it like this. I guess you could ask them to "off-center" the grain for you, which probably what I would do.


2. The "wood grain" print will not be the same size from drum to drum. In other words, the bigger the drum, the bigger the grain or graphic. They do not compensate the graphic for bigger and/or smaller drums. Like if you had a stack of actual wood veneer you were going to use to wrap your drums, you would cut it all from the same stack. The grain would be consistent. However, Bumwrap's grain patterns will vary in size depending on the drum. While this may be great if you are getting flames or bubbles or whatever, if you are really anal about such things, maybe Bumwrap isn't for you. Maybe they compensate for this now, but you may have to request it. While you can see it in the pic above, you can really see the grain variation in this pic:

If neither of these will bother you, I'd say go for it. You will save a boatload of money, and the wrap (if done properly) will not harm the finish under it.

 

[crispycritters]

As you have said you want black hardware and twin floor toms but aren't blown away by the finishes available on the concept maple. I personally wouldn't buy a new set if there were aspects about it I didn't like.

Maybe you should consider a used Mapex Meridian Maple set with black coated hardware for a re-wrap job?

As you stated you would consider birch - Maybe a used Tama Superstar Hyperdrive Birch? Most of them have black nickel hardware - and many have twin Floor Toms.

 

[Winegums]

Buy a used kit that you like and wrap it. You'll save so much money in the long run and it will look like a new kit.

 

[Icetech]

Wow.. that Natal kit just made me feel funny inside.. that is soo pretty...

 

[alparrott]

At the price point for the PDP Concept, there are plenty of other great kits out there, some of which may be offered with the finish and hardware options you want. If you were okay with going used with the express intent of modification, that's one thing; but buying new just to modify the new kit is not something I would wholeheartedly recommend. And you can get a lot more for your buck used than new in most cases.

Having said that, I do recommend BumWrap. if you want your toms to look different and have scaled veneer/woodgrain, they do offer a photo-to-wrap option that they can do in the individual sizes of your drums. It may be a bit pricier doing it this way, but I found them really easy to work with.

 

[greenstar323]

Having said that, I do recommend BumWrap. if you want your toms to look different and have scaled veneer/woodgrain, they do offer a photo-to-wrap option that they can do in the individual sizes of your drums. It may be a bit pricier doing it this way, but I found them really easy to work with.

Ooh that's pretty cool. Yeah I don't think any of those things really bother me... seams not lining up or whatever. I feel like it will be hidden enough. That's pretty cool though that they adjust for the size, I didn't even consider that.

I was also looking at a used Mapex kit, maybe Mars or something. I'm really leaning toward a used kit for obvious reasons, it's just I keep getting drawn to PDP concept! If only a used kit would come up for the right price and have a giant scratch in the wrap so I wouldn't feel as guilty!