The Drum Modification Thread

The one you wanted looks good, but the one you got is so much better looking imo.

Nice. :)


so I recently stumbled upon a Doc Sweeney snare in Mediterranean Pearl that I thought was really cool. I can't justify spending $700 on a snare and figured it an exclusive color or something. I then saw that Precision offers this exact wrap. I actually found someone selling a 7x14 piece for much cheaper. I thought the color looked off, but chalked it up to bad lighting and bought it. it doesn't look like the wrap I was hoping, but it's still kinda cool. I had this Gretsch Stave snare on the market for awhile, but keep getting low-ball offers so I decided to just keep it and use the wrap on it.

View attachment 93601

I was hoping for this: View attachment 93602

not sure if it faded over time or if they changed their color...
 
I've yet to discern why choose lacquer over polyurethane. Lacquer is more brittle, prone to yellowing, and quite toxic. Polyurethane has some flex, won't yellow, and will provide the same luster. I've asked around, even to the manufacturers, and never gotten a straight answer. It's always like a Miss America answer, nothing at all to do with what was asked.
 
I've yet to discern why choose lacquer over polyurethane. Lacquer is more brittle, prone to yellowing, and quite toxic. Polyurethane has some flex, won't yellow, and will provide the same luster. I've asked around, even to the manufacturers, and never gotten a straight answer. It's always like a Miss America answer, nothing at all to do with what was asked.

Lacquer is easily sprayed and dries quicker. Poly is definitely better--just takes more time to brush it on and takes more time to dry. I'm not sure if those are the reasons. I was also curious and did some minor searches, that's what I learned. ?‍♂️
 
Lacquer is easily sprayed and dries quicker. Poly is definitely better--just takes more time to brush it on and takes more time to dry. I'm not sure if those are the reasons. I was also curious and did some minor searches, that's what I learned. ?‍♂️
I've sprayed poly plenty of times, only requires marginal thinning, just like the urethane based automotive paints.
 
I've sprayed poly plenty of times, only requires marginal thinning, just like the urethane based automotive paints.

In the past lacquer was much easier to deal with than poly. But over the last 10 years poly formulas have become much better. So some people just get set in their ways.
 
Hey, I picked up a Pearl Export and the largest tom (14 inch) is for mounting but it didn't include the ISS thing or the arm and stand attachment. The Pearl mount and the stand thing to mount it to cost over $100 for everything and I was only into the set $100. It was only about $30 to get Gibraltar legs and some brackets from China to make this into a floor tom.

FOC2sjD.jpg


dAHzxIr.jpg


NbSlhZg.jpg


ZS19nLd.jpg


BTkEtra.jpg


Picture heavy but I am pleased with the results.
 
Hey, I picked up a Pearl Export and the largest tom (14 inch) is for mounting but it didn't include the ISS thing or the arm and stand attachment. The Pearl mount and the stand thing to mount it to cost over $100 for everything and I was only into the set $100. It was only about $30 to get Gibraltar legs and some brackets from China to make this into a floor tom.

FOC2sjD.jpg


dAHzxIr.jpg


NbSlhZg.jpg


ZS19nLd.jpg


BTkEtra.jpg


Picture heavy but I am pleased with the results.

Great solution! I prefer my 'floor tom' to have legs instead of being mounted, regardless of diameter. My current floor tom is actually 13" but it works great.

And did I read correctly that you bought that kit for $100!? If so... That's the only good thing to come out of 2020 haha. Fantastic deal! That is the perfect beater/gig kit.
 
Great solution! I prefer my 'floor tom' to have legs instead of being mounted, regardless of diameter. My current floor tom is actually 13" but it works great.

And did I read correctly that you bought that kit for $100!? If so... That's the only good thing to come out of 2020 haha. Fantastic deal! That is the perfect beater/gig kit.

It was a pretty sweet deal. The floor tom needed a batter and reso head and the snare needed a snare side head. They are pretty scratched up but I don't care. The bass drum is 20 inches, which is cool because all I have ever had are 22 inch bass drums.
 
It was a pretty sweet deal. The floor tom needed a batter and reso head and the snare needed a snare side head. They are pretty scratched up but I don't care. The bass drum is 20 inches, which is cool because all I have ever had are 22 inch bass drums.

Cool! A 20 is nice and punchy, should compliment the toms nicely and be easier to carry around. If it were me I would toss the ISS mounts on the toms and bolt the mounts directly on the shell. I almost guarantee you those tom rims are warped and the shell mount is much more stable for a throw around kit.
 
Way too late on this, but it might be useful in the future. I use a coping saw.
You take it apart, put the blade thru the hole, assemble it, cut a few slots, take it apart to get the blade out,
and then the grommet will just squeeze together and come right out.
You can find them cheaper at your local hardware store than this one from amazon:
That's a good idea. I have one of these tiny hacksaws, it would do the job also.

mini-hacksaw-1.jpg
 
Way too late on this, but it might be useful in the future. I use a coping saw.
You take it apart, put the blade thru the hole, assemble it, cut a few slots, take it apart to get the blade out,
and then the grommet will just squeeze together and come right out.
You can find them cheaper at your local hardware store than this one from amazon:
Also wayyy to late, but a countersink works like a charm. It'll knock the flare off the back and then you can just pop it out.
Ridge reamers, deburring bits, and basic reamers also work but most people.dont have them and neither does Home Depot.
 
Way too late on this, but it might be useful in the future. I use a coping saw.
You take it apart, put the blade thru the hole, assemble it, cut a few slots, take it apart to get the blade out,
and then the grommet will just squeeze together and come right out.
You can find them cheaper at your local hardware store than this one from amazon:

Well actually the old one is still in there so I could give this a try! Hah, thanks.
 
Has anyone ever bought wrap from these guys? If so, what did you think of the quality, service, etc.? I am looking to wrap my kit as well as replace all the hardware to make it my own as resale isn't a concern. They have some really cool wrap colours available and they're cheaper than Precision.
 
Has anyone ever bought wrap from these guys? If so, what did you think of the quality, service, etc.? I am looking to wrap my kit as well as replace all the hardware to make it my own as resale isn't a concern. They have some really cool wrap colours available and they're cheaper than Precision.

Yes. . . .the wrap quality is good. It's not quite as stiff as delmar type wrap, and not as thick.

Their problem is customer service. The first time I bought wrap from them (and understand I'm a bit OCD), I called 5 or 6 times over the course of 6 or 7 hours before I got a response. I just don't understand having a phone number if you don't answer business calls.

I will actually amend what I said at first. The VERY first time I bought wrap from them, they screwed it up. They have a bubinga fade on their site, very reddish in color. I bought a couple pieces, it was literally BROWN. Not a bid of red tint. So I chose something else and they sent that out for as a free replacement.

Back to their phones, don't bother with calling. If you order from their site, they will take care of you pretty quickly. I have basically decided (as much as I like some of their designs), I'm not going to buy from them anymore. I'll go to Precision first.

What kind of hardware are you looking at? Drumfactorydirect.com is my go to. And if you want something different, Champagnedrum.com has some neat stuff. Not horribly over expensive either.
 
Yes. . . .the wrap quality is good. It's not quite as stiff as delmar type wrap, and not as thick.

Their problem is customer service. The first time I bought wrap from them (and understand I'm a bit OCD), I called 5 or 6 times over the course of 6 or 7 hours before I got a response. I just don't understand having a phone number if you don't answer business calls.

I will actually amend what I said at first. The VERY first time I bought wrap from them, they screwed it up. They have a bubinga fade on their site, very reddish in color. I bought a couple pieces, it was literally BROWN. Not a bid of red tint. So I chose something else and they sent that out for as a free replacement.

Back to their phones, don't bother with calling. If you order from their site, they will take care of you pretty quickly. I have basically decided (as much as I like some of their designs), I'm not going to buy from them anymore. I'll go to Precision first.

What kind of hardware are you looking at? Drumfactorydirect.com is my go to. And if you want something different, Champagnedrum.com has some neat stuff. Not horribly over expensive either.
I had the exact same experience. I emailed and called them multiple times after their order was late. I never got a response until I called them a scam in an email. After that things were fine. I think the ed sullivan wrap looks pretty good, I'm not sure how it compares to real oyster black pearl though because I can't remember seeing any examples in real life.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_20191012_233038_01.jpg
    IMG_20191012_233038_01.jpg
    242.5 KB · Views: 14
I had the exact same experience. I emailed and called them multiple times after their order was late. I never got a response until I called them a scam in an email. After that things were fine. I think the ed sullivan wrap looks pretty good, I'm not sure how it compares to real oyster black pearl though because I can't remember seeing any examples in real life.

That doesn't look bad. Maybe darker overall, not as oyster-y as you'd like?

A problem I ran into was not buying all of my wrap at the same time. The 2 replacement pieces I mentioned before were one of their red psychedelic versions. I like it. I ended up with 2 more orphaned drums months later and decide to buy a couple more pieces of the red psych. . . completely different shade to it although I ordered the Exact same version of wrap. Even messaged them about it when I paid. I never called them over it. I was done at that point.

I don't have pics yet because I've not completed the drums. But basically it looks like I have 2 good wrap drums and 2 faded wrap drums--all with the same new wrap supposedly.
 
What kind of hardware are you looking at? Drumfactorydirect.com is my go to. And if you want something different, Champagnedrum.com has some neat stuff. Not horribly over expensive either.
Not looking for hardware, looking to wrap my kit as I am underwhelmed by the current finish and it's a little beat.

I had the exact same experience. I emailed and called them multiple times after their order was late. I never got a response until I called them a scam in an email. After that things were fine. I think the ed sullivan wrap looks pretty good, I'm not sure how it compares to real oyster black pearl though because I can't remember seeing any examples in real life.
So, I ordered some wrap samples from them yesterday ($0.80 ea for 3"x3" sample) off the website and they sent it out within an hour. I'll keep y'all updated if I decide to order full wrap from them. Thanks for the information regarding your experiences!
 
If your wood-shelled drum is looking like it needs some attention and you've never stained and or finished wood / wood drum shell before, here's a handy how-to video with time-lapse video and narration and captions. In 2004, my beloved Bison Drum Co. snare drum, purchased in 1997, was damaged in a house fire. In late 2020, I decided to learn how to refinish wood drums and I gave the Bison a makeover. From the flames came something beautiful. I call this drum "The Phoenix". Enjoy.
 
I'm thinking of painting a piccolo snare, does that count? :D
 
Back
Top