I'm starting to appreciate and collect these MIJ kits. The two kits I have both have bare wood shell interiors, 6 ply with no rings, and 3 ply with rings.
Does any interior treatment benefit the sound of these 40+ year old luan shell? I've read arguments that varnishing will give the drum some punch....
And what was more common for top line American drums?
If you coat the inside with a polyurethane, it will make the interior more reflective like a hardwood. Still, the porous shell will absorb a lot of the resonance and have a quicker decay, but the initial projection will improve. However, the "sound" of these MIJ kits is that warm, less articulate punch, and why would you want to mess with that?
I agree totally!
Jon
If you plan to keep the kit cause you like the finish
but to your hears the sound of it is a little plain flat
then why dont help it a bit???
remember , MIJ=300$ top, so no big deal here
I'd go with a nice natural lacquer (never use synthetic laquer on wood instruments)
there is plenty of info about it on the net ,here is one link.
I sanded mine with 220 grit sand paper, then applied 3 coats of "deft" lacquer. Sounds like a cannon!
I've found that just sanding the interiors smooth, with the grain, yields pretty good sounding results. If you have decent bearing edges to start with, maybe lightly sanding them to smooth the grain, and lightly waxing them, I think the drum's sound is already there. I've never finished a MIJ drum where I had gone through this process and felt like I needed to get back in there with paint, lacquer, etc to try to make it sound better, deeper, louder...
Now, the one argument that I can get behind on this subject is John's philosophy of using a lacquer to seal the grain for the purpose of strengthening and preserving the wood of the thinner 3 ply shells. While I do think that this may be a good idea, I think it has more to do with restoration and preservation than with actually improving a drum's sound.
If you want to paint the interiors white or gray, or throw on a few coats of lacquer or stain, I'm not gonna tell you your business, but please, for god's sake, dont use polyurethane. That stuff will never come off, it will be a permanent modification and I cant imagine that it will make the drum sound any better, but very possibly worse.
I've found that just sanding the interiors smooth, with the grain, yields pretty good sounding results. If you have decent bearing edges to start with, maybe lightly sanding them to smooth the grain, and lightly waxing them, I think the drum's sound is already there. I've never finished a MIJ drum where I had gone through this process and felt like I needed to get back in there with paint, lacquer, etc to try to make it sound better, deeper, louder...Now, the one argument that I can get behind on this subject is John's philosophy of using a lacquer to seal the grain for the purpose of strengthening and preserving the wood of the thinner 3 ply shells. While I do think that this may be a good idea, I think it has more to do with restoration and preservation than with actually improving a drum's sound.If you want to paint the interiors white or gray, or throw on a few coats of lacquer or stain, I'm not gonna tell you your business, but please, for god's sake, dont use polyurethane. That stuff will never come off, it will be a permanent modification and I cant imagine that it will make the drum sound any better, but very possibly worse.
HEARE,HEARE!!! I am gonna tell ya, lacquer only...(I'm John....). It's all about preservation, not change. You will notice a little more low-end, but for for the love of wood, NO PLASTI-COAT!!!!
I might also suggest a hard-wax oil.
I'm not gonna tell you your business, but please, for god's sake, dont use polyurethane. That stuff will never come off, it will be a permanent modification and I cant imagine that it will make the drum sound any better, but very possibly worse.
Apparently, my snarky, completely ridiculous, and obviously sarcastic post was taken seriously. Yeah...NO POLYURETHANE!!!! Repeat: NO PLASTIC COAT!!!
My shells look like the same ones you have (different wrap) Like I stated earler ,sanded and lacqured. Here are the heads i`m using. Evans EQ1 on batter side and an Attack "no overtones" on the res side. Just love the way this base sounds. Can`t wait to how they sound.
