jonnistix, Ralf, cn679 and those interested,
Thanks for all your help on this kit!
Here are pics to update the progress made on the 12" tom. The bearing edges on tis 6-ply shell were carefully done, a nice round over typical of late 60's, early 70's vintage american and Sonor drums.
I applied two coats of tung oil on the luan and it's very nice. I am still admiring the "Innocent Blue" wrap...notice there is no fade under the lugs. Reasons?
-kellyj
Very little exposure to the sun and harsh forms of lighting keep these old wraps from fading too badly. Ever seen an old WMP kit that has been in a non-smoking basement for it's entire life? They don't fade much either.
I found this kit in a dark "Bar/Karaoke" house, maybe that explains the lack of fade.
Here is the snare before clean-up. According to the snare dating guide you posted previously cn, this is an early Pearl "Bollero" '69-'73 or so. The strainer is very robust and well built, patterned after the Ludwig "Classic" and or the Slingerland "Zoomatic" engineering style that tips the bottom of the strainer in or out to tighten the snare wires.
I wish the Japanese had used a date stamp!
kellyj
Yeah, I wished they would have used date stamps too, but then again, the detective work is half the fun!
I agree, that strainer is one of the better ones, much better than the ones they were making just a few years before (the crappy Zoomatic knock-offs.)
Remember, dont use steel wool to clean up the lugs. It will leave little scratches that will dull the chrome. Use some kind of metal polish. I use one called 'Mr. Metal' It works really well - shines up filthy lugs and rims in no time!
Spent the day working on the snare, completely disassembled the shell and strainer, cleaned everything. I was very impressed with the quality of the strainer. As you can see from the picture, it is not cast out of cheap pot metal but stamped, nicely chromed and machined using quality parts equal to that of Ludwig or Slingerland of the same era and has excellent chroming. The tone control is a Ludwig copy and nicely made. Rims are chromed well and of mid quality. The lugs are robust.
Not the same story for the shell as it is 6-ply Luan Mahogany. A nice shell, with decent snare beds and a warm sound but not in the same fit & finish standard as say a Ludwig maple/poplar/maple shell. I needed to sand the bearing edges to take off some rough spots but that only took five minutes to make it playable. After a coat of tung oil, I was looking at a really gorgeous vintage shell I just knew would sound warm and woody. And it is... full and warm, resonant when played. Feel like I should be wearing a white jacket when playing this snare Keep on Pl
-kellyj
I'd be curious to hear what would happen if you installed 2.3mm hoops on this snare.I put some on a Camco I picked up(bent and rusty rims) and it made the drum more "twangy"-not so mooshy like some wood snares.I'd try Diplomats top and bottom,too.
