The wrap I bought from JamminSams came with the special double-sided tape already attached to the ends of the wrap. One end (the end that attaches first to the shell) is a medium bond, and the other end which comes around the shell and overlaps onto the wrap is an ultra-high bond (to prevent it from ever lifting). The tape only holds the ends down. The rest of the wrap is free-floating and held down by the lugs.

Some restorers believe this "free-floating" tape method theoretically muffles the shell's resonance, but I tried this method just to see for myself. I'd dare anyone to listen to my two identical 8x12 Rogers Powertone toms with identical Remo Ambassador heads tuned to the exact pitch (one wrapped in white pearl with tape and the other one with its original factory ebony wrap) and tell which is which.

Although volumes have been written on drum tuning, it remains that pitch, tonal quality, and resonance remain highly personal and subjective to each of us (one man's perfectly tuned Dynasonic sounds like crap to some other drummer). Whatever subtle dampening effect wrap (even factory applied) may have on bare wood shells, it is usually overshadowed by our personal choice of heads and tuning methods.

Nice thing about tape, if you don't like the final result, remove it and reapply with bonding cement. Good luck.

Awesome!! Thanks so much.

I never said that, but I WILL say that using tape is potentially like flushing the money you paid for the pearl down the toilet. Because most pearls are thermoplastics, they can wrinkle and shrink to some degree, some worse than others, unless they are stabilized by being COMPLETELY AND PROPERLY glued to the shell.

Some people feel that putting pearl on a drum should be like putting on a pair of socks, and you can change it at will with the tape method. To those who feel that way, I say, go right ahead, but don't complain when it starts to look like ass down the road.

Do it right the first time. Use a proper water-based contact cement, and don't flush your hard-earned $$$ down the toilet.

I've seen PLENTY of wraps that shrunk and wrinkled when glued to a shell also.

Wraps usually only do that if the glue isn't applied properly and/or the drum has been exposed to multiple thermal cycles and extremes. Older plastics were also much more unstable. Factor into that the fact that manufacturers like to expedite the wrap jobs and use different contact adhesives to be able to push the jobs through the production line. This can sometimes mean a weak bond, which should never happen at the home or custom drum level, where using heavy-duty waterbased contact cement that requires adequate curing time is not an issue.

I posted this quote from the Precision Drum Co. in another (similar topic) thread. It reads:

"When wrap is taped, and not adhered completely to the shell, the wrap will dampen the sound of the shell - as if a blanket were wrapped around it. When wrap is glued completely, the wrap essentially becomes part of the shell, and resonates as part of the shell.

That just makes sense to me on a physics level. The comment from Precision goes on to say:

"Besides the sound issue, the tape method could allow the wrap to ripple, bubble, not lay flat, or simply crack, especially as the drum wrap ages.

See what can happen when wrap is only held on with tape at the seam.."

I'm with John on this one. If you're going to spend several hundred dollars for wrap, it just makes practical sense to stabilize the plastic by gluing it onto the shell. As for difference in sound between a glued drum and a taped drum, I'm sure it's just a subjective call in the end. Different drummers look for different sounds from their drums. What sounds great to one guy, might sound like sh*t to the next.

With an investment this large, I'd have a tendency to trust old, 'traditionally' utilized and proven methods. Which means gluing the wrap to the shell so it all becomes 'one vibrating/resonating entity.'

John

If you'd like, I'll take some pics of my '90 WMP Ludwig kit to clearly demonstrate what happens to wrap that isn't glued down.

I am new to the forum but have been lurking for some time. I have several vintage drums and have re-wrapped three snares using the Jammin' Sam tape method but am, by no means an expert.

First of all, Sam provides fantastic customer service. I certainly cannot say anything negative there. What I will say, however, is when I recover drums in the future, I will use glue. The tape method is simply not the way to go for a professionally done product. It did not matter how much I tugged or pulled on the wrap; I just could never get it tight enough. I did discover that installing the lugs AS you drill the holes as opposed to after, improved the results quite a bit.

As I said, I have only recovered three snares. I would think if I couldn't get those tight enough, how would you ever do a kick drum?

I know a lot if people like the tape method and I understand why so if that is what you want to do, then go for it. I suppose, at the end of the day it cones down to this: if I ordered a custom set with a wrap and it showed up taped, I would send it right back.

One of the reasons Sam is so emphatic about the tape method is that it avoids a lot of customer service issues when glue jobs go bad, or that is my assumption. He is still a great source for wrap and I would encourage anyone to purchase from him. My personal opinion is to forget the tape however.

One final thought, has anyone tried Precision's PSA tape method? They use the edge tape like JS, but the PSA film adheres to the entire wrap. This seems to bridge the gap between tape and gluing.

You need to read THIS thread:

http://www.drumforum.org/index.php?/topic/54385-do-a-project-cheaply-and-youll-pay-the-price/page__gopid__600022