Here's something that hasn't been posted, and an angle that I hadn't heard of until recently:

I was looking at a closeout Pearl Vision Birch in a cool Champagne Sparkle at a local music store. I noticed that at certain points on the drums, the wrap was not tight on the shell, that you could press down on it slightly. It was not noticeable to the eye, just when you pressed on the shell. It was present on all the drums.

I asked about the "Tape vs. Glue" on the Pearl Drummer's Forum. There were several responders that said Pearl uses the tape method and does this on purpose. The purposely leave small areas in the wrap that are not quite 100% tight, yet not visible to the eye. They even do this on their high end Masters and Reference kits. The reasoning behind it is that, from Pearl's point of view, it gives the wrap a little "breathing room" to be able to expand/contract in different weather/humidity conditions, without putting any stress on the wrap itself, which can lead to cracking and seams lifting etc. I have a friend with a Masters kit, and it is true, the wrap had the slightest bit of "play" at certain points. I will say that both kits looked absolutley flawless and 100% quality to the naked eye.

I am not a huge Pearl fan, but they certainly sell a lot of drums, so they must have their own reasoning behind it, and they obviously know how to make high quality drums.

I've stayed out of this "debate" on this thread (up 'til now) because I've "debated" this on other threads before, and the same points always come up. So, we don't seem to really get anywhere...

But, you've made a point that I have to comment on. Not that I think Pearl is telling a lie here, but they're probably just putting a little "spin" on a minor issue with their wrap/shells.

As many of you have read before, I still own and play a set of Pearl drums that I bought new in 1978. Pearl of course used the tape method only at the seams back then. My set still looks like new. No cracks, splits, bubbles, etc. in the wrap at all. Yes, there's minor scratches form being carted around, but NO wrap issues. And yes, I can find places in the wrap on the surface where there is some "give." You can't see those places, however.

I've wrapped sets with the tape method, and have found that's it's nearly impossible to stretch the wrap tight enough to avoid this. But I've found that it's because, whether we want to admit it or not, even our "high-end" shells will not be perfectly round from top-to-bottom. So there's going to be places with a little "give" in the wrap.

I discovered this when rewrapping a (shudder) 60s Ludwig kit with the tape method. As most of you know the wrap on Ludwigs at the time was bent right in with the rest of the plies and left a spot that's flat. Well, when you remove wrap from one of these shells (leaving a piece of the old wrap within the joint) and then rewrap, you've got a "flatter" place than before, which creates a minor issue when rewrapping. With the tape method, you're going to have at that seam a place where the wrap gives -- but it's NOT that noticable to the average eye when the set is set-up and being used...

I've also noticed that whenever I've had to repair shells or even just filling small holes prior to rewrapping, those places almost always yield a place where the taped-on rewrap "gives" a little. That's because it really don't matter how careful you are, whenever you fill a hole or have other repair work, you create small flat spots on the shell.

I still maintain that if you want your wrap to last (whichever the method of wrap application) TAKE GOOD CARE OF YOUR DRUMS. Keep them cleaned up; pamper them a little. Keep them in a tempurature-controlled environment as much as possible. When you do cart them around, use good cases. I know guys who lined their hard cases with carpet scraps and I also know guys who used the soft "bags" inside the hard cases. And I was alway very particular who helped set-up and tear-down my drums. I even offended a few drunks down through the years because I WOULD NOT let them help me with my drums after a gig.

OK. I'm off my Soap Box and have a computer beeping at me...

Bill

Excellent post, Bill. I agree that Pearl is probably putting a "spin" on things. But if it looks good...............why not?

You also make an excellent point about shells not being 100% true round. Let's face it, wood is not a uniform material. Even the best, most high quality shell isn't going to be absolutley 100% perfectly round on every square millimeter of the shell. It's impossible. Wood is not a man made substance. It's natural and organic. Look at drumsticks. As much as they have "perfected" the art of machining, finishing, computer analysis etc., watch what happens the next time you pick up a brand new, "perfectly matched" pair at your local music store. One stick is always heavier than the other, even if it's only .0000000001 of an ounce. Why? Wood is wood.

I think there is no right or wrong in taping or gluing. But like you said above Bill, no matter what method you choose or favor, taking care of your drums will maximize the wrap life and appearance in either case. That's the most important "method" of any drumset maitenance that we can do for our kits.