Tape to wrap a drum in Any Way shape or forum,Is an amateur Job waiting to happen, If your doing it to flip them that's one thing but to keep and use for yourself, Glue the shell and wrap it will last your life time and will give you No problems. Tape is a joke and not a good one either!! Here's a scenario The band I was filling in for their drummer got thrown in the poky they were headlining, the opening act their drummer had his kit newly re wrapped job with tape. those flood lights on stage had that junk peeling in less than an hour, by the end of their show on entire side had lifted off his drum. Use glue there is a reason the real factories and boutique builders use it.

canidrum2,

I'm not familiar with the drum foundry psa tape...

However, I have had good results with wood veneers with psa.

And, here we go again with the glue/tape "debate." There are some wraps out there that are cheap wraps that I could see easily doing what vintagemore2000 described. But, IMO that's probably the result of the wrap material used, and NOT just the tape job.

Case(s) in point: I bought my Pearl W/FG set new in 1978. The wrap is a "tape job," 'cause that's what they did back then. It's been gigged around so there are some normal skuffs, but NO pealing, splitting, buckling, or whatever else happens to some tape job drums. Why? I've always treated my drums with care -- always transported in cases, never left stored in a very hot or very cold van: took the time to put them back in a temperature controlled environment as much as possible, and they still look new today!

On the other hand, I picked up an early 70s Pearl W/FG kit last weekend. The wrap has split, cracked, buckled, etc. But obviously these drums have had a hard life -- all resonant heads removed, obviously gigged around without cases, and rescued out of a damp basement. What can you expect? I've worked on just about every major brand of vintage drums and have seen cracks, splits, buckling, etc. etc. etc. on drums with glued on wraps that have been abused in this manner! And let me say this: I'd much rather remove wrap from a tape job shell than a glued on one any time! :)

The set I just picked up (and pictured in another thread) is Blue Oyster. Mine is Blue Gloss. I will say that in my experience with the Pearl's of this era (FG, W/FG or W shells) the solid color wraps did hold up MUCH better than the oysters they used. So, another prop to the idea that the material used makes a bigger difference than the method used.

LOTS of pros use the tape method. Not intentionally attempting to prop Sam here, but the bottom line is this: IF the tape method is so BAD, I don't believe he could stay in business as long as he has!

I don't hesitate to install new Delmar PVC wrap with the tape method. In fact, I'm presently doing a rewrap job on a school's drum line this week -- and yes, I'm using the tape method. The drums are around 20 years old... some Pearl and some Mapex -- the old wrap was taped on, and even with the abuse that HS marching drums can take, there were NO major issues with the wrap! Oh, there are the usual skuffs and scratches, but with the price of new marching drums the school opted for a "refit" instead!

Well, I guess opinions on this topic are like opinions in the world of politics... and IMO, do your research (like you're obviously doing) then do what you think best! Good luck with the job!

Bill

Thanks for all of the input. The wrap I took off off these shells was a solid wrap that was glued on, and it was peeling at most of the seems. It was not well cared for, and it took me the good part of two weeks to get all of the glue off of the shells. They are now in a climate controlled room drying out and ready for new wrap. The upside on the tape is that if something ever did happen in the future it would be way easier to repair. The on,y concern with the glue is that if I mess up putting it on I have to pretty much order a new piece of wrap. I am leaning toward glue on this job only because these shells were originally glued, and I am weird about keeping everything exactly how it was originally except for the color of the wrap. I am using all of the old hardware, lugs etc. I removed all the rust from the hoops and lugs with aluminum foil, baking soda & vinegar. A lot of scrubbing and hard work went into this restoration, and I am just waiting to wrap and put everything back together. The bass drum hoops are my final obstacle. They are in surprisingly good shape. i am stripping the old black paint off and staining them. Then installing an inlay to match my wrap (Vintage green sparkle from Jammin Sam). I will post before and after pics when all is done. Thanks again!

Nick

canidrum - For your own sake, please do a little research on this subject before using the tape method. If the wrap is not glued to (a part of,) the shell, it's like wrapping a blanket around your drum. It'll alter the resonance of the drum. Get some 3M water-based contact cement, coat the shell and the back of the wrap, and make the wrap an integral part of the shell so the wood can vibrate freely.

That's all I'll say on the subject. All this information is already 'out there.' Google, is a great way to find it. You can also search VDF for many related threads. Best of luck with your project.

John