I'm not usually the 'nay-sayer', but this is really futile. You want old luan shells to sound modern. It's really not going to happen. It would be like trying to play "Smoke On The Water" on an old banjo.

If you've worked the shells and they still don't meet with your ears, then get a kit that will put out the sounds you want. It will save you much frustration in the future. It's not unheard of to have more than one kit. I'm saying this in a gentle way, so please don't read this reply with any inflections. I'm just suggesting that you are on the wrong road.

I agree. You can't make a sow's ear into a silk purse. You can try different head combinations to get them sounding their best. That's about it. But they are simply never going to sound like a modern, maple drum set with the big, resonant-sounding toms like you are hearing in your mind's ear.

Laun wood has a grain texture similar to pressed splinters. It's so soft and the grain is such that it doesn't conduct the kinds of "pleasing" tones that other, more dense woods have been found to do -in terms of making drum shells, that is.

The bass drum sound is another story, because, by it's application in drum sets, the bass drum is almost always muffled in some way -not always...but almost always. And its "role" in the drum set is to NOT be overly sustaining. So, it's easier to get a laun bass drum to sound okay, in that regard. Maybe even the snare drums can be tweeked to sound okay for the same staccato reasons. But the modern-sounding toms are another thing. The wood choice is really more important in terms of tom tom sound than it is bass drum or snare drum. This is my opinion, of course. People are welcome to disagree.Party

Thanks for your help and the info on these drums. I own 4 kits and I really would like to take this one out from time to time, just to change it up.

I think I found the holy grail of making these baby's sing the way I want them. Clear Remo weather king pinstripe heads. My toms sound AMAZING!!! They even compete with my custom acrylic kit I made last year. Just need to find the equivalent in the smooth white series and I'm set

Thanks again for the help!!

O-lugs, this is well put- I agree.Sumo Dude

[COLOR="DarkRed"]Not sure there is an equivalent smooth white head to a pinstripe clear. Glad it worked out for you !...as O-Lugs said, you can only do so much. Different shell specifications create different sounds; can't really do an end-around that fact. But it sounds like you found what you were after.

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Hi O-Lugs,

for academic reasons i thought I would jump in and challange your point. does a lower quality of materials relate to an "unacceptable" sound on a Bass or Snare drum? meaning you stated an ok sound could be achieved, is this the case? i realise this may be futile as the variables involved are multiple. not only what is a "poorer" quality material but each individuals perception of "ok".

IMHO, I dont think so, for the sake of this discussion lets keep with Luan. the two integral parts of your sound are snare and bass drum if these just sound average so will the whole kit. i would sooner play a kit with poor sounding toms and a good snare/bass than the alternative

JWG I understand your concern but I think this post has gone off topic.

1. I dont use the luan wood 1960 snare, I have others that I prefer over that one

2. My kick sounds great and there are many tricks I can use to make it sound even better.

As far as what is more important, toms, snare or kick, who cares. post that on another thread. This post just concerns the sound of vintage toms and how to make them sound different than other vintage toms.

I'm hoping that the smooth white emperors will be the fix for me. i'll let you guys know if it is. Peace!!

Let me elaborate just for a moment...

I may have missed making my point in a better way, but I essentially was referring to the general way that the sounds in a drum set are applied. That being:

Snare drum and bass drum are generally more staccato by nature. The bass drum and snare drums are (generally speaking) "attenuated" -either via the snare wire set engaging the bottom resonant head for the snare drum...OR, for the bass drum, usually with some kind of special drumhead or a minimally invasive felt strip. So, generally speaking, those two drums are somewhat different animals from the toms.

I can't really make a qualitative judgement as to what is "good" or "bad" in terms of any of these sounds. But I am aware of a general kind of sound collective of which comprise the drum set.

A low drum pitched drum (bass drum)

A high pitched drum (snare drum)

An array of medium pitched drums which fit in-between the snare and the bass drum (tom toms)

And some super-high pitched sounds that form a definite contrast to the aforementioned drums (cymbals)

Now, how those basic details are ultimately tweaked is almost infinite! And that's a totally subjective thing. But that's the general rule.

So, with that in mind, the OP was asking how to get his vintage laun tom toms to sound more like modern tom toms. I was guessing that meant a more sustaining and resonant sound. And, in that case, I think the laun wood has certain limited capabilities in that regard. I think the best approach is to try and find a specific head combination (via trial and error) that brings out as much sound as possible.

In short, it's my belief that it would be easier to get a general snare drum and bass drum sound from laun wood shells than it would be to get a deep, resonant tom tom sound -a la most modern tom toms.

natdogmmx,

lets be clear here, I was responding directly to a point made by o-lugs in THIS thread. Regardless of the original subject matter or your assumed contents of the thread my question was both related to the conversation and pertinent to your question. Moreover conversations, and threads for that matter, evolve and new questions will be asked. this in mind, perhaps a forum will not yield your desired response of strict answers to strict questions.

my response is somewhat strongly worded because your i percieved your last post as being aggressive in nature.

O-lugs,

I see your point, in retrospect my question was also very badly worded. in summary - all things equal do you find luan kits capable of delivering your desired sound?

Well put....

Appears that natdogmmx had said his thank-yous 7 posts ago anyway.DOH