Hi JS!

Speaking from experience, the vast majority of MIJ drums came with 1.6mm hoops. Most of these hoops were of varying quality! They serve a purpose and I never had an issue with them! Tone-wise, a good set of your standard 2.3mm hoops will definitely give a more focused sound. Die-cast hoops? Unless you have them on-hand already, it's just not worth the expense to outfit a set of MIJ drums with them. For those drums with Slingerland-style lugs, you might even consider the 2.3mm Sticksaver style hoops. They'd probably look great with the drums. Experimenting is always fun...but all those hoops will cost you! You have to decide for yourself if you want to lay out that much $$$ to find out!

Now, all that being said, if your current hoops are in-round and lay flat, I always find that the choice of heads and tuning go a long way to achieving what you want. Ludwig drums came with 1.6mm hoops for decades and did we ever complain about the sound?! LoLoLoLo

-Mark

Thanks Mark!

Yeah, those die cast hoops would be quite a huge investment indeed, like 50 or 60 bucks a pop! Yikes. And like you said, the sound difference wouldn't be worth that cost. I could go with the 2.3mm hoops and outfit my whole kit for a bit over $100. I might try one drum first just to see if it's worth it. That is something I might consider. And yes, I know I wouldn't get my money back on these should I sell, but I do like experimenting! DOH

For sure, the biggest tone change comes from the drumheads, and I have played around with some different ones. I've settled on the Evans Calftone and even though I had a little trouble with one of them, I just love the fat warm sound they give and they sound great with the clear Evans EC reso heads I put on underneath. So I think I'm set there - for now anyway! My tuning skills have come a long way as well.

And no, I haven't heard any complaints about Ludwig sound before! :)

JS! I've spent so much $$$ just to experiment with heads and hoops, knowing full-well that I'll never recoup my investment! It's just something I do for my drum addiction/hobby!

I just took another look at your beautiful Norma kit and see that they do have the Slingerland-style lugs. With that in mind, I'd be tempted to try the Sticksaver-style hoops, which would not only look great with your kit, but could tighten up the sound with a more non-flexing hoop vs. the original 1.6mm. DFD has a great selection of these hoops for very good prices. Check them out here...https://www.drumfactorydirect.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=6_7_68

Let us know what you decided...and include pictures!

-Mark

Mark, thanks for looking up my kit and I'm glad you like it to! I kind of thought my kit had the Slingerland-style lugs, but I was afraid to ask!:o

Thanks for the link as well. Looks like I could do a shell for 30 bucks, not to bad! I'm going to order a set after the Christmas rush and give them a try. Heck, it's a fun experiment for $30! They look great to and would make the kit look a little higher end, so it could be a win-win.

Mark, your always a big help, thank you! Cool1

Always a pleasure to offer help! Looking forward to how these hoops will look. Happy holidays to you!

-Mark

JimmySticks,

Mark is a fantastically knowledgeable member of our forum and damned nice guy to boot! I would follow his advice to the letter! I have tried wooden hoops on my late seventies Supra as well as die cast rims. Both are excellent and both emit slightly different nuances. I like the die cast rims, well at least for today! I too love to experiment just for fun. Who knows? I may go back to the wooden hoops tomorrow. Best of luck in making a choice.

Brian

I think Zim Gar was one mij that used die cast hoops. I remember finding one downtown in a thrift shop.

Sidenote- I could bend the die cast hoop with bare hands and very little pressure

my Zim Gar was a 10x14 marching drum.

Here's a simple snare with the Zim Gar die cast hoops.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/VTG-1960-Zim-Gar-Blue-Sparkle-Beauty-Snare-Drum-3-Point-Strainer-Die-Cast-Hoops-/173848433898?_trksid=p2385738.m4383.l4275.c10

Can see (Ha!) a little bend in top hoop.

Brian!

Thanks for the kind words! I'll be the first to admit that there is so much I don't know, which is why this forum has been so educational for me over the years. When I do know something, I like to share it with others.

-Mark