UPDATE: I replaced the snares & tried some of the advice from "The Drum Bible" regarding snare buzz - seems to be working okay.
I can not crank the drum (the batter &/or the reso) down tight enough to get a nice crisp sound.
I'm at the point where I hear weird wood-cracking sounds (flesh-hoop I hope) when tightening the t-rods. I stop immediately at that point.
It could be the snares too. I had some Responso's on - didn't like them. I put a Gretsch - a little wider - on a few days ago. Actually that's when I started not liking the sound...hmmmmm?
Maybe I should have tucked a calfhide on the reso-side snare too??
[COLOR="Red"]This drum is too nice to sound crappy![/COLOR]
Thoughts?? & HELP!