I was wondering if any Kent gurus could tell me what count the snare wires would have been on a mid 60's 6 lug Kent snare drum? I've seen a pic of an older single tension drum that had 12 strand wires, but thought most drums in the mid-late 60's would have 16 strand (or 20 strand?)
Also, many of the original Kent strainers are broken. Is there a good available replacement out there that doesn't require drilling any holes?
Thanks for the help in advance!
I've got a Musketeer snare made by Kent, presumably in the 1960s. I believe it has its original snares, which have 12 wires.
I think they came with either-12 for ultra cheapies,16 for standard.And as far as the strainer-no direct-lineup bolt-ons that I've seen.Make an adapter out of a piece of steel slightly bent to the drum contour and insulate it from the shell with felt.Use flathead screws,countersink the holes and you are all set.
I was wondering if any Kent gurus could tell me what count the snare wires would have been on a mid 60's 6 lug Kent snare drum? I've seen a pic of an older single tension drum that had 12 strand wires, but thought most drums in the mid-late 60's would have 16 strand (or 20 strand?) Also, many of the original Kent strainers are broken. Is there a good available replacement out there that doesn't require drilling any holes? Thanks for the help in advance!
Let's see that bolt pattern, Blake! You know better....
Sorry, the drum wont be here for a week or so. Just wondering if some of the Kent guys had any words of wisdom.
Dont worry, once it gets in I will start a thread for it - Kent red sparkle 6 lug needing a good clean up/restoration. Over the last year or so I've read a lot about Kents and I've been very interested. A few days ago I had a chance to pic a snare up for a reasonable price to get some hands on learning and figured, why not?
CN...What did you discover about the shell construction when you were researching Kent?..There are a lot of theories regarding thier similarity to Gretsch building methods....I have a Kent kit that im in awe of.Every bit as good sounding as any of the "high end" offeringsMind Blowi
Well, first of all, I should say that I know just almost nothing about Gretsch drums (other than they are cool and expensive.) The Kent/Gretsch connection seems to be that one of the Kent brothers worked for Gretsch, so supposedly he took some of that drum building know-how to their new company.
In terms of the shells themselves, most people seem to think that these are 2 or 3 ply maple, but there are others saying that they are single plies of maple folded over onto themselves for the 'other ply.'
As I said, I dont actually have the drum yet, so I cant really comment. Even after I see it, I may not know what I'm looking at. Basically everything I know about wood and woodworking I have learned on this forum (I didn't pay too much attention in shop class in jr. high school.) But I will take the best pics I can when the drum gets here (although they may not be too helpful, I know as much about photography as I do Gretsch...)
Ok, I'm finally getting around to finishing this project. (I dont know what it is with me and wood snares, always takes me months to finish them...)
So this is the red sparkle Kent snare in question. As you can see the original strainer is toast, and missing the arm as many of these are. I'm trying to find a good replacement strainer and would appreciate any input/opinions you all might have. I'd like to find a replacement where I wouldn't have to drill a new hole, but I might be able to modify (enlarge) one of the existing holes. Trying to keep this thing as original as I can. I have my eye on a couple of strainers at drumfactorydirect. The original holes are exactly 1 inch apart, about 1 and 1/4" center to center.
Below are a the two strainers I'm looking at. The first one is a piccolo strainer (holes 7/8" apart) that has a design similar to the original, though I'm wondering if there will be enough tension capacity. The second one might be a closer fit for the original holes.
What do you guys think? Any other options I should consider? (Oh, and the strainers with adjustable spacings are cost prohibitive, so I'm not going to go that route.)
Anyone? Any opinions, ideas, thoughts?
