Hey Phil Cormier!

There are a couple schools of thought on this issue:

A lot of drum builders today don't finish the inner ply with clear/sealer of any kind... yet others do. Here are the things to consider:

A small moisture barrier is the most that one coat of clear will give. It's not enough to really ADD any reflectivity to the drum shell as most of it is absorbed by the wood, leaving very little on top. It DOES give the shell a slightly finished look, as well as a little protection.

Multiple coats will actually ADD quite a bit of surface reflectivity, giving the drum a bit more brightness to it's sound, as well as give the interior a completely finished look. I guess it all depends on WHAT you are after.

Projection isn't really the issue here. The shell design and head choice have more to do with that... but brightness in tone would be gained with multiple coats of clear. Out of curiosity: What drum is it that you have?

Tommyp

Hi Tom, thanks for responding to my question/post. The snare I have is a mid 1970's 5.5x14 Slingerland 3-Ply Artist model with the Mahogany/Poplar/Maple Shell with Maple Reinforcing Rings in the COW-Chrome Metal over Wood finish, Black and Silver Niles, Ill logo Badge, tone control muffler, 8 Sound King Lugs and Zoomatic Strainer. When I bought the snare, it looked like there was just too much lacquer and or varnish on the interior. I figured with the Metal over Wood on the outside, the Shell itself would project very strongly. I am still not sure what to do at this point, any other ideas? Thanks again for responding. Phil Cormier Fitchburg, Mass 01420

Hey Phil...

I own a 1970 Slingerland 4X14 COW Buddy Rich model snare drum... the one with 16 lugs, side by side, 8 up, 8 down, Zoomatic, re-rings, etc. I'm sure you know the model... if not, please check the "Tommyp Collection" on this very site. Go to the main home VSD page, and click OTHER COLLECTIONS. It will take you to a page where you will see my name... click that... then you can check out my Slingerland snares. But, I didn't mean to digress here... Anyway,

As I mentioned, I have a 1970 COW Slingerland, but mine is an EARLY manufactured drum, possibly LATE 1969, thus, the interior is that "chocolate milk paint"... kind of beige/brown in color. According to the description of your drum, I don't think you should have a clear interior. I don't believe that Slingerland stopped with the "chocolate milk paint" and went to the clear interiors until they did away with the re-rings. Is it possible that your drum was stripped of it's paint, and then cleared by the original owner? I only ask this because Slingerland just didn't use THAT MUCH lacquer on their shells, you know? So,

What to do? Well... even the COW is a wrap that is glued on the shell... meaning ... the glue is going to inhibit and dull the sound of the shell a bit just like any other wrap, after all, the shell is still wood. Plus, the interior would have normally been painted on top of that. I would think that ONE COAT of clear would be nice, and probably give you exactly what you are looking for. Not too bright... not too dull.

I also have in my collection a 1973/1974 Buddy Rich TDR model snare drum, and this one being 5 ply, is cleared on the inside with a LIGHT coat of lacquer. Nothing as heavy as you have described, again, leading me to think that yours may have been modified by a previous owner.

So... what do you think?

Tommyp

Hi Tom, thanks for the info, Slingerland still had clear Maple interiors during this period with the reinforcing rings, mine is from 1973-1975 period, just check the Dr.'s Slingerland Wood Shell page. Thanks again for all the advice! Phil Cormier

Hey Phil...

You know, you're right on the interiors. I also have in my extensive collection... ( ALL Buddy Rich models by the way! ) ... a 1968 Slingerland 51/2X14 BR Artist, and this is the SOLID SHELL model, not plied, and the interior is cleared, plus it also has the re-rings. And again, it is lightly cleared at that. Looks like no more than one coat. Well,

I'm still stymied as to WHY you had so much clear then?? Unless that's just how the person spraying that day applied it, you know? As I have always said: Back in the day, ALL the drum companies were just building drums... they weren't thinking that 30/40/50 years later guys would be disecting these things, which is why we find a lot of anomolies here and there with regard to hardware, badges, interiors, etc. It's all very interesting.

I should also mention that my main area of expertise, is Rogers. I have been playing/collecting/researching Rogers for quite a while. As a matter of fact, I gig on Rogers drums 99.9% of the time. I got into Slingerland because it was yet another company that BR endorsed for a good amount of time. From there I started researching the company and it's products, although nothing even CLOSE in the way that Carl Wenk has! So,

Again, I think you should apply one coat of clear... nice and even ... either high gloss, or at the least, semi gloss, both of which will look period correct.

Lastly, I also own a 1967 Trixon 1/440 Standard/Luxus Buddy Rich model snare drum that I had to totally restore. I did in fact end up clearing the inside of the shell as that is how Buddy ALWAYS requested his drums... a little extra clear. Anyway, I used semi-gloss poly, in this case two coats, and it came out fabulous. Not too much... not too little... and, the drum actually sounds good! Amazing for Trixon as they weren't all that high quality back in the 60's, which is the main reason Buddy split the company after only a few months despite a very impressive endorser fee for the time.

ENJOY that drum!!

Tommyp

Hi Tom, I forgot to mention to you that the main reason that I stripped the interior of my Slingerland snare was to make it look almost like the interior of Neil Peart's Slingerland 3-Ply Artist snare! His model is similar to mine, except his was a Copper over Wood and the Shell was just a tad bit deeper. His was from the mid 70's as well and was a 3-Ply. During all the years he used that Snare on most of Rush's albums, he never had the interior Vibrafibed. Vibrafibe was something done years ago by Neal Graham at the Percussion Center in Fort Wayne-it is now XL Specialty Percussion, Vibrafibe was a coating/resin of a thin layer of fiberglass applied to the interior of a drumshell to promote better projection and resonance. I have looked at videos and photos at the interior of his Slingerland and the interior Maple ply looks very plain-no shiny gloss to it, I don't know maybe it is just a thin clear coat of semi-gloss? What kind of semi-gloss should I use? Lacquer or Polyurethane? What did Slingerland use in the mid 70's? And should I spray or brush it on? Thanks again for all your help and advice! Phil Cormier Fitchburg, Mass 01420

Hey Phil...

Yeah... I do remember Neil's Slingerland Artist snare drum... and... I most certainly remember Vibrafibe as well! You bring me back as I was teaching at a music store back when Rush and Neil were all the rage! That's all I did for a period was "show" Neilism's to my students. I remember having to go shed the stuff myself so I could show it to my students! Anyway,

Lacquer is what was used back in the day. Today, it's difficult to find, and a tad hard to use given it's properties: Dries very quickly. And, lacquer would have to be sprayed, whereas...

... Polyurethane can be brushed, maintaining complete control of the material and your drum. You would most certainly want OIL BASED poly, not the waterborne/acrylic. The oil based poly has a nice amber hue to it which will nicely enhance the look of the shell, as well as make it look very much like old lacquer. Protection wise it is just excellent,... and... today there are "fast drying" poly's that have a bit thinner viscosity, allowing for a fabulous hand brushed finish... NO brushmarks. Actually, I have always used high quality foam brushes as they work excellent in this application.

Semi-Gloss would be superb... and, try to find Zar Polyurethane Phil. If you can't find it, get in touch with me and I can hook you up. I'm actually just down the road from you!

Tommyp