[COLOR="DarkRed"]It's a bit of an unusual location for that seam, on a cortex wrap. Is it the ONLY seam on the bass drum ?

Here's a quick test way to see if you have a rewrapped drum:

Take the heads off of 2 or 3 of the shells of the kit.

Take a look at the edge condition or where the wrap ends near the bearing edge.

Is it consistent on all shells ? Or does one shell differ (i.e. maybe one shell has the wrap ending 1/8" short of where the edge is, etc.; or maybe 3 shells have the wrap ending 1/8" away, but the fourth shell has it 3/8" away, etc..)

It is very hard to actually duplicate how the factory wrap ended on the edge condition on those old drums. They usually end almost flush, and are quite feathered over time to the point where there is very little"lip" between the wrap edge and the actual shell surface.

So, that would be a give-away. Also, is the cortex faded equally on all 3 drums ? It's hard to match a faded cortex, so if they are the same hue, then the assumption would be they are all original.

Hope this helps.[/COLOR]

Thanks Jaye,

I am driving 3 .5 hours to get this kit. The other toms have the wrap tucked into the ply I tried my best to explain to the guy so he could shoot me more pic's. He has had this kit for 30 yrs and does not play out with it he says he just never got into playing as much. He also claims it has only been moved when he bought a new house a few years back. So it all sounds really good I have always wanted a 69 kit that is the year I was born. 30 years ago he bought this kit from a pro drummer. why would the sparkle be so light in contrast to the other 78 toms?

Thanks again

nice kit... the wrap may be different from the different eras, plus, fade happens with time. Ten years. Nice snare. I'd pay a grand, maybe $1200.00. The earlier drums are three ply. The newer are either three ply with reinforcing rings or six ply. Better if 3 ply to match the set.

Hey,

The bass wrap is not suspect due to the position. I can't speak for anything else about it. I've had several Ludwig bass drums in the late 60's to early 70's that had the bass wrap in that position. They were woikin' hard back then in Chicago. Late hours, you know. Anyway, I wouldn't pay much mind to the location of the wrap. It was not unusual.

[COLOR="DarkRed"]Hehehe..at least they didn't do what I did, once....drilled the vent hole and badged the bass drum on the side instead of the top; this after the spur holes had been drilled.

Yes, I didn't have my coffee that morning.....[/COLOR]DOHCoffee Break2