coated ambassadors top, clear ambassadors bottom

that is my favourite Ludwig wrap, so classy...

You wouldn't believe the set up that I inherited... I couldn't believe it. I was going to go with the Ambassadors, but I wanted opinions that have more experience with the vintage kits than I do. :)

I am glad I was steering in the right direction with that!

Any suggestions for a awesome adhesive?? I don't need too much, the only drum that really needs help is the bass.

Any of the 3M spray adhesives would probably work great for the wrap (77, 90, etc.).

Head choice really depends on what kind of sound you're going for.

Ambassadors or any thin single-ply head top and bottom are more resonant and do better at a slightly higher tuning. Medium or double-ply heads do better at mid-range to lower tuning, and dampen the high end a bit. Basically, more mass or plies, the deeper and more dampened in overtones the head.

I would go to a drum shop and check out what they have. I find if you tap the heads by themselves you can get a basic idea of what sort of range and timbre they're capable of.

The nice thing about good shells like yours is that they'll sound good with pretty much any type of head. Experiment and see what works!

How long does that stuff take to set up??

This is probably a stupid question, but a lot of the adhesives take forever to dry and they want you to clamp whatever you are gluing down... I don't want to be clamping on the shells if I don't have to...

I've only used the 77, but it sets pretty fast -- usually less than 5 minutes. You may want to clamp it down initially though so it doesn't pop back up.

Any suggestions on how to clamp it safely? I don't want to damage the wrap in anyway, but I want it firmly sealed... Vice grips? C-clamps?

I have used a flat piece of metal or wood that run parallel with 2 or more c clamps.I also wrap the flat metal or wood with wax paper so if the adhesive bleeds through,it won't stick to my clamping set up.

Steve B

If you clamp use a piece of wood between the jaw of the clamp and the shell on both sides of the clamp, this will give you an even pressure and will keep damage from the clamp to your drum wrap. Don't over tighten the clamp either. Do a mock set up prior to putting the adhesive on you drum, this way you have a solid idea of what is going to happen and you can make adjustments to your tooling before the adhesive is down. Best of luck and use patience.

I use band clamps and a piece of sheet metal. The sheet metal pulls away fairly easily form the adhesive. This worked well for a veneer I recently installed on a tom.