Hi everyone,
I recently acquired a 1976 clear Vistalite kit, the shell sizes are 22,12,13,16 and 14 snare.
After taking the heads off I noticed a lot of inconsistency regarding the bearing edges.
The 22, 12 and 16 seem to have a 30 degree edge while the 13" tom have a flat bed with slight roundover on both edges.
I'm wondering what were the type of factory edges on those Vistalite at the time? 30, 45, flat?
Some photos below:
the 12" tom (with 30° like edges):
The 13" tom (more flat edges):
I'm also wondering if the marks on the edges are normal? Looks like sawblade dents.
I figured the 22, 12 and 16 shells have similar edges and serial number starting by 11xxxxx while the 13" tom has rounder and flat edge with a 96xxxx number.
Are the spacing's from the lugs to the bearing edge equal on both sides. I'm sure my old vistalites were sharper than that.
Yep I’ve got a 9 by 13 which has saw blade marks on both upper and lower edges.The shell does not appear to be modified it measures a true 9 inches.and the holes are the same measurements from both top and bottom bearing edges
Looks like someone skipped the step of leveling out the shell on a sanding board. I've had Ludwigs with sawblade marks on them too, but it was always a 3-ply drum. They still sounded good though so I didn't try to fix them. I can't say I've ever seen sawblade marks on 6 ply shells and definitely not on anything Monroe-made.
Yep I’ve got a 9 by 13 which has saw blade marks on both upper and lower edges.The shell does not appear to be modified it measures a true 9 inches.and the holes are the same measurements from both top and bottom bearing edges
Thanks moonbabies for the info and photos. My edges looks really similar than yours, same angle and marks. Maybe my shells were recutted with a similar angle or Ludwig made them a bit shorter.
