Hi all,
I recently acquired some used Zickos drums (from two different sources) on eBay and they both have seams. Zickos shells are thicker than Ludwig Vistalite shells. Although the one Ludwig Vistalite floor tom I do have, sounds really really nice, one of the nicest floor toms I've heard as far as just being out there in a very aggressive but really nice way.
I'm pretty sure that Zickos always had seams and according to statements on their web site today, they still do have seams.
One drum I acquired did arrive with the seam apart (cleanly separated)...so much for the glue being stronger than the material....wouldn't it break elsewhere if that was the case?
I've located what seems to be the best source of acrylic cement from other posters and online searches/advice for acrylic drum repair, including a syringe to get the glue into the smaller cracks (that shell was also broken elsewhere, probably from being dropped at one point).
So, anyway, yes, I'm pretty sure Zickos, the granddaddy of all acrylic drums, always had seams. There's a statement on the web site that extruded wasn't satisfactory, I'm pretty sure that means they tried to produce seamless in a mold but it didn't work as well, but, unfortunately, being a typical American, I'm too lazy to look it up (funny).
Hope this helps.
I have to say the sound is really incredible from these drums and the stage look, well, I have my first gigs with them at an outdoor gig coming up this weekend.
The rest of the Zickos shells I have seem very solid, and very round, and very very nice. The hardware on these drums also makes most other drums look like toys, by the way (at least the lugs and rims and the really heavy-duty metal bass drum hoops....the old tom mounts might be a different story although I haven't tried them).
The only thing about the Zickos drums is they appear to be somewhat on the large side and Remo heads don't fit well, which is a major drag of course....but, I don't have enough experience with them yet to really say this with confidence. the bass drum I have, the Remo heads fit fine.
A 14" tom, the heads were tight and didn't tune real well at first but now they're seated in and the drum is sounding very good. No doubt not as good as if the shell were nice and undersized like Rogers and the heads just spun and fit perfectly, but, very very good.