Hello,

I will be soon re-wrapping a 4 piece kit. I have two questions:

My first question is about the small overlap on wrapped drums where the wrap comes back around and meets up with itself again.

I know there must be a good reason for doing it, because every major company does. My question is: Why?

If you can get the end of the wrap to meet up exactly (or a millimeter or two gap where they don't meet) through measuring and a "trial run" before gluing, why wouldn't you? The overlap makes the shell thicker in that spot, and thus the head fit tighter. Plus, on all "coming unglued" wrap jobs I've seen, it is always coming unglued at the overlap seam and nowhere else. You can obviously position the wrap where the the two seams meet so that it is away from the audience (and under a lug), which is what most companies do (opposite of their name badge on the shell). If it's positioned that way, than does it really matter if there is a 1 or 2mm gap where the wrap doesn't meet? I just think that wrapping a drum with no overlap makes more sense. What am I missing?

My second question is:

I have had some drums wrapped professionally in the past. I always had the company wrap the drum like normal (with overlap, oddly enough!), but I would have them leave about 5/8" of an inch or so unwrapped (bare shell) near both bearing edges. The reason for this was, that's about how far the head comes down onto the shell (it varies a little between head companies). That way, the head is not contacting the wrap at all, and it is free to resonate fully, without having to fit tighter because of the wrap, and the head covers the area that is not wrapped, so it doesn't look any different when the drum is assembled.

Do you think this is a good idea? Why don't the major companies do this? It would save on wrap material (a little over 1" per drum can add up to a lot for as many as they produce) and would let the head be a lot more "free floating" on the shell.

Your thoughts? Thanks!