The wood is so soft (laun) it actually wicks off a lot of the resonant tone in comparison to that which you get from modern drums. Most modern drums are made from more dense woods like maple and birch.

Another thing you might want to try is to exchange the Emperor (which is a 2-ply head) with a single ply head -like another Ambassador, for example. That will help bring out some of the upper overtones and make the drums sound a bit less dull.

It's often just the nature of vintage Asian made drums because of the fact that so many of them use laun wood.

I agree with O-rings, it`s the wood type- alot of us like the luan sound but it not a sound for every style or venue. I will choose a luan snare intentionally for certain small clubs or when I am playing for a vocalist in a low volume. For larger venues and louder volumes it makes sense to go with other choices- they can still be vintage- just not luan. A Pearl 1969-1975 fiberglass President or their maple/ fiberglass composite shell may be perfect for your needs. That kit you have looks quite nice nice- I bet you could sell it almost for the same you could get a Pearl maple/fiberglass (began around 1973 so you can still go vintage) on ebay. BOL

Thanks guys! your exactly right. I found a 13" ambassador coated head and put it on my high tom and it helped a little bit but its still got that boing sound that comes from these drums.

Thanks for the info on the shell, I had no clue what it was. I've tried about everything possible but I guess if the shells themselves are the problem then there really isn't much you can do about it.

I'll just say I got a DEAL and a half on these and I would rather try and use them if I could. is it worth buying keller shells, drilling them and somehow putting the original vintage wrap on around it??? that way it would look the same but have a modern sound???

what are your thoughts on that option?? is it possible?

I use my luan 1960`s Pearl kits often just for the type of controlled sound you mention. I also slightly tighten the internal mufflers so they are just barely making contact with the top head- Seriously, try Remo Fiberskyn 3s on those toms- it may not be the sound you`re looking for right now but after you hear it, then it might become the sound you need.

[COLOR="DarkRed"]The other thing is, they may be the thin-shelled re-ring Luan variety, in which case....you can't make an apple an orange. Those are just never gonna be projecting sorta shells.

Now....make one new ? It costs...for MATERIALS ONLY....about $800 to build a 4-piece kit out of Keller shells, including wrap, hardware, and heads.

That is not counting the labor. That is just for cost of the raw materials.

So, yeah, it's an awesome fun project...but you'd need to get the 8-ply shells to make the kit sound "Modern".

You don't have to build a kit...alternately, you could just by a decent, used, middlin' rig such as a Gretsch Catalina, a Tama Stagestar or Swingstar, Pearl Export Pro, or Yamaha Stage custom for between $300-500 and rewrap 'em yourself. In that case, the wrap materials would only run about $200 so you would be ahead of the game by at least $200 over option #1. You wouldn't need to worry about drilling holes or aligning brackets and spurs and such...Sand the shell interiors down to 220 gr. and apply 2 coats of Tung oil to the inside of those shells, and on the bearing edges, and they will just [COLOR="Red"]sing[/COLOR] for you.

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thanks for the advice!!

My main concern is in the toms, I have the kick sounding pretty good and I can always vent out the head to add low bandpass by cutting a hole in the head.

But its those dang toms!

I found a matching ambassador head for the floor tom and I put the original mufflers back on the toms which helped out more than I thought it would.

This might sound odd but, I do a bit of private lesson where I live and all the drum kits that my students have are basically the cheapest kits you can buy. My point is, they use super thin generic single ply white NON coated drum heads on the toms im sure you guys know what im referring to. They actually can sound pretty awesome!!

What do you guys think about putting those heads on my toms?? are those fiber skin ambassadors kinda like those I just described?? if not what brand of remo and est can I get those generic heads at???

Again thanks for your help, the kit is sounding better and better with every suggestion.

The answer is yes, clear heads will give you a bit more open sound than coated and would be worth trying.

Although, I like your adventurous spirit, I really can`t recommend using cheap, plastic, single ply heads. I think you`ll soon tire of that sound they produce. Fiberskyn 3 heads are like the total opposite of the ones you`re talking about. They`re thicker, more dense. If you really need thin clear heads then I suggest simple REMO clear single ply heads (CS?) - the ones people use as resos. Good luck with it.

[COLOR="DarkRed"]l do not quite get it - "white non-coated heads" ? Do you mean white smooth heads or just clear heads ? Remo makes white smooths (they are white and opaque but their surface feels like clears)[/COLOR]