On drums...

[pounding my fist on the table].. I object, Your Honor!! Geesh, give a guy a little power and its all" move this thread here, blah blah blah"


Ok, I'll knock it off with the rambunctious, frenetic, heckling now!



Um, yeah. Now I'm gonna throw my camera in the fireplace next to the drumsticks I tossed in there from the SnareWire days after I watched that Steve Smith video.

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Ron- A.K.A "The Frenetic Rah Rah Guy"

Guys and girls,

Glad you appreciate good photos. Just because I can't do what Jack DeJ., Steve Smith or Tony did, doesn't keep me from the drums!
I can't help it if my day gig for 25 years was photography. Snap away... let's see what you've got.

Ron

Emperor Reso on snare, am I that out of touch with Remo snare side heads, didn't know they did an Emperor snare side, 2ply? How do the wires respond, if at all.
Do you know what the thread is on the Rod Bolts, I think its 5mm? We have a similar shell at work minus hoops/bolts, I might commandeer the drum, she would be perfect for low volume gigs


How are those tube lugs holding up , gorgeous drum that one
Congrats/Cheers

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Jeff
Gots ta luv da Beech
Australia

Jeff,
The lugs are a pain when changing heads, but, if you take care to see that the inserts that secure the rods extend beyond the lug ends, all is well.


This is potentially a powerfully LOUD drum, and very ringy in a good way... not like a metal shell. It has a huge dynamic range, controllable by the player.
The La Soprano wires were too much with the default ambassador reso... an Emp brings the wire response into better balance and deepens the pitch.
I think the B20 hoops are huge contributors to the timbre, Without them, it's just another thin ply shell with re-rings.
The strainer is an essential component as well, vital to what's unique about this drum, both functionally and esthetically.
If I had a shell made by La Soprano, I'd send it to them to complete the drum, especially knowing what I think I do now.
Ron

Jeff,
After my last post, it occurred to me from your question about thread size that you may have lugs on your shell. I don't know the thread size... check with La Soprano.
There is some minor barrel distortion stress apparent where the lugs fasten to the shell. This occurs on my 5.5 Leedy as well, to a somewhat more marked degree. It can be seen here:

Alarms go off at the prospect, but, considering that the L&L is structurally & functionally intact after almost 60 years with a sound I regard to be superb, I can't get too anxious about this condition vis a vis La Soprano. Who knows... it may be a positive acoustic factor!

Ron

Be a little careful at high tension Ron. This is the reason why we still have the Shell at work, the drum was recalled.Shells were known to crack from the lugs twisting.
The distributor left us with Shell/Mech/Lugs, and reclaimed the Timbal hoops, and kept the Rod Bolts as spares.I might put my Tama Brass Mighty hoops on her if I can find some bolts
Cheers

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Jeff
Gots ta luv da Beech
Australia

Jeff,
You did alert me previously on another forum(?) about shell deformation where the lugs attach. This has occurred to an extent on my 11 year old drum. I suspect the fact that the deformation is uneven may be due to the former owner's allowing some of the inserts to catch inside, rather than extend out beyond the lug end, the extension having a stabilizing effect.
There is a minor split in one place on the exterior veneer which appears beneath the lacquer(?) stain, which makes me wonder if the finish was applied later to disguise the flaw. In any case, there is no splitting apparent on the inside of the shell.
The previously mentioned Leedy, which I keep in higher tension than was the likely normal custom 50+ years ago, has shown no ill effects since I acquired it over a year ago.
I don't intend to alter my optimum playing tension with La Soprano, as I think that in itself may be a destabilizing factor, at least in regard to sonic response.

Ron

That was me, just hate to see such beautiful craftsmanship become ruined, it would be easy to let that section slip if you didn't know what you know. Particularly if you receive the drum in this condition/situation.
Looks like you've got it under control
We had a drum in the exact same finish, I'd assume thats factory, a split may appear Blonde/Maple colored,depending on depth, the stain is external and barely penetrates the shell. If the shell isn't distorted, You'll have no probs now you are intimate with its features.
Congrats, enjoy.

Cheers

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Jeff
Gots ta luv da Beech
Australia

I am trying to get my Oak customs to sound like I want them to. Funny thing about them, I have been touring them for years but getting them home and setting them up after using Hilites, classix and the little designer kit they sound really hard and brittle. I never thought I would say that. They scream live under mikes and sound great but I feel like they lack in tone.
I might have to sell a bunch of stuff and get me an sq2 unless my dream size(Cliffs) designers show up.
Uh oh

Sounds like skutooz, Tim.

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Cliff

River City Trio

What if we did all have the same opinions?