Tips from a Tapster
versely. The lugs do actually resonate with the rest of the drum
and stopping that resonance can dull the “shell sound”.
Gretsch Anomaly
If your vintage Gretsch bass drum has never quite tuned up
correctly, the culprit may very well be a bit of flat bearing edge
that was left uncut at the factory…on purpose. Gretsch routinely left an area about three inches wide with no bearing
edge right where the Pratt Muffler attached at the bottom of
the drum. Why? Who knows? I figure someone at Gretsch decided it would make the muffler work better which, of course,
it doesn’t. I have found that if that uncut part is beveled to the
same shape as the rest of the bearing edge, the tuning gets a lot
easier and the drum will open up. We have been repairing all
the Gretsch drums like this that we refurbish at my drum
shop. Another Gretsch-ism I’ve noticed recently is a Gretsch
bass drum that was pulled out of shape by severe over-tight-ening of the Pratt Muffler. It pulled the shell out of round, a
flattening of the shell right where the metal piece attaches the
felt to the shell. It can be steamed and formed back into shape.
Cutting Edges On Acrylic Shells
Be very careful with routing plastic shells of any kind: Fibes,
Ludwig, RCI, etc. They do not cut as easily as wood. The blade
needs to be brand new/very sharp, and take off only a little
bit at a time. If you try to take off too much material at once
it can overheat the shell and melt it, or it can snag and throw
the shell.
Gretsch Wrap Cutting Tool
Here is a smart little tool from Jor Partridge made from a box
knife blade. It alleviates the head mounting problem on old
Joe Patridge’s Tool for Cutting Down Wrap to Alleviate Head Mounting Issues
Gretsches. The old wrapped Gretsches shells are 1/16th “ wider than other shells and the heads had to be forced onto them.
Gretsch now leaves a ½ inch gap between the edge of the shell
and the wrap. This knife will make that same cut on your old
drum. It rides along the edge of the shell, scoring the wrap
strip to be pulled from the shell. I have used this on several
kits and it works nicely. Available from NSMD for $30.
Stuffing Lugs
When putting material into lugs be sure to put only enough
cotton or foam to stop the spring from ringing. If you over stuff
the lug too tightly you can affect the sound of the drum ad-
