I recently picked up a late 60s Krupa Sound King. The drum and strainer are in perfect condition, however, no matter what I do I cannot get the snares to fully disengage. I have tried string, ribbon and plastic straps on the snare wires with no change. I play about an equal amount with the snares on and off. I'm ready to get rid of this drum unless I can get this sorted out.
Any ideas?
Try these:
http://vintagedrumguide.com/zoomatic_strainer_repair.html
http://www.vintagedrumforum.com/showthread.php?t=34467
Or just send my way. Fine snares just a bit different from the norm.
What snare wires are you using?
Creighton
Thanks Creighton.
I don't think the Zoomatic is broken or malfunctioning. The snares sound great when engaged. No issues getting the set where they sound right. I have tried a few different snare wires. Right now I have a 20 wire Gibraltar set mounted up with snare cord. Closest I could get to not having snare buzz while the strainer is disengaged.
I might end up trying to trade it for something....
How was the drum with the original heads and snares? Did it work ok then?
I didn't really give the drum a full workout with the original heads and snare wires. I played a little bit but I do think the snares fully disengaged. I will have to look at the original snare wires to see if they are stiffer than the Gibraltar set. Also, the plastic straps on the original were very thin. The thinness might have added to the pliability to allow the snares to drop a little bit lower.
I need to add that I really like this drum! I don't want to get rid of it. It is my first Slingerland piece and I have a cool story to go with it. I also don't want to alter the Zoomatic or change it out because I want to preserve the originality.
I appreciate the help since I am still very new to the vintage drum scene and since I am only 30 everything I am working with was made well before I was.
I didn't really give the drum a full workout with the original heads and snare wires. I played a little bit but I do think the snares fully disengaged. I will have to look at the original snare wires to see if they are stiffer than the Gibraltar set. Also, the plastic straps on the original were very thin. The thinness might have added to the pliability to allow the snares to drop a little bit lower.
The Gibraltar snare wires are on the cheap side. They work in a pinch, but over they years, I've not had good luck with them long term. You're probably best to get a set of Puresound Vintage wires and use proper snare cord, rather than the plastic straps, or tape as some call it. I had a '63 Krupa Sound King for a little while. It had the zoomatic and the "extended" butt. Someone had cheap wires on it when I got it, sounded just meh to my ears. I got a set of the Puresound vintage wires and it sounded great after that. Didn't have an issue with snare buzz or "not turning off", as you state, after that. I was using a Remo coated Ambassador for the batter head and a 3-mil Remo hazy snare side.
Sometimes it takes a few attempts to get one of these snares to sound at its best.
You're probably best to get a set of Puresound Vintage wires and use proper snare cord, rather than the plastic straps, or tape as some call it.
What set are you referring to? Under the "Vintage" section of the Puresound site I do not see anything for the Sound King snares.
Looks like they have discontinued them, unfortunately.
Here's an article on the type I'm talking about, maybe with some internet searching, someone might have a set lying around still:
Here's one on how to use the currently available style of wires:
Sadly Puresound discontinued a bulk of their " unique " lines. Took me a good little while to track down a set of wires for my Slingerland Super Strainer. Found a set, but it took me two tries as the first time I got sent an extended set, as opposed to a set specific to the super strainer. Worked out as I needed the set for my Tama Mastercraft. I have two snares with a zoomatic. My Krupa C.O.B and a marching snare. Never had an issue with the zoomatic itself,though I have noticed it's a bit more finicky with regard to the tightness of the wires,etc... It's as if when there is a bit more pressure than it's used to, it doesn't fully drop as the tension holds it. If that makes sense?
I recently picked up a late 60s Krupa Sound King. The drum and strainer are in perfect condition, however, no matter what I do I cannot get the snares to fully disengage. I have tried string, ribbon and plastic straps on the snare wires with no change. I play about an equal amount with the snares on and off. I'm ready to get rid of this drum unless I can get this sorted out.Any ideas?
Hi PressRoll!
Knowing that your Sound King is a late 60's tells me that the original snare wires are 13" long and held on with filament tape strips. I've seen damaged Zoomatic strainers that are still able to completely lower the wires. Can you provide pictures of the drum, clearly showing the Zoomatic and extended butt? I do know that using mylar (plastic) snare strips can sometimes cause the wires not to fully lower, due to the stiffness of the mylar. I use filament packing tape for many of my snare drums, especially my Slingerlands. This tape mimics the style of tape used by Slingerland.
Anyway, if you can provide some pictures, it may help us to get to the root of your problem.
-Mark
