Yes. As long as the clamshells are complete and not bent up they work pretty well. I have learned quite a bit about them from others here. 2 things, one be sure the snare wires are level to the reso head. From the factory there was 2 little spacers to help with this. If those are long gone use some small soft plastic washers. Next and this one seems to have some debate. To engage the snares I rotate the handle 180* so the handle points down. Setup like this the snares fully disengage when you bring the handle back to the top position. No snare rattle. Some say this is incorrect but if you only use the 2 90* handle positions you'll get snare rattle. I found the 180* turn very effective. There's a nice guide here and here's the page that shows both handle positions. See below.

http://www.vintagedrumguide.com/drcjw/article_5_strainers_clam_shell-5.html

It's a nice strainer but with the bodys just stamped brass they are a bit fragile. Once I understood how they worked and were best setup I really liked them. Everything is adjustable on them so don't be afraid to tinker with them it's how you learn~! Some just really hate them. :)

Please post some pics of your if possible thanks.

The throw lever on those things looks like the gear lever on an old Hearst racing transmission! :p

John

First gear............second gear............Excited

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljfdg3mPcvY"]Cheech & Chong up in smoke - YouTube[/ame]

I totally agree with Glenn and it was Glenn that sorted out my clamshell problems. Most threads seem to focus on endless adjustments to get the snares to engage by turning the handle 90 degrees but this means the wires won't fully disengage with the handle pointing straight up. However, it works perfectly turning through 180 degrees with no need for messing around with endless adjustments. I can't help but think this was how it was designed to work and it's very simple and effective.

If you need new wires I can recommend the Fat Cat wires for this model that are much cheaper than the Puresound wires.

I use small washers between the strainer and snare wires in order to sit even flat on the reso head. Nothing sounds as good and authentic as the original Slingerland snare wires on these snares especially on the 5 1/5 deep shells.

ah yes, of course, if you are lucky enough to have the original wires fitted and they aren't stretched to within an inch of their life then stick with those. I was suggesting the Fat Cat wires if the original ones are stuffed

Here is a pic of mine from the side.

Good info so far. Mine has a few snare wires missing, so I might pick up a replacement set. I literally just got this snare so I'm still messing around with it. I look forward to learning more about these fine drums!

Here's a thread with a link to another in it. See pg 2 makurtz posted some great info and pics of the snare spacers on his. Those allow the snare wires to freely swivel while the spacer keeps them tight to the clamshell body. I still need to fab something like this for mine. Was thinking of using my brake line flare tool with small tubing. And then file flush to size.

http://www.vintagedrumforum.com/showthread.php?t=28504