I have an early 50's set of radio kings. When i first got them, i tried to put remo heads on them and they were too snug. No big deal i thought; that's true of a lot of vintage drums. I tried the aquarian vintage heads, and still too tight. Then i thought, uh oh, maybe these shells are out of round. I measured as best i could and they appear to be find. Upon closer inspection, when you run your hand on the wrap near the bearing edge, it has peaks and valleys, and it's the wrap that's causing the heads to be too tight. Anyone have any ideas as to why this would be, and whether it's a problem with my drums or just old wrap?
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Radio King shells
Posted on 11 years ago
#1
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Assuming the wrap goes almost all the way to the edges, it sounds like a wrap problem to me - or your drums wouldn't be round. Apart from that, there would also be some visible wood separation (either re-rings or ply). Have a very close look at the bearing edges for any gaps or splits. If there are none, then the wrap has started to come off (probably due to age) - which is a pain, but fixable. Any decent drum shop could help with that. If there's wood separation, things are a bit more serious (but still fixable in most cases). Some pics would help a lot.
Alex
Posted on 11 years ago
#2
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Its also possible they were re-wrapped. I haven't known Slingerland drums to be oversized (much more common with some Gretsch).
Posted on 11 years ago
#3
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I would agree. Modern wraps tend to be thicker and if not applied properly, will lead to this issue. Check for re-wrap.
If that isn't the problem, try a different brand head. Although the Aquarians have always worked for me, they did go on a bit tight on my 40 RK, and it's in perfect round also.
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1966 Ludwig Clubdate Oyster Black
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1965 Ludwig Clubdate Oyster Blue
1966 Ludwig Clubdate Oyster Black
1969 Ludwig BB Blue Oyster Keystone Clubdate
1971 Ludwig BB Black Oyster
Early 60's Camco Oaklawns Champagne Sparkle
Posted on 11 years ago
#4
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I just put Aquarian American Vintage heads on my 1951 Radio kings and they went on with no problem.
Posted on 11 years ago
#5
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