Refinishing your drumset! (getting an awesome natural finish DIY)

[Composer of Requiems]

http://webpages.charter.net/brucer1/Index.html

quite an interesting link... his finish is pretty nice.

Hahaha I wish I had all those tools =(

 

[Girlpants]

Wow Nic!! You're damn creative AND neat. I would try this out only if:
- I have master the tuning (esp the snare!)
- And if the drums are many many years old.

But it looks really nice!
Really feel like trying!

 

[maven]

awesome stuff !

will try it sometimes nextime ... haha

 

[kanzer]

wow tempting to try but nah. i prefer my drums the way they are. i dun wan spoil them unless i really too much money!

 

[Composer of Requiems]

My set was a starter set and I didn't quite like the finish, so that's why I dared to try.

Haha I've been wanting to do something to the snare that came with it for some time, but been busyyyyy with school >_<

 

[Composer of Requiems]

Stay tuned for more!

 

[Composer of Requiems]

And here it is!

First, some background information! I did this for a venue with live music. They have two drumkits, a Tama Stagestar on the first floor and a Pearl Target on the 3rd floor. I don't dare to touch the stagestar, and anyway the first floor is already psychedelic enough:

Upstairs, though...

 

[Composer of Requiems]

I just wrapped this over the pre-existing wrap. Considering that they're using coated powerstrokes and emperors on the drums and muffling the bass, I don't think it'll suffer much from any decreased resonance. Later, while playing, I find the sound quite focused but doesn't sound very muffled (except the bass)

 

[Composer of Requiems]

The surface looks a little warped, but actually the cloth itself already had an existing "wavy" texture on top of the zebra-print texture. It's actually flat.

However, I think if the heads are tensioned too tight, it'll push at the fur. Since it made the surface thicker, I noticed the heads were a little harder to tension.

I think this suits the venue well.

 

[plainsman]

so beautiful! composer.. ur diy workmanship is pretty good

where's this new bar?? wld love to drop by check it out

 

[mel80]

Woah very nicely done Composer. Love the psychedelic look of the kit now
What material did you use? Some kind of velvet thing?

 

[Jugman]

whoa. i wouldn't even dream of doing that. great job composer of requiems!

 

[Composer of Requiems]

@plainsman: It's not really a bar... well, I dunno. There's bar and restaurant combined I suppose. This is BluJaz near Bugis, http://www.blujaz.net/, you can go check it out. The live music is quite good. Worked there as a waiter for some time, the musicians were quite inspiring for me.

@mel80: It's just fur. Umm... well, I don't really work with all these so I won't know how to describe. But it's similar to the kind of material used to make soft-toys I think.

 

[chewy]

Hey! Nice work with the stripes man!!! I was there on Sat nite but didn't notice it cos of the lighting! I must have a go at it when I'm there again! How's the sound like with the extra material??? I would love to have a kit like that! LOL!

 

[Composer of Requiems]

Hahaha it was still plain on sat. I did it yesterday.

The sound is still quite similar. I think this will slightly damp and warm the sound, but since it's coated emperors/powerstrokes on the drums...

 

[marcdadrummer]

woah nice work nic!

oh btw how much are those stuff and where'd u get em from????

i'd really love to get a hands on some LV wraps but can't seem to find cheaper alternatives then the ones sold online!

 

[Composer of Requiems]

Furry zebra cloth- $18 per yard, 1.5m width.
You can also get other kinds of animal patterns for similar cost, there's cow, leopard, tiger...... that time I was considering getting the Vinnie Paul snare for a deep snare, then rewrapping it in some really loud print like tiger fur. But in the end I decided not to.

I was going to get from Spotlight, but my friend studying design recommended to get from Chinatown instead and brought me down to see. There's really a lot of stuff there. But, I forgot the name of the building. The second floor of that building is filled with shops selling fabrics, very near the station.

I didn't see any LV cloth there. But I have seen a drumset wrapped in LV print online though.

 

[mel80]

The think the place Composer is referring to is People's Park at Chinatown. It is just beside OG. Just go upstairs of the hawker centre and you will find many shops selling fabrics and stuff at prices much lower than Spotlight.

 

[Composer of Requiems]

Yeah, that's the place. Have fun shopping!

 

[plainsman]

so nice. k i shall drop by there, my colleagues always bug me to go but always tied up... hehe