I've never noticed any sonic difference resulting from various wraps, or even lacquered finished shells. . ...& have never heard a drummer comment about anything other than the wood, type of construction, hoops & head. Billy Gladstone is one of the few drummers who had a strong opinion against wraps,(stating that,..." guitars, & violins weren't wrapped, so why should drums "? ? ).

Wraps are made of celluloid, & there are different ways of making them. I have an old Slingerland RK w/ a one ply,very thin wrap. Many wraps are 2 ply, & 3 ply depending on the design. There are also the metal wraps.

Shelly Manne felt non-wrapped drums sounded better to him. Slingerland agreed to produce lacquer finish Leedy kits but required Shelly to appear in ads with wrapped kits.

With with every layer you put on a drum, whether it is a wrap or another layer of plywood has an effect on the sound of the drum. Many people won't hear a difference unless you put the two side by side and even then, some people won't hear a big enough difference to care. The thinner the shell the more resonant the the drum and the lower the fundamental tone. Adding layers of glue and plastic wrap do choke a drum some but as with anything else it is all a matter of personal taste as far as the sound goes.

My experience,yes the outside finish can make a difference.

Case in point,I have played a Luddy acro,right next to a supra,the difference in the drums?two lugs and one is chromed,with a much smoother surface,and the supra was a bit brighter and ringier.I also compared a Luddy hammered bronze and reg bronze supra,the hammered was dryer and a little darker and warmer to my ear,I also compared two supras and the hammered one was a little dryer ,not as much difference as between the bronze supras, but both were chromed.

I don't think there is a lot of difference between a wrapped and laquered drum ,esp if the laquered drum has a smooth glassy finish.

I think a nitro laquer is more important to sound with a violin or guitar because the resonating body is mostly the soundboard which is wood,but with a drum the resonation and sound is coming mostly from the heads,with a smaller part being influenced by the wood on the inside of the drum and the way it is finished.

I think if you want the purest natural sound from the drum you would seal the outside so thinly that you would not fill even the pores in the wood.

Way too much generalizing here.

A wrapped drum ... what does that mean?

2 ply?

3 ply?

4 ply?

5 ply?

6 ply?

If it's a 3 ply ...

Is it Ludwig?

Slingerland?

If it's Slingerland ...

is it mid 60s build?

early 70s build?

mid 70s build?

Blah blah blah

These shells are very different beasts ... much like the differences between the late 50s and mid 60s and early 70s Ludwig shells.

Each will give you a difference in wrap and lacquer outers.

You cannot generalize here.

A 6 ply Luddy shell will have zero impact if you wrap it.

A 3 ply early 70s Slingerland lacquered shell will be impacted greatly if you wrap it.

The build makes all the difference in the world.