looks like a good project. it is my understanding that most kent shells were indeed maple and appear to be 2 ply. i think it is one continuous wrap of ply resulting in what appears to be two plys ,if that makes sense.

mike

Could the 14 - 6 - 2 mean, 14" - 6 lug - 2 ply?

It should look nice when cleaned up.

-Tim

DOH

Now why didn't I think of that! Thanks Tim.

Looks like there has been enough modification and poor workmanship done on this poor old Kent to diminish it's collectable value considerably. Not exactly the Cadillac of the industry when it was new anyway, you'll have your work cut out for you to get this drum to sound good. I would clean it up, get the mechanics in good working order, and replace the heads and snares. The badge is a mess....looks like somebody used dynamite to remove the badge and a sledge hammer to reinstall it. You can buy a Kent replacement badge from the website below. Good luck and have fun!

http://www.drumbadges.com/order.asp

Thanks for the link Hardbobman ... I agree the "vintage value" is pretty questionable with this drum ... not sure I even want to invest in a new badge and not interested in messing with DynamiteLaughing H.

The real value for me is that it's a pretty good match to an old set that I just fixed up. I am playing an old Blue Sparkle snare with that set that sounds great but looks out of place. If I can get this one to sound as good or better I'll keep it/use it.

I don't have any other snares that are Maple, or that have shells like this with the rounded over bearing edges ... so any advice on how to achieve a good sound is welcome. How to deal with the bearing edges, heads, tuning, etc. The plan for the whole set is for use in a 5 pc jazz combo setting.

Thanks!

BTW ... sorry if I started this in the wrong section ... didn't notice the restoration section when I posted.

Your Kent snare was made in Kenmore New York, someone replaced the original Kent strainer with that MIJ one. I own many Kent snares that are all original, have fun getting it up and playing! Mouse

I would make sure that the replacement throw off/strainer is fully functional. I suggest remo coated ambassadors for the batter and clear for the snare side. I would use a 20 strand snare assembly for this drum also. You will have to experiment with the tuning. My Kent snare drum is more forgiving with modest tension...it does not respond to tight, high tuning and sounds best when it's loosy goosy. Oh make sure the lug screws have a little grease on the threads to make fine tuning a bit easier. Have fun!

Thanks for the input ... here's the progress:

Cleaned and polished ... looks better but has some weird brown blotchy stuff in the sparkle ... it's under the surface and not going away.

Put on a G1 batter (10m single) with a hazy 300 and an old set of Luddy wires I took off a round corner b/o acro (pretty good shape) ... strainer is fully functional.

... trying to estabilsh a baseline for comparison ...

Much better sounding than before ... still has more "rattle" in the snares than I would like... tried tuning low to mid on top, better low ... and struggling with the shell not being completely in round on the bottom, tuning higher than I would like for a good sensitive sound ... just can't get the bottom tone as low as I would like without wrinkling somewhere... unless I crank the bottom it won't even out.

I'll post more as I have time to play and let the heads seat some more (total hitting time is >30 minutes and <1 hour ... (my 17 year old will fix that!).

Loving this project ... a sonic challenge ... every one is unique ... this one didn't clean up all that well (chrome included) but I am determined to give this ??40+?? year old snare it's best chance at being played!