1994 Tama refinishing

**ludleg** · 03-20-2016, 07:30 AM

Nice job bongos! Many, many years ago I did a similar restoration to an old Pearl Kit I had. I was just tired of the original blue sparkle. I did much like you did - sanded, stained, lacquered -even looked the same color as yours. It wasn't perfect by any means but I enjoyed doing it. It sounds like you had fun transforming your kit. Well done!

**late8** · 03-21-2016, 04:43 PM

Originally Posted by -bongos-

I wasn't able to tell any sonic difference before and after the wrap. In the couple of years that a worked in a music shop in a past life, I was able to A-B test a couple of collectors kits, having the only difference being a wrap vs lacquer finish. Same heads, same shells, same sizes, even went as far as using a drum dial to tune both the kits. And to my ears, I couldn't hear a difference. Not saying that there couldn't be one, but from behind the kits, they sounded the same to me.

Thank you for this. I kept the wrap off of my '67 Ludwig shell pack and just left a thin coat of clear to protect the finish since I ran out of time and money to complete the project but I couldn't tell for the life of me if I've changed the tone by leaving off the wrap. Your statement may of saved me from re-thinking about buying and recovering my shells in the future. Nicely done refurb bongos!

**slinky** · 03-23-2016, 06:55 PM

Looks really nice. I don't even remember that series from Tama. Are the bass drums hoops the same width? Might just be the camera angle but if they weren't is the wider one suppose to be on the front? Snare looks great too for being 22 years old. May I say survivor?

**-bongos-** · 03-23-2016, 07:53 PM

Originally Posted by slinky

Looks really nice. I don't even remember that series from Tama. Are the bass drums hoops the same width? Might just be the camera angle but if they weren't is the wider one suppose to be on the front? Snare looks great too for being 22 years old. May I say survivor?

The bass hoops are the same front and back. I believe it was the first year Tama did the accu-tune hoop (aka plastic). The snare is the highlight of the kit. 6.5x14 8 lug, brass. It has held up really well over the years, and is still a regular in the rotation.