I'm in love!!!

[Tama CW]

Then I tried the opposite and went higher than it had been. One full turn up on the batter side, and a half turn up on the reso... My brother was over, and standing out in front of the kit to help me tune. When I kicked it for the first time after the adjustment both of our jaws just dropped! This thing suddenly sounded HUGE!!! I swear it sounded like someone suddenly put a really nice mic on it with a massive PA behind it! We were both in awe! I don't even know how to describe how much of a difference it made.

Interesting comment. I just had the same result with a recently acquired 20" vintage kick that's been giving me fits. I was about ready to give up after 2 weeks of tweaking...and almost always trying to go lower on the tension. I just decided to try a full turn higher on both sides. The drum woke up. So I went a bit further. More booming....a bit of echo...and easily heard over the other drums. I was happy as now it sounds like a 1960's kick. Maybe your post planted that seed in my head?

 

[AustinFitz]

Interesting comment. I just had the same result with a recently acquired 20" vintage kick that's been giving me fits. I was about ready to give up after 2 weeks of tweaking...and almost always trying to go lower on the tension. I just decided to try a full turn higher on both sides. The drum woke up. So I went a bit further. More booming....a bit of echo...and easily heard over the other drums. I was happy as now it sounds like a 1960's kick. Maybe your post planted that seed in my head?

That's awesome! I'm happy to hear you finally got it sounding good. I was definitely surprised by how much of an improvement tuning up a little bit made. In the past I was actually terrified of tuning. I was always scared that if I experimented I wouldn't find any better sounds, and then I wouldn't be able to get it back to where it was originally either... That was mostly just because I had no experience though. I eventually came to my senses and realized that in order to gain the experience I needed, I was going to have to experiment! Since then I've been having a blast playing around with all kinds of different tunings. My bass drum is a perfect example of how there can be an amazing sound just one turn away from where you're at, but if you never experiment you'll never know!

 

[funkypoodle]

Interesting comment. I just had the same result with a recently acquired 20" vintage kick that's been giving me fits. I was about ready to give up after 2 weeks of tweaking...and almost always trying to go lower on the tension. I just decided to try a full turn higher on both sides. The drum woke up. So I went a bit further. More booming....a bit of echo...and easily heard over the other drums. I was happy as now it sounds like a 1960's kick. Maybe your post planted that seed in my head?

At the beginning of the summer I rented out my 2 Rogers kits as backline for a Sons of Kemet show. When I got them back home I set up the kit with the 20" kick. As soon as I hit the kick I heard something totally different. I tapped each bass drum head independently & realised that the reso head was cranked way up. It's something I wouldn't have instinctively done & I really enjoyed the tone & clear, controlled feel. It's one more tuning recipe I'll keep in the cookbook for sure.

 

[AustinFitz]

Another small update on my progress with this beautiful kit. Still loving it more and more each day! I've been doing a lot of experimenting with tuning again, and I now have no need for the DIY isolation feet I had under the bass drum spurs to combat rack tom choking!

I'm finally getting to know the kit enough to find out what it likes and doesn't like, and now both of my rack toms are singing like birds even with just the slightest tap. Turns out I didn't need RIMS mounts, or anything at all really! I just needed to spend a couple of hours with a drum key working on tuning while the toms were both mounted. I'm so excited! I'm over the moon that I'm now getting the resonance I want out of these old school shell mounts. I really prefer the look of shell mounted toms.

The choking issue was really the ONLY complaint I had about this kit, and now that it's no longer an issue I couldn't ask for any more! It really feels like I found my soul mate!

 

[Marquisjohnson22]

The local GC has a kit just like this one for sale... I might bite on it and put it on layaway. I love these older Pearl kits.

 

[AustinFitz]

The local GC has a kit just like this one for sale... I might bite on it and put it on layaway. I love these older Pearl kits.

Post some pics if you decide to go for it! I'd definitely buy more if I could afford to. It would be nice to find a snare, and maybe a 12" or 15" toms in matching Walnut lacquer. I can't seem to say enough good things about mine lol!

 

[AustinFitz]

I'm getting ready to replace both of the heads on my Jupiter snare, but I'm not sure what to go with. I'm thinking maybe a Hazy Ambassador snare side, but I'm totally undecided on a batter head. Anyone have any experience, or suggestions when it comes to these old COB Jupiters?

 

[equipmentdork]

I'm getting ready to replace both of the heads on my Jupiter snare, but I'm not sure what to go with. I'm thinking maybe a Hazy Ambassador snare side, but I'm totally undecided on a batter head. Anyone have any experience, or suggestions when it comes to these old COB Jupiters?

A garden variety coated Ambassador or Emperor. Avoid "dry" heads. These drums don't like them at all.


Dan

 

[AustinFitz]

A garden variety coated Ambassador or Emperor. Avoid "dry" heads. These drums don't like them at all.


Dan

Thanks for the tip! I've been considering the Ambassador, Emperor, and CS reverse dot. Still haven't decided though.

 

[AustinFitz]

Finally got around to ordering some new heads for the Jupiter. I decided to keep it simple and went with a coated Ambassador batter, and an Ambassador Hazy Snare Side on the bottom. I'm excited to really clean this thing up before I put the fresh heads on. I'll post some pics once it's all done!

 

[drummerjohn333]

Finally got around to ordering some new heads for the Jupiter. I decided to keep it simple and went with a coated Ambassador batter, and an Ambassador Hazy Snare Side on the bottom. I'm excited to really clean this thing up before I put the fresh heads on. I'll post some pics once it's all done!

You made the right choice. Coated Ambassador on top is right for a huge majority of snare drums - for a reason.

 

[AustinFitz]

I forgot to mention that there are a couple minor dents in my brass Jupiter shell... None of them look very severe, and I don't see any creasing anywhere, so I'm hoping I'll be able to "massage" them out once I strip the shell of hardware. Looks like it was probably dropped at some point because the main dents are 1 behind the throw off, and 1 behind one of the lugs adjacent to the throw off.

Anyone have any experience removing dents from brass, or suggestions on how I should go about trying to straighten everything out, and make sure the shell is in round? I might would just have it repaired professionally if I could afford to, but I can't. I'm usually more of a DIY kinda guy anyway, and I've got plenty of tools!

I'm thinking maybe a plastic/rubber mallet, some soft towels, and possibly a sand bag?? I'll try to strip it down and get some pics of the damage soon. Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[AustinFitz]

Well I started stripping down the Jupiter today. Got stuck trying to remove the parallel strainer mechanism. I really didn't want to break or strip anything out, so I just decided to leave it attached since it's all working smoothly. After removing the lugs I took a swing at hammering out the couple of dents. While not perfect, it looks a lot better now! I meant to take some pics but I got too focused on working and forgot. Seems to be "in round" though. The coated Ambassador I got for it seats nicely, and spins freely on the bearing edge. I'll try to remember to get pics when I get back to working on it tomorrow .

 

[AustinFitz]

Got the shell and strainer all cleaned up. I think it came out quite nice! Still on the hunt for a late '70s Pearl badge for it, but at least the dents are pretty much gone now! Just need to finish cleaning up the lugs and tension rods today. Hopefully I'll have it back together this evening! Here are a few pics of the shell. I'm out of chrome polish at the moment so I just cleaned it up with some blue Dawn soap. I purposely left the glue from the old badge so I know exactly where the new one will go once I find one.

 

[AustinFitz]

Here are a few more pics of the progress! Haven't had as much time to devote to it as I would have liked, but it's finally back together now. I'm really happy with how it came out!

Couple of pics after installing the lugs and muffler.

And a few after installing the new heads and hoops. I think it looks great for being 40 something years old! Only things left to do are install and adjust the snare wires, then tune it! I'm hoping it will sound as good as it looks!

 

[Big Beat]

Nice!

 

[AustinFitz]

Thanks! Still looking for a late '70s style Pearl badge for it though. That will be the cherry on top once I get one.

 

[AustinFitz]

Best pic I have of it so far. My phone camera isn't all that great, but it looks really nice in person!

 

[AustinFitz]

Well after a few days of playing it I think it's safe to say my snare drum rejuvenation was a success! I'm really liking the feel of the new heads, and the drum sounds amazing! The parallel strainer really shines with a new snare side head. It's capable of some serious articulation! It's also quite loud now lol. Overall I'm really happy with how everything came out.

I've had this kit for almost a year now, and I'm still just as enthusiastic and passionate about it now as I was the day I found it, if not even more so! Looking forward to many more years with it to come!

 

[AustinFitz]

After plenty of break in time with the new heads, and some experimenting with the parallel strainer, I've really gotten this Jupiter dialed in. The feel is silky smooth, and it seems to stay in tune remarkably well too. It's just so pleasing to play!