Fixing up marching tenors

[usa16182]

Im looking to fix an old set of tenors for marching season next year.
Here's the deal. They're old Yamaha field corps, single spock, 6-8-10-12-13. The shells look bad, the drums all are uneven and need to be respaced, basically I think i need to keep the shells (which are fine non-cosmetically, no warping etc) and get new everything else. Any help would be AMAZING.
Oh, and if you need pictures, i can take them no problem.
:D Thank you very much.

[tenor man 36]

if the back bar is in ok condition i would just paint it and the shells
what condition are the caisings lugs and hoops in i can probobly help you with this

[usa16182]

The back bar is i guess okay, its nothing special but it gets the job done. After I cleaned them, they look suprisingly good. The hoops have a little wear where the tension rods go in because the last genius that used them didnt use washers. And all of the tension rods need to be replaced, they're rusty and bent. And the lugs are fine, so thats all fine hardware wise.
The harness is an X-lite harness that needs new padding...any ideas where to order this? This is really my main problem now.
One last thing....I haven't used the black suedes, and I kind of want to try them but I dont want to blow $80 on a new set of heads I wont like. I love the look, but haven't heard what they sound like...any advice?
Thanks!!

[tenor man 36]

for padding all i could think of is that stuff you can buy for like on your matress to make it softer maybe that would work if you bought a stiffer foam and for heads i dont have any experienc with the black suades but i have pearl emporers on mine and i dont like them that much hope this helps:D

[xscraper]

The back bar is i guess okay, its nothing special but it gets the job done. After I cleaned them, they look suprisingly good. The hoops have a little wear where the tension rods go in because the last genius that used them didnt use washers. And all of the tension rods need to be replaced, they're rusty and bent. And the lugs are fine, so thats all fine hardware wise.
The harness is an X-lite harness that needs new padding...any ideas where to order this? This is really my main problem now.
One last thing....I haven't used the black suedes, and I kind of want to try them but I dont want to blow $80 on a new set of heads I wont like. I love the look, but haven't heard what they sound like...any advice?
Thanks!!

Sounds like you have all you need to get the job done.. personally I would respace them as close together as possible. What I did was use quarter inch bolts with washers, lock wasters, and nuts two per space. I do recommend havig the back bar attached before you do that. the backbar will determine the spacing between the drums.


for the shells, remove everything off the shell, and look for some contact paper.. very easy, cheap and fast way to change shell colors. I know walmart used to have a silky silver style, if you want custom color get clear contact paper, cover the shell, mask what you dont want painted and spay paint.. this works well I did a spock in a color shifting paint worked so much better then I thought. I screwed up the first time. i just peeled off the the contact paper and restarted. I can post some pics of the spock if needed

as far as padding. No place I know sells replacement stuff. We just go to home depot and make do with what ever open cell foam we can use.


I presently have ebony suedes on my set.. (same as black, just a name change) and honestly I don't like them. we did use them in indoor a few years ago and quickly changed back to white suedes. they just don't project as well, the tone is darker of course, but you lose some high end which helps the drum,... sound like a drum. as far as the look... you see tons of stick marks.. they look sweet as a virgin head. as soon as u start playing they look like you had them on for years.. IMO..


I pretty much tried every Remo head out there.. for Yamaha's I would stick with white suedes, or Pinstripes, even clear emperors will work very well.
for a spock head go with smooth white emperors..its my head of choice for single spocks.

[usa16182]

Sounds like you have all you need to get the job done.. personally I would respace them as close together as possible. What I did was use quarter inch bolts with washers, lock wasters, and nuts two per space. I do recommend havig the back bar attached before you do that. the backbar will determine the spacing between the drums.

So should I not use the spacers that they originally had? It didn't have a spacer between 1 & 2 but I am planning on ordering one.

[Redeye]

I would highly suggest NOT simply painting the shells. In the long run, they'll end up looking worse that they probably do right now. As stated above, get some conctact paper. Or if you have the budget and a little time, the best option is to order some actual drum wrap. It won't chip like the paint, and won't rip easily like the contact paper will.

as for the padding... it depends on the part of the carrier that needs the padding replaced.
-for the back of the carrier- pearl makes replacement padding for the back of the carrier. Good stuff
-Shoulders- I don't know if anybody makes anything for this, but I've seen the pads I talked about for the backs used here, and it seemed to do just fine. You'll just need to order more of it
-Stomach part- I dunno man. Just try to find some dense foam and a strong adhesive.

[ChiaPet]

I have a brand new backbar and pumpable cushion.

PM if you want to buy it or something..

[usa16182]

I'm not planning on painting/rewrapping the shells, after I cleaned them they look fine it was just a whole lot of dirt. And salt. Dont ask.:P

The stomach padding is still intact (thank goodness). I'm not sure if I'll order the back pads for the shoulders, I was thinking about using some sort of packing foam or memory foam, its relatively cheap compared to the pads ($20 for a 2'x2' sheet 1" thick.) I think I'll need to physically try this out before I use it though.