Rehabbing Pitted and Dented Drum Heads

[stevieb]

Read on this site How to Buy a Cheap Drum Kit That Sounds Great: The Whole Truth about how Jim Kletner would put a candle under his pitted drum heads to remove the dents. I thought, "Hey, that Peavey International kit I just bought as some of the most pitted heads I have ever seen, let's give it a try. Removed one of the heads and brought it into the kitchen, where I held it high over a lit burner on the stove. While my GF read Rumi out loud, I watched as the worst of the denting and waviness actually went away, before my wondering eyes. This head was beyond hope, so I had nothing to lose, and it actually worked. Key is going slow- I tried this sort of thing once before, on a pair of cheap bongos with nailed-on hide heads, and it worked well then, too- until I got one head too hot and it SPLIT right down the middle. I was much more careful this time.

When would you do this, you ask? I am thinking when you just can't zip down to the local music shop and grab another head, or if you have a slightly-pitted head that you don't want to replace, perhaps a drum you are about to sell and want to keep your outlay as low as possible, so the buyer can play the drum but may want to buy his own choice of heads.

 

[ranjam]

I used a heat gun, and only on the 'basher' kit I took to do my host gig for the jam night at my local bar. You have to let all the meatballs with their Doc Martens stomp the crap out of your kit. So to keep more $$$ in my pocket I used that heat gun after every jam night.
I wouldn't record those heads. They're barely good enough to sell the kit, or use as a lesson kit, or bashing away at jam nights. Never record them. Another tip from me (you won't find this anywhere else ) is for coated heads; I use the Mr. Clean Magic Pad to get them white again. I repeat; this is only to sell the kit and let the buyer replace the heads with his choice (as you point out), and it's better than trying to sell a kit with blackened, dented heads.