“I first noticed the incredible wood-burning that had been done on two of the Woods Custom snare drums at the Music City Drum Show.  The level of detail and artistry was truly impressive.  She subsequently engraved a (Woods) snare drum and hoops for me and an additional set of hoops for another drum.  I gave her just a little bit of input and let her run with it.  She truly hit it out of the park.  So talented and such a pleasure to work with.”

The creation of a Transnare drum involves a combination of traditional luthier techniques and modern equipment, such as CNC machines. The entire process, from initial design to the final product, takes several months to complete. In many cases, I build custom jigs and fixtures to perform specific tasks during the drum’s construction.

Joe has built “show” drums, really more art than drum, for quite a few years. This one was commissioned by Rob Cook, promoter of the show. Joe says it was made from ten ply 22” x 17” Nordic shells and the joints were reinforced by fiber glass.

How to make a professional quality snare drum out of Popsicle sticks, tongue depressors, and craft sticks (sticks that at least look kind of like popsicle sticks anyway), including the drum shell, drum lugs, snare strainer/throw mechanism, and butt plate. by hand, the drum is constructed, finished in violin spirit varnish.

The oldest drum company in America introduces “U” created and designed in collaboration with Ulysses Owens Jr. - the three-time Grammy Award winning drummer and Juilliard educator. With his students in mind, Ulysses wanted a snare drum that was both high quality, yet affordable.

In 2009, I saw an ad for a 1930’s Ludwig Standard 5 x 14 snare drum re-issue.  Adrian Kirchler, owner of AK Drums in Valdaora di Sotto Italy, was making 60 replicas of this 2-piece shell snare.  Even though I heard about it late, I was able to get on the list to purchase one through Long & McQuade, a musical instrument store in Toronto. 

I started to conceptualize this many years ago following a glimpse of a SS Ludwig Timp-Tom trio set.
After making a trade with a fellow drummer and friend for a beautiful original set of Timps recently in 14”, 16” & 18” I got to work

I was looking for one of these beautiful drums to add to my collection and found this one on drumsellers.com. I was able to contact George Lawrence who did a great job in helping me obtain it from a collector who was selling some of his collection

The second was the 100th Anniversary Black Beauty.  “Often imitated but never duplicated, Ludwig set the standard for all others to follow with the Black Beauty.  The 100th Anniversary edition, hand-engraved and numbered by master craftsman John Aldridge, is more ornately appointed than all others before it, and features the mark of three generations of Ludwig history.  “Chief” Keystone badge”.