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White “Crystal” is one of Ludwig & Ludwig’s rarest finishes and was only around for less than two years, 1941-42. The Crystal finish was highly distressed, more like “Crustal”, I mean really beat up... as my good friend John Aldridge would say, “this drum is as ugly as home made soap”.
Read moreThe Bernie Mattison Radio King Model was first introduced in 1936 and had the tapped (no insert) lugs. I’ve dated the drum in this article at 1937-39 because the lugs have inserts. The 1937-39 Slingerland catalogs list this drum as the Band Model Radio King.
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This one just came in from my good friend Mark Cooper of coopersvintagedrums@verizon.net I usually don’t collect European snares but this one is a very rare and cool drum.
Read moreSea Green was in the Slingerland catalog from 1928-1938. Mark has dated this drum from 1939 to 1941. Mark has also mentioned this is the only Sea Green Radio King that he has ever seen...there is another...more on that later.
Read moreThis drum was on EBay about 13-15 years ago. It was an early morning (1 am) ending auction so I waited up for it and sniped it right at the end. The drum was found in a closet at the Long Island Grotto #44 Masonic Lodge in Brooklyn, New York. There was a name pin that came with the drum so I googled Walter T. Morris, Long Island Grotto #44 and made some phone calls but no one was interested in helping me with the history of Walter T. Morris so I’m just reporting what I have in front of me.
Read more*I am saying 1932-33 because of the internal tone control. Tone controls were first seen at L & L in 1932 and the Ludwigold option ended in 1933.
Read moreSteve Maxwell informed me last year that he was adding me to The Craviotto Drum Co. Education Endorsers group. That alone is a great honor but along with this honor I was also awarded a Craviotto snare drum of my choice!
Read moreThis one is a blast from the past that I really never did an article about. This drum is on pgs. 14-15 in my book: THE CUROTTO COLLECTION. The story behind the purchase of this drum took a few turns for the worse before I was able to get involved. This drum was listed on EBay in the early 2000s. There were a number of bids, a lot of interest and the drum was reaching a pretty good price. All of a sudden a number of bidders withdrew their bids because someone had posted to the seller that his drum was a “6-lug” drum.
Read moreI just got this drum from my good friend and fellow collector Mark Cooper. This drum came to me in excellent shape so very little was needed to be done hence the short story.
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The Inspiration Super-Ludwig Model was introduced around 1926. Some of the options were gold plating, DeLuxe plating (simulated gold plating), white enamel or black nickel shell.
Read moreThis drum has been in my collection almost from the start (1995). My good friend Al Schneider aka The Drum Doctor had given me this drum on a permanent loan basis. I’m in between restorations so I figure it’s about time that I clean this all original puppy.
Read moreThe latest addition to the collection comes from my good friend and fellow collector Mark Cooper of Coopersvintagedrums.com I usually stay clear of Duco finishes as a good number of them have not fared well over the 80+ years but this one had two things going for it: 1. Red/Cream/Red Duco which I have never seen. 2. This is a 6.5 x 15 Broadway Parallel model which is somewhat rare.
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The old saying “the sun shines on a dog’s butt at least once a day” definitely applies here. I had just been collecting for over a year when this snare drum came my way. I noticed right away that it was an 8 lug, 2-pc., heavy brass shell All Metal Dance Model......
Read more“I have an interesting snare drum: it is 5" x 14" bare brass shell and hoops. It was made in 1970's in Poland by Polmuz - government owned musical instruments manufacturer. Best to my knowledge it is a prototype drum. I got it from a guy who used work for Polmuz as a brass wind instruments maker. He acquired it when they were closing in 1990's. As you can see the lugs look similar to Ludwig Imperial lugs. Hoops look like a copy of Slingerland hoops. I've never seen a drum like this before - being a user of Polmuz in 1970 myself. No Polmuz stamp/markings on the drum - that again makes me think it was a prototype drum. The condition is very good. It still has original Ever Play /Premier/ made in England heads and New Era made in England wires. Polmuz was working with Premier back than. Let me know if a piece of rock hardware from behind the Iron Curtain will be of interest to you. The full name of the company is Polmuz Warsaw Wind and Percussion Instruments Factory founded 1953 Made in Poland. Best regards, Marek Piotrowski”
Read moreHere’s another unique snare drum that has just entered the collection. A special thanks goes to my good friend Bill Wanser of Olympic Drums & Percussion (Portland, Oregon) for making me a very fair deal on this snare drum and for his expert shell restoration. This drum was “ridden hard and put up wet” and needed a lot of work but I think that the finished product was well worth everyone’s efforts.
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My good friend and local drum collector Jimmy Sisson found this gem of a drum in a little “Ma & Pa” store in San Jose, CA. Jimmy called me and wanted to show me his new find so I said “come on by”. After seeing the drum and complimenting him on his new acquisition I went into my drum collector mode and I asked him if he wanted to sell the drum to me. Although Jimmy really wanted me to see the drum he also knew that I would want to buy it...he was right! We made a great deal and here we are. This is a good ending for everyone; the store owner got the drum for a low price, Jimmy got it for a great price and I was able to double his money plus 200.00.
Read more”That anniversary snare is #1 of 40, and the year was 2007(2017 is our 50th). There were only 20 made available for sale in the US. It's a 13" x 6.5", 1.5 mm brass shell with a black lacquer finish, 3 mm aluminum die cast hoops, 20 strand snare wires. Model SD-4365PH, original MSRP was $1799. It is hand engraved by the same craftsman that did the high-end saxophones in Japan. The Phoenix bird with the tuning fork in its beak is the original logo that was registered in 1888 by Nippon Gakki, Yamaha's predecessor as their trademark. It was carved into the pump organs that were the first musical instruments built by Yamaha. At my request, my friends at Yamaha Japan reserved #1 for me.
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In 1929 Ludwig & Ludwig offered four new snare drum models that can be found in the Fall 1929 Ludwig Drummer Magazine. The new models were the Super-Sensitive, New Era-Sensitive, Super-Power and the Standard-Sensitive Model, the drum in this article. From what I have researched it looks like the Super-Sensitive Model was around from 1929 through 1936, whereas the New Era-Sensitive, Super-Power and Standard-Sensitive Models only lasted for 1-2 years (1929-30). Super-Sensitive Models are very collectible and somewhat rare in certain instances but the other three Sensitive Models are extremely rare and, in my opinion, highly collectible.
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Ludwig introduced the new Stipelgold finish in their 1926 catalog. “The New Ludwig “STIPELGOLD” finish is a special composition producing a marvelous *“Stippled” effect in a bright golden hue. It is hard and durable, adhering tenaciously to the shell of metal or of wood.” The 1927 catalog introduces the “New Ludwigold Iridescent Display Finish”. It looks like the Stipelgold finish was short-lived, maybe 1-2 years. Aside from the 1926 catalog, the only other reference to the Stipelgold finish is at the bottom of the first page of the 1927 catalog: “LUDWIGOLD or STIPELGOLD at the same price.” So as best as I can tell by researching the 1926, 1927 catalogs and Rob Cook’s DRUM COLORS THE REBEATS COLOR SWATCH BOOK; Stipelgold was only around for one year, 1926.
Read moreI am not a drumset collector but when this drumset was offered to me -- a second time -- I went for it. I usually don’t buy snare drums as an investment, I love to collect them so if they are worth more money in the future that’s a good thing but if the value stays the same or goes down I honestly don’t care as it has always been more important to me to own the snare for the collection rather than worry if the drum will eventually be worth more money. This drumset was purchased as an investment, especially since the snare drum alone is worth as much as I paid for the entire drumset. Don’t misinterpret this, I paid Mike’s asking price and he was happy with our deal.
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