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I got this drum from a European seller who has sold me a drum or two before. I usually don’t collect European drums but this one was intriguing enough and somewhat historical so I went for it. A special thanks goes to my good friend, fellow collector and restorer extraordinaire Emmanuel of olDrums Vintage & Custom oldrums@sfr.fr for helping me to identify and date this drum.
Read moreI got this one off of Reverb. This drum has been around for a while and the owner worked with me on an even lower price. WFL two-tone pearl drums are pretty scarce so this was a good drum to add to the collection.
Read moreThe drum in this article has a “Stipelsilver” finish, same texture as Stipelgold but with a bright silver hue. I believe that this drum is a one-off/special order for a few reasons that I will explain
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Hi all,
Well, Mark Cooper comes through again with this excellent example of a Silver Sparkle Model Hollywood Ace Radio King. Mark finds a lot of Radio Kings that are always in very good-excellent condition. This one will be added to the “Mark Cooper” wing of the Curotto Collection.
Read moreBy Mike Curotto and Joseph Mekler
A lot of you fellow collectors know how excited I get when an ultra-rare snare drum comes my way but in this case I was more astonished at the restoration of this drum than I was at being able to add this drum to my collection. _ Mike Curotto.
Read moreWhite “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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