There is no badge or brand stamp on this snare, as often on the French snares, which are sometimes difficult to identify. This snare drum appears in Campanella catalog of 1932. The "Paramount" model snare of Campanella was a luxury snare drum in the thirties ! It cost 700 francs en 1932, that is to say 5 months of french average salary of the era or approximatively 500$ nowadays.
Read moreA 1961 Rogers Dynasonic finds its way back home!
This particular drum is stamped #1308 which puts it towards the later side of production in 1961.The drum currently belongs to former Rogers employee, Jerry Shields. Jerry was an expert in tuning and setting up these beautiful drums prior to their shipping from the factory. In September of 2016, a group of Rogers enthusiasts set up a Kickstarter campaign to purchase this drum for Jerry’s birthday. We were fortunate to have Jerry share some words on his days with the Rogers Company.
Read more1960 Rogers Mardi Gras Set and AK snare drum
my Rogers Mardi Gras 3ply set c.1960 in 20, 12, 14 and [not shown] 5x14 snare drum. NO cracked lugs. The snare drum shown is by Adrian Kirchler [AK Drums and is the 7x14, 2 piece brass 24k gold plated Bob Meyer model made in 2012.I have Gretsch RB and Camco sets in the coveted jazz sizes, but this is my very favorite kit to play. the toms are so pure in tone. the bass drum so deep and warm. and of course looking at it is pure joy!
Read moreReview: Remo Classic Fit Drum Heads For Vintage Drums
The Remo Classic Fit Drumheads feature a slightly narrower flesh hoop and step design to address oversized drums made prior to the mid 60s. They are also ideal for older vintage drums that are out of round with thick overlapping drum coverings.
Read moreBook Review: "Charlie Watts' Favorite Drummers", by Chet Falzerano
There are twenty six very famous drummers profiled in this book who span the twentieth century and the entire history of modern drum set drumming: Chico Hamilton, Phil Seamen, Kenny Clark, Davey Tough, Big Sid Catlett, Papa Jo Jones, Max Roach, Roy Haynes, Art Blakey, shelly Manne, Jake Hanna, Mickey Roker, Billy Higgins, Art Taylor, Elvin Jones, Joe Morello, Paul Motion, Dannie Richmond, Philly Joe Jones, Tony Williams, Billy Cobham, Ginger Baker, Jerry Allison, Earl Phillips, Al Jackson JR. and Jim Keltner. Thanks for writing such a comprehensive, educational and very entertaining book, Chet.
Read moreRemo Classic Fit Drumheads for vintage oversized drums prior to mid 60s
Looking for drumheads to fit your vintage kit? Remo listened and has developed the Classic Fit Drumhead for oversized drums made prior to the mid 60’s. The Classic Fit batter drumheads have a slightly narrower flesh hoop and step design yet maintains a standard outside diameter that does not interfere with the counter hoop. Available with Ambassador® Coated, Clear or Fiberskyn® film and sizes 12”, 13”, 14”, 16”, and 18”. Also available in a Snare Side Ambassador® Hazy, sizes 13” and 14”. The Classic Fit Drumheads will give you the classic sound and ease of head replacement you‘ve been looking for.
Read moreRogers 1962 Swing Time Outfit, Mardis Gras finish
The set has the 3-ply Jasper shells and flat bearing edges, which were originally designed for calfskin heads. I have read that, starting in 1963, Rogers switched to Keller shells and a new sharper bearing edge. Another cool thing on this set is that both the floor tom and tom have “tall boy” hoops which were also designed for calfskin heads.
Read moreRogers 1978 Londoner V kit
I showed Jack MacFeetes a photo of one of the drums from this set and asked him to give me some comments I could use in this article. His comments were; "Five ply, maple birch. Color, Mohave Red, #84. 1976 Catalog shows this color in the Studio Ten Outfit, pg4. This drum made approximately 1978, Top hoop not correct. Memriloc hardware was developed through a collaboration with Dave Donoho and Roy Burns, and Rogers, of course mid 70s. Mounts are rock solid, stand up to the heaviest of hitters. Well made drums even though there were numerous moves during the Big R period, some of them very unnecessary, and quality at times affected by this. The hardware was about the best one could have at the time."
Read moreOddball 1951 - 1954 Slingerland 5 3/4" x 14" WMP 6 lug Radio King snare
--So why is the bottom re-ring shorter than the top re-ring? I have an idea. I seem to remember that older RK toms had 3 reinforcement rings, one on each end and the third one in the middle. Just a theory.
Read moreInterview w Matt North - "I sold it all. I sold my yellow Gretsch drums to some guy in Quebec.
I literally “sold my yellow Gretsch drums to some guy in Quebec” on eBay. I won’t get down in the weeds, but I have a child with special needs. Like many families in our shoes, we’ve had to hire attorneys to ensure he receives his developmental services. This song came from when I sold most of my vintage drum collection to pay legal fees. At heart, it’s a song about things we have to give up to keep going forward, how sometimes we have to dig a hole before we can fill it.
Read moreJohn Robinson is in search of his long lost Ludwig Duco kit
1940's Ludwig Black/Gold Duco
Message: Hey, Long time....if you have any insight into locating my original snare form my 1940 Ludwig Duco set would be great. I would also love to find toms but I believe they didn't exist until the early 60's. Email me and I'll sen you the pics I have. Best, JR
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1958 Leedy Shelly Manne Outfit No. 11 in Gretsch finish: Starlight Sparkle
"This is one of the rarest Leedy sets you'll ever see. This set is from 1958 and consists of 9x13, 16x16, 14x22, 5.5x14 snare drum. Those wonderful mahogany/poplar/mahogany 3 ply shells with rounded bearing edges. And the set is finished in Starlight Sparkle! As some of you may know, SS was a finish in the Gretsch line from the late 50s until circa 1962. It was exclusive to Gretsch, however, I have had one original Slingerland kit in this finish, and now we have this Leedy kit. In all probability, a customer may have requested this finish and the drum shop or Leedy called the finish manufacturer or called Gretsch and asked if they could use it for a kit. Starlight Sparkle is a finish that looks silver/gray until it is under the lights and then it looks lavender. It’s a beautiful finish. I believe Leedy referred to this as "smoky pearl". Harry Cangany did an article about this set for Modern Drummer in Feb 2011. It is one of the rarest finishes for Gretsch and it is insanely rare on any other drum set. The wrap is in great shape and the chrome is nice as well. This is an extremely rare set and it sounds wonderful”
Read moreLate 80s RSD 146G Rogers Gold Plated Dyna-sonic
This gold plated drum was produced for Island in the late 1980s. Photos of the gold plated Dyna-sonic and the following text is found in Cook's book. "Apparently only a couple dozen of the RSD-146G gold plated Dyna-sonics were made for Island Music. The retail price was a quite reasonable $495.00, but the poor quality of the plating impeded the sales."
Read more1926-27 LEEDY 4 x 14 COLONIAL GOLD “FULL DRESS” PROFESSIONAL MODEL (Cat. No. 700G)
from Catalog “O”: “Contrasting shades of gold always create a beautiful effect---so, here we have blended a satin and a bright Nobby Gold finish that attracts and holds the eye like magic. Drums such as these cannot fail to help you progress. ‘Full Dress’ finish Drums are not a fad---they are here to stay.” Once again I learned something new ; I always thought that “Full Dress” meant the diamond shaped (and other shapes) pearls and sparkles that were applied to the factory finish on a shell.
Read more1960s Mastro Plastic Snare Drum Kit
It's December and all I can say is, "where did the year go?" I can remember when I was young how it seemed like Christmas would never come. Now, it seems like the years are flying by. One thing never changes, when it gets Christmas time all the kids start thinking about getting some new toys. Even though I have joined the senior citizens rank, I like getting new toys myself. The drum from my collection I am featuring this month is sort of a toy drum. This Mastro snare drum was offered to the public as more than a toy and not quite a student musical instrument. It was another effort to supply young people, who had been influenced by The Beatles, with an affordable instrument. I have said it before, after The Beatles played on The Ed Sullivan Show, almost every young person wanted to play an instrument. The Mastro drum even had a connection with the Beatles.
Read more1939 WFL 7 x 14 WMP Twin Sensitive Hollywood Swing Model (cat. no. 421)
This drum is officially the first vintage drum that started my vintage snare drum hobby. I always had about 10 vintage drums lying around that I played here and there but I never paid much attention to the “vintage” aspect of those drums. This changed in March of 1995. I had been reading about vintage drums and my first vintage drum deal was with Sam Adato’s Drum Shop in San Francisco. Sam said that this drum is very rare so I took his word for it and traded a 1960s Gretsch Blue Sparkle round badge snare... the rest is history.
Read more1956 WFL Buddy Rich Model Super Classic drum set
This is the earliest known set in existence of the finish made famous by the Beatles Ringo Starr, 8 years before Beatlemania hit in 1964. This finish first appears into the Ludwig catalog in 1959 where it can be seen on the Las Vegas Stand Up cocktail outfit. In 1956 WFL Drums biggest star endorser was the one and only Buddy Rich.
Read moreMemphis Drum Shop
Nestled in the heart of Midtown Memphis, located in the ever popular Cooper-Young district, there is a special place with deep ties to music. With its flat white exterior, and black awning, 878 S. Cooper Street is home to none other than the world famous Memphis Drum Shop.
Read moreGaillard & Loiselet "Jazz Band" snare drum
Gaillard & Loiselet is the successor of several manufacturers who exist and succeeded since 1812... This brand has succeeded to "Couturier Pelisson Blanchon". Gaillard & Loiselet was created in the early 1930s and exist still exist on the early 1960s. The factory and the manufacture was in Lyon, at 273, Cours Lafayette and produced essentially wind instruments (trumpet, saxophone, tuba, etc…) and some marching drums and bass drums.
Read moreTruss Tension Drums
The late 1880s – 1900s was what was known as the “transition” period for snare drums and drums in general. This was the transition from rope tension to metal rod tension. It originated from the European or “Prussian“ designed drums consisting of sometimes highly decorated wood hoops over a metal shell. Metal hooks and long te
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