The finish was Abalone Pearl! And, the Drum that this beautiful finish is attached to is a 1930s Leedy 5x14 Broadway Standard Model. I have actually only seen this finish on a Slingerland 1930s Radio King snare drum and a miscellaneous vintage bass drum. What a beautiful, stunning and striking finish this is. The Abalone Pearl has a three dimensional vibe that really illuminates with the change of natural lighting. The array of beautiful colors is what makes this finish pop. Apparently, there are only a handful of drums with this rare finish that exist. Also, I have not seen another Leedy snare drum equipped with the Abalone Pearl finish.
Read moreI used the term “Root Beer Swirl” for lack of a better name. The only Slingerland finish that is remotely similar is Black Diamond Pearl (1928-1995) but aside from any possibility of a harsh fading the actual finish patterns are still vastly different. So the questions remain...an un-catalogued finish or a special order with an un-catalogued finish?
Sometimes a good sense of humor keeps things in perspective so I’ll use two quotes from my good friends Harry Cangany and John Aldridge. Harry: “Mike, you have such beautiful drums, but every now and then you show us something that is just butt ugly. That looks like some plastic just melted together and they used all of it.” John: “Mike, that drum is uglier than home-made soap.”
Read moreThis will be a short review. Good and short because I really am impressed with these heads. I play at least three nights a week with a big rock and soul band named FreeWorld on Beale Street in Memphis and a good number of well-known drummers sit in on my drums. It’s a pretty hard-hitting gig and the guys that sit in don’t hold back. Though I prefer single ply heads on recording sessions and lighter gigs, I have used all sorts of two ply heads on my Gretsch drums over the years for the louder gigs. The two-ply heads last longer. They also all start denting up immediately and I’ll use each set as long as I can until they just won’t tune up anymore or are looking like the surface of the moon.
Read moreWords of wisdom from that rascal sage, George Lawrence
Read moreIn the international press, Paul has been called “an inspired madman,” and “a restless innovator.” The same could be said of painter Jackson Pollock. There is a direct rhythmic connection between what Paul composes on the drums and what Pollock visually composed on canvas. Each deliberately using an organized rhythmic pattern while communicating their inconsistencies, anomalies and imperfections. Both speaking different languages of which only they can understand and interpret. Critics may never be able to fully describe the true motivations and complete originality of Paul Wertico and Jackson Pollock since both were creating in the moment.
Read moreFrom editor George Lawrence - November 2019 issue of Not So Modern Drummer
Read moreBill Bruford was the drummer with Yes and King Crimson before he moved to jazz with his band Earthworks. Heavenly Bodies – The Expanded Collection takes 23 tracks from the ‘Earthworks Complete’ Deluxe box set to present a tidy overview of the band’s 20-year history in a double CD.
Read moreThere are many different types of shuffle rhythms available, and each one was 'purpose built' for a particular style of music. Note that your basic shuffle is often written as dotted 8th & 16th notes, but it's rarely played that way. Strict adherence to 1(e&)a 2(e&)a 3(e&)a 4(e&)a tends to sound mechanical or choppy, and just not swinging. Counting 1~uh 2~uh 3~uh 4~uh leaves you free to interpret and fine tune the feel of a shuffle. i
Read moreI recently acquired this 1948 Radio King set from someone who rescued it from a neighbor who was going to “throw it out”. It’s in pretty darn good shape. I’ll update my clean up and restoration of this kit as I go along. The first thing I want to tell you about is a great new rust remover that works better than any other substance that I’ve used, and I’ve used all of them; Naval jelly, coca cola, vinegar, ketchup - all sorts of household and commercial products. This one is the easiest and most effective by far. It’s called Metal Rescue by Workshop Hero.
Read moreDrum Workshop has purchased Slingerland, and the company will release a new generation of Slingerland instruments next year, it was announced today.
Read moreI had the opportunity once again to spend a couple of hours with Gordy before a recent show. He broke down the Open/Close technique showing how it has evolved over the years.
Read moreThese are my put together Memphis Ducos. 1949 BD, 1973 12", 1965 9x13.
Read moreI 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 moreI’ve had a half dozen these old NSMD Winkler & Aldridge badges hidden away in a drawer for years and forgot about them until I ran across them recently. I decided to have a graphic designer update it a bit.
Read moreNew advertisers In the October 2019 issue! Hudson Music, Nomad Cases, and Slug Percussion.
Read moreWhen you sign up for DrumSellers.com you can choose to get daily or weekly updates in your email. If you haven’t signed up as a user, here are some of the latest listings you’ve been missing. Good Stuff!
Read moreA popular feature of our DrumSellers site is the free Want ads. Users can post to the drum community at large about drum items they are hunting for. You will not see that service on Reverb or Ebay. There was a flurry of new want ads this past week. Here some want ads from the last thirty days.
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