Not much news to report from me personally other than my new obsession with rare Gretsch Renown 57 drums. You know the ones; they come in red, blue and black 57 Chevy colors with a white chevron that is trimmed in chrome. I
Read moreThe One I Thought Got Away! 1950 Radio King
The story of the snare was vague, but from the extended family members of the original owner from whom I purchased it, it goes something like this; he bought it and never played it for whatever reason, and the later generations always respected the drum and never touched it. Not a lot of details but a very graceful unembellished straight-to-the-point explanation. They didn’t mince words or get into an epic narrative.
I am so grateful that it was left unscathed.
So now, here, is my unplayed, unused, 100% original MINT 1950 Slingerland Krupa Model Radio King No. 143 WMP 5.5” x 14” Solid One Piece Shell “Radio King” Engraved Nickel over Brass Rim 3-Point Strainer Tin Straps Snare Drum in it’s original Canvas Bag.
Jim Kersey: Remembering Tony Williams
Later in 2006, I would start drum lessons with legendary drummer Joe Porcaro in Thousand Oaks CA. Joe had many of Tony Williams’s transcriptions, and even had a story about his son Jeff and Tony recording together at Capital Records studio, saying, “Tony hurried in at the last minute, did the session and left soon after to catch a flight.” On Les Dudek’s ‘Zorro Rides Again’ , Tony’s sound is unique and identifiable - K Zildjian cymbals, Gretsch drums in 24" bass drum, 18' 16" 14" floor toms 14" 13" mounted toms, and 14" snare drum with Remo Black dots on all the toms and snare. His new signature sticks had dimensions similar to a 2B.
Read moreBuescher Drums
In trying to determine whether the Buescher Company also did drums among their band instruments, I came across your post/article on a Buescher drum, confirming for me that they did in fact make (or at least distribute) drums as well.
Read moreVintage Duco Family
One would think that the less expensive drums would have the DuCo finishes but these four snares are perfect examples of higher end (and somewhat rare) drums whose owners chose the less expensive shell finish option. In my opinion this is like putting Sears tires on a Ferrari…but I still will not pass up a rare snare drum with an inexpensive finish.
Read more1970s Ludwig Clear Vistalite Big Beat Outfit
My vintage drum collecting started out with a five-piece Ludwig clear Vistalite set in the 90s. There was a classified ad in my local newspaper that listed two Ludwig drum sets for sale. I bought the two sets and one of them was a clear Vistalite set, and the other a Rocker set. I cleaned up the Ludwig Rocker set and sold it for the price of both sets. I kept the Vistas and my collecting vintage drums started. It was downhill like a snow ball from then on.
Read moreLester LTD Dance Drum? Mr. Know-It-All is stumped.
I’m stumped. You?
Read more1930s Carlton "The Prince" Dual Snare Drum
The drum has that 30s era quality brass sound and the silk wires give it that dry orchestra sound. The top wires make it very dry and totally dampen the ring/sustain. They actually sound better than the to wires of either the 20s Ludwig Super Sensitive or the 30s Leedy Dual (both 6&1/2 x14) that I also own.
Read moreFrench Pax Snare
With more than 15 lbs of engineering, this snare is very complex ! Léon AGEL wanted to create a snare drum whose top and bottom heads can be adjust with a single screw... and snare wire under each head... An aluminum shell, 2 strainers, 2 wire tensions screws, 2 mufflers, 2 fixed hoops and a big internal tension system...
Read moreClassic Drummer & Vintage Drummer Magazine back issues at DrumSellers.com
The collection of all the Classic Drummer/Vintage Drummer Magazines still in print is available through Not So Modern Drummer at DrumSellers.com. All 17 of the print issues still in stock are available from former editor/owner Billy Jeansonne for a very low price $34.95 - plus $5.95 shipping. That’s about $2.40 an issue!
Read moreReview of Lem's Cymbal Felts and Cymbal Sleeves
My opinion: The advantage to using Lem’s Felts is that they last longer, and let your cymbals’ sound sustain longer because they are made with superior materials by a niche manufacturer who cares about quality. The cymbal sleeves are of a more flexible and durable plastic than most, and will not damage your cymbals.
Read moreTrauma Center: Extreme Drum Repair
The drum is a 5.5 x 14 inch Yamaha upper-line plywood snare drum, 90's era, with a stained red mahogany finish. As you can see by the photos, the snare-side bearing edge was brutalized. At one of the snare beds, the shell laminates had been torn away and were missing in a V-shaped area roughly four inches long and extending to about an inch and a half from the edge near the snare gate. Besides this major damage, the bearing edge was pretty chewed up on another part of the snare side. The shell was mostly in round otherwise. It was not a pretty sight.
Read more1955 Leedy New Era Outfit
This is a 1955 Leedy New Era Outfit in excellent condition. This set is originally a 3 piece but I added a perfect matching floor tom from the 60’s to round out the kit. This is a great version of a small light vintage kit for the “jobbing” drummer. Easy to fit in the cabs and cars of yesteryear!
Read moreTHE RARE SLINGERLAND BROADCASTER TRI-COLOR SNARE DRUM
Unfortunately, Gretsch had a drum model with a similar name. Their Broadcaster was spelled with a K instead of a C. When Gretsch realized the similarities, they felt it was an infringement on their own drum products and rights. A lawsuit ensued and the court ruled in favor of Gretsch, so Slingerland had to drop the Broadcaster name, so it was only produced from 1934 to 1935.
Read moreNew England Drum Show, April 3, 2022
In the works! A new drum show in Springfield MA!
Read moreDon Mcaulay sells items from Gene Krupa's drum collection.
“Hey George. Hope you and yours are doing well. I was prepared to approach drum magazines and other publications about this historic discovery that I found for my boss, Charlie Watts in which he gave me a portion of the items as my commission. I have decided to sell some of these pieces. But the same week I finished the website the entire world went straight into lockdown.. So I’ve been waiting until the time seems right, which seems like a month from now? Would you like to show this story on NSMD? Ideally I want to present this in all the appropriate magazines at the same time so the word gets out all at once and every collector has the opportunity to purchase. check it out!”
Read moreHalf-A-Diddles: Fun but challenging!
I was playing around with paradiddles and decided to see what would happen if I removed one of the single strokes. The result is quite interesting and somewhat easier than full paradiddles. A couple of them are a bit tricky.
Regards,
Richard Best
1948-1953 Slingerland Radio King 5-Piece Drum Set in Original Black Diamond Pearl.
Allow me to introduce you to my 1948-1953 Slingerland Radio King 5-Piece Drum Set in Original Black Diamond Pearl. The set consists of: 9” x 13” Tom, 12” x 14” Tom/Floor, 16” x 16” Floor, 14” x 24” Bass, 7” x 14” Snare, Hi-Hat Stand, Pedal, Snare Stand, Cowbells & Woodblock. This set is 100% original and near flawless.
All NOB rims, original paint and inlay on the hoops. The exterior wrap and interiors are mint. The set arrived with ALL the original unblemished heads in place and intact. I kept the original calfskin resonant heads on, archiving the batters (see pic of the original batters and you will see why this set is so nice). A friend contacted me about this set in 2019 showing me a few photos and asking what I thought. After much back and forth discussion and consultation I mentioned that if he sells now or in the future that I am most definitely Interested.
The back story on this set is that the original owner had passed away and the children and grandchildren were sorting out his estate. When they went up to the attic of his home they discovered this set. Apparently they never heard or knew anything about it, or that at one time he may have been a drummer. From the near immaculate condition of this set and the original Radio King calfskin heads one can only come to the conclusion that he purchased this set and never really played it at all or very little. We will never know.
This set was in another part of the country so my friend had a friend pick it from the original owners family and ship it to him. When it arrived at my friends house he called me and said that he thought I should handle the cleaning of this set and that he wanted me to be the new temporary custodian (we are all only interim owners in the end). I was extremely excited to welcome this set into Studio 3T as one of the Crown Jewels of my collection for not only myself but for my clients.
After arriving at the studio I was astounded at the incredible condition that can only be appreciated in person. It was very dusty and the nickel hardware needed to be polished, but that was it. Zero fade, zero modifications, wrap is mint, interiors mint, the set and hardware are flawless. This is the finest example of this era Radio King set I have ever encountered in my lifetime.
As with all our sets and snares at Studio 3T, these drums will be put to work, I am not a fan of shelf queens or placing instruments under glass like an amusement attraction. They should be, and are, played, recorded and toured with as intended and allowed to sing, and please believe me when I tell you, these beauties SING!
You can see a few photos right after the initial disassembly and clean and how they look now set up in the studio. I added a few Radio King cymbal stands and cymbals.
Thank you for reading my column, I very much appreciate all the comments and interaction with everyone.
Stay tuned...🥁
Edward Tucker
Fate Up
Studio 3T
Jack Scarangella: Remembering Tony Williams
“Tony Williams was also a big Buddy Rich fan. At the Grammy awards Steve Peck, Buddy’s tour manager said, Tony was beaming at Buddy from behind the stage. Miles Davis also claimed that Buddy was a ‘prince of a drummer’ and that “there isn’t a drummer alive who doesn’t have a Buddy Rich lick in them”.
Read more2009 LUDWIG 100 YEAR ANNIVERSARY 6.5 x 14 GOLD PLATED/ENGRAVED TRIUMPHAL MODEL #1912
I know these Ludwig 100 year anniversary Triumphals are pretty well known amongst collectors but there are some little known facts that you may enjoy and that add to the story….
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