Whenever I buy one of these “beautiful ugly duckings”, I plan on playing it and using it for at least a while before passing it on to some other vintage drum geek who just can’t live without it. I remember a crowd of drummers at one of the Chicago Drum Shows laughing at me as I walked out of the building with a brand new Remo PTS “fiberboard” drum set that I bought at the end of the last day for $100. Man, I got my money’s worth out of that kit..
Read moreStories From the Hunt: Part Two - Purple Passion Slingerland
As I drove the 45 minute drive, it felt like I was getting further and further away from any civilization. Whoever this person was lived pretty far out in the middle of nowhere. As I approached the house, it was kind of a run-down farmhouse and there were chickens and other livestock roaming about the yard. A big guy with a long white beard and a pair of overalls came out to greet me. He actually reminded me of Uncle Jessie from the Dukes of Hazzard and explained that because of his line of work, his hand were messed up and he had not played drums in years.
Read moreMy Wood Snare Drum Collection
This month I will highlight 6 of the Ludwig & WFL wood snare drums in my collection of nearly 50 snare drums. People often ask me why I need so many snare drums. The answer quite simply is that they all look different and have their own unique sound. For this reason, I will continue on my infinite quest for more snares.
Read moreJoe Gansas and Doug Meola: Remembering Tony Williams
Throughout his career Tony inspired countless drummers to strive for excellence and find their own voices, as he had done throughout his remarkable career. Drummers such as Terry Bozzio, Bill Bruford, Billy Cobham, Vinnie Colaiuta, Peter Erskine, David Garibaldi, Steve Jordan, Jim Keltner, Michael Shrieve, Steve Smith, Charlie Watts and Dave Weckl have all named Tony Williams as an important influence on their playing.
Read moreRest in Peace, Floyd Sneed, drummer of Three Dog Night. Drum Solo Video
Three Dog Night added that Sneed "also an extraordinarily unique drummer who brought so much to Three Dog Night's sound." The late musician was lauded for breaking "many barriers both musically and culturally," with the band noting how "he also influenced countless other drummers with his amazing technique."
Read moreOdd Slingerland: Need Help Identifying
George,
New to me, parallel action strainer with rollers on this drum? Have you ever seen one before?
1929 L&L New Era-Sensitives
Here are some rare and very rare 1929 Ludwig & Ludwig New Era-Sensitive models. This model was only seen in the 1929 Ludwig Drummer magazine. From what I’ve seen and from those that I have consulted with it looks like this model was very short lived, 1929-1930.
Read moreDrum Legends Drum Heads
These Drum Legends Drum Heads are a beautiful, limited-edition offering that any drumming enthusiast will want in their collection. Each drum head features an original painting by artist Maureen Brown Gratton. These heads capture the essence of each classic drummer. Each head is printed on a high-quality, Made in USA, 12” Evans drumhead, using a high-quality imprint method that will not fade.
Read moreLudwig Silver Anniversary Snare Drums
After collecting many 1920’s Ludwig brass snare drums, the obvious next step was to go in search of some 1930’s models. In 2015, I came across a 1935 Silver Anniversary standard 6.5 x 14 snare drum at a vintage drum store in Toronto. What a beauty!
Read moreFrom Editor George Lawrence
Happy New Year! Tootin’ my own horn and letters to the editor.
Read moreStories From The Hunt
I decided to open the trunk to have a look inside and saw a bunch of very lightweight rusted hardware, some old decorations from a party, some confetti and a few other belongings not related to drums. What did catch my eye was the top of a drum head sitting in the case. As I slowly lifted the drum out of the case, I felt a little like Indiana Jones on one of his crusades and I nearly fainted when the drum revealed itself as a beautiful very white WMP twin strainer snare drum in 100% mint original condition.
Read moreDid You Know?
A newer study suggests that drummers have fewer but thicker fibres in the main connecting track between the two halves of the brain. And it seems the motor areas of the brain are organized more efficiently. Playing four-way coordination at the drum set requires the use of both sides of the brain simultaneously. It’s thought this type of activity improves IQ levels. It also improves memory, focus, and hand-eye coordination.
Read more1970s Ludwig Sky Blue Pearl Classic Set.
The set I am featuring this month is a 1970s Classic four piece 22,13,16 set with three ply shells. This beautiful kit is wrapped in Sky Blue Pearl. The blue color is still vibrant in the near perfect wrap
Read moreDavid Garibaldi: My Time With A Master - Remembering Tony Williams
My teaching studio was directly across the hall from his, where he was conducting group classes. I could hear him in there sounding like he sounded on all those Miles and Herbie recordings. Cool stuff. Because we were right there close, we started hanging out after our teaching sessions and basically just bullshitting about everything.
Read moreFrom Editor George Lawrence
My editorial this month is about two episodes of Matt Crouse’s WorkingDrummer.Net Podcast that I was involved with. Enjoy.
Read morePutting The Accents on Accents
Developing the skill to play accents helps to strengthen your hands in order to build technique. Moreover, accents are an essential part of playing breaks and solos. Whether it’s rock, jazz, latin, marching or classical music, accents have an important role to play. The following etude is named , ACCENTUATION. It’s from my book, DUET YOURSELF BOOK TWO. The rhythmic makeup couldn’t be simpler since the etude is all with eighth notes. At first glance it’s deceptively easy, but working up the etude to speed without making mistakes might prove a little tricky for some readers.
Read moreTreat yourself to a great Christmas present; a pair of Gus Moeller's Perfect Drum Sticks
Christmas Special - Moeller Sticks - $60 including shipping
Read moreRudiments that work overtime
I have a habit of ranting against the rudiments. Of course I'm referring to the classic rudiments of military origin. The point I usually try to press home is that many of the ‘standard’ rudiments are rather hard to apply to the drum set and others rarely fit modern music.
Read more2007 Craviotto/Adrian Kirchler Diamond series
These three drums were ordered at the 2007 Chicago Vintage Drum Show. Master drum craftsman Johnny Craviotto (Craviotto Drums) teamed up with master drum craftsman Adrian Kirchler (AK Drums) to create the Craviotto Drums/AK Drums Diamond Series snare drums.
Read more1971 Ludwig Supraphonic “Cut Badge” Brass Snare Drum
In the 1970s, very few of these drums were made with brass shells. The Cut Badge snare has two distinct features. One is the B or BR stamped near the muffler. The other is the modified blue and olive badge.
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