Hello George,
Hope you're well ! After 3 years, I'm finally decided to write a little article on a French drumset... ;)
A rare french METJAZZ drumset !
METJAZZ is a french brand created just after WWII by Jean METZGER. He began his career late 20s in the Paul BEUSCHER workshops in Paris, and during the WWII, he produced his own instruments. He left BEUSCHER company in 1946 to create METJAZZ, an acronym for "MET" for METzger, and « JAZZ". He was working with his 3 sons, Henry, Jean Claude & André, and the workshop was located in SUCY EN BRIE near Paris. They made banjos and drums, and quickly knows a great success for their high quality instruments because METJAZZ was a very innovative brand, by design, and patented inventions... Jean METZGER dies in 1961, and his sons try to continue the adventure, but the small workshop (which produced about twenty drumset per month in the 50s) closes definitively in 1964.
This drumset dates to late 40s... 3 plys shells with re rings, and external rounded bearing edges... Those particular dimensions are typical to this era : BD 27.5'' TT 11'' & 9.5'' & SD 14'' and all shells have natural heads like all drumsets to this era… After 60 hours of restoration, this drumset is playable again
A bientôt,
Emmanuel
olDrums Vintage & Custom
http://www.oldrums.fr/