The quest for rare, one-off, special order Street/Parade drums continues.
This latest small condominium comes from Bill Wanser and Olympic Drums & Percussion, Portland Oregon. Thanks goes to Bill who allowed me to print the story that was in the item description.
“Notes: This is a beautiful and rare WFL Twin Strainer concert field drum in original White Marine Pearl wrap. These drums were designed with two independently controlled sets of snares as described in the 1941 catalog. This design allows the player to switch between the two types of snares in an instant. All parts are original, including the drum key, and in excellent condition. The white marine pearl wrap is also in excellent condition with the only blemish being a small cigarette burn next to one of the lugs. This was caused no doubt by a relaxing drummer called to action on short notice and placing his still burning cigarette behind the tension rod. The snares are original gut and wire wound silk. The calf heads are newly tucked heads on the original flesh hoops. All chrome plated hardware is in excellent condition. This drum was used by the original owner in the Arizona State University marching band in the 1930’s. It then lived in a closet until the mid 1990’s when it was found and used in the Phoenix Symphony. An excellent sounding concert field drum that will also make an attractive addition to any collection.”
1938 WFL #482 12 x 16 DELUXE MODEL CONCERT PARADE DRUM
The Shell: The 3-ply shell is in great shape. The WMP still has a lot of white and the only blemish is the cigarette burn mentioned in the above description. The interior is clean. An easy cloth wipe down was all that was needed.
The Hardware: All of the chrome hardware is original and in great shape even the 8 notoriously unstable Zephyr lugs. The twin strainers work well and feel smooth. There was no work that was needed to be done on this drum.
I’m sure that this drum was concertized many times by Bill Wanser (Principle Percussionist, Phoenix Symphony, ret.)...now it’s “museumized.”
Enjoy!