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Here are three Lang/NSMD Gladstone engraved gold Triumphal prototypes (#s 1, 2, 3) from 2004-2005. I purchased these from John Aldridge who was the engraver of these snare drums. John’s company at the time, NSMD Co., also supplied the shells for these drums.
Read moreHiro said that he wanted to buy the drum from me. I said it wasn't for sale, but then he turned the table on me and said, "What if I offer you STUPID MONEY"? At this time I had gotten into a little money crunch so I asked him what kind of STUPID MONEY was he talking about. Hiro said he would pay me 10K for the drum. SOLD! That was a huge chunk of money that gave me a good head start on my financial situation.
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Our favorite picture of John, founder of Not So Modern Drummer and #1 DrumScratcher
I guess the main difference between collecting then as opposed to collecting now is getting to know the person who’s selling the drums as much as knowing about the drums themselves. Some of my best friends, people I met through collecting and custom drum building and engraving, came from a vintage drum transaction that took us a couple of weeks to accomplish due to the delays of mail, photography, and the phone.
Read moreI’d like to share some of our conversations in order for you to get to know Mike as I did, describe a few examples of his work, and also explain how his approach differs from that of other gifted hand engravers, like John Aldridge and Adrian Kirchler.
Read moreI like to think of John Aldridge as a “Drum Jedi Master”. He is an endless wellspring of drum history, wisdom, experience and creativity. In this sequel to Part 1, I wanted to share some examples of John’s unique custom works with personal insights from John about their design. Many of these drums are from my personal collection and are greatly treasured. It is my hope that drummers will not only appreciate John’s incredible versatility, but also realize that “drum art” can be truly personal. Drum engraving is not restricted to scrolls and florets!
Read moreThe first of these is the best-known drum engraver of our time, John Aldridge. Some years ago, John Aldridge wanted a hand engraved drum. When he discovered he couldn't afford it, John learned how to do it himself, and brought this lost art form back to the drum industry.
Read moreThe wood Super-Sensitive with the decals that resemble inlays is an extremely rare drum. Back in 1985 I sent a picture of my drum like that to William F. Ludwig II and he called to give me some info on it. Those drums were made in 1929 when the Sensitive strainer was introduced. Supposedly, only 29 were made with the decals. Yours makes only the fourth one I've seen in all the years that I've been interested in vintage drums. That one is worth around $1500-$2000 but given your particular genre of playing, I would assume it's more valuable to you as an instrument. Just in case you ever need them, Mike Curotto has reproduced the internal (upper) snares for that strainer.
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