1960 English Rogers Set

It is hard for me to believe we are already in to February. Where did January go? My Mother told me when I was young and wishing for my birthday, Christmas, or school to be out that time would go a lot faster when I grew up. She was right, as always, and time now really get away in a hurry. I am looking forward, but not wishing my life away, to some great drum shows this year. I hope you can attend one in your area this year. Keep watching for the places and dates to be listed here in the magazine. Getting together with other vintage and custom drum collectors and players is always fun and educational. I am constantly learning information about vintage drums from my drum collector friends. A lot of my contacts and friends were made at drum shows.

I decided to feature a set this month for your enjoyment that I recently acquired. It's an early 1960s English Rogers set in rare Madi Gras finish. I have wanted a Rogers or Slingerland set in Madi Gras finish for years. I just love that finish. By the way, Madi Gras is this month in New Orleans. I've never been to Madi Gras, but I have that trip on my bucket list, but back to my desire for a Madi Gras drum set. I have been looking for a Madi Gras set to add to my collection, and as I was searching E-Bay a few weeks ago a set was there for sale. I really wanted them and had decided to place a bid when the end of the sale came around. I usually wait to bid until the end of the sale. I have jumped in right at the beginning, but usually I wait. Maybe you could leave a comment and share your E-Bay bidding strategy. The Madi Gras set on E-Bay was a Rogers set and that was fine with me. It's no secret to my readers that I love Rogers drums. While I was watching that set, another Rogers Madi Gras set showed up on Facebook. The set for sale on Facebook was the English Rogers set I am showing you. Yes, I made a deal with the seller and he shipped them to me from Canada. I am so excited about them.

English Rogers drums were made in the 1960s at the Boosey & Hawkes drum factory in London. They had Ajax three ply shells with reinforcement rings. The interiors are clear coated not painted like American Rogers. The lugs are Bread and Butter style, and the mounts are Swivomatic style, but they are different from the USA parts. The Madi Gras finish is also different from the American version, not as busy. The script logo badges also look different. The sizes of this set are: bass drum 20"X15", floor tom 16"X16", mounted tom is 12"X8", and the matching snare is 14"X5". Many of you know that Dave Clark of the Dave Clark Five played English Rogers drums. English Rogers drums were not a huge success, but they are very cool drums. Many collectors want to have a replica of John Bonham's set or a Ringo's set. I would like to have a red sparkle English Rogers set with a Dave Clark logo head. He was one of my greatest influences.

My set was owned by a member of the Toronto Symphony who brought them from England. When he returned to England to retire he left the set in Canada with a new owner. There is a cool Drum City London sticker on the bass drum. I was tempted to try to finish removing it. It looks like someone started to take it off but didn't go through with it. I have decided to leave it. It has been there fifty years, and it adds to the story of the drums, so for now the sticker stays. The man who helped me buy these drums from the owner who acquired them from the symphony percussionist was a super guy. He did a great job handling the sale and shipping the drums from Canada to my door. I want to thank him again for the great job he did. Leave a comment if you have an English Rogers set or if you liked Dave Clark Five. Keep looking in those unusual places for a great old drum.

Eddie Ryan Trixon Reproduction

Trixon set? Think again! Eddie Ryan Drums of Essex, England created this reproduction of a 1960's double bass drum with separate chambers and calf heads. 

Nick Hopkin at 2014 Chicago Drum Show

NICK HOPKIN OFFERS VINTAGE BRITISH DRUMS AT 2014 CHICAGO DRUM SHOW Leading UK Specialist Will Showcase Rare Premier Kits in Debut USA Appearance 

British vintage drum specialist Nick Hopkin Drums makes its North American debut with an exhibit at the 2014 Chicago Drum Show on 17 & 18 May 2014. Hopkin, whose facility near the England/Wales border attracts such major-name players as Sean Moore (Manic Street Preachers), Steve White (Paul Weller), Clive Deamer (Robert Plant) and Geoff Barrow (Portishead) has quickly built a reputation as the go-to for rare and hard-to-find vintage kits, snares and accessories. At the Chicago show, itself renowned as a world-leading exhibition, Hopkin will highlight, among other collectibles, rare drums from the vaults of legendary British drum maker Premier. “These kits have been tucked away at the Premier facility in Leicester for decades,” notes Hopkin, “and their presence at the Chicago show will be their first time they’ve been seen by the public. They are super-collectible. And yes, they are for sale.”

Hopkin, also a regular columnist for the magazines Drummer  (UK) and Not So Modern Drummer (USA), notes that, “The UK has a rich history in drum design and manufacturing, with brands including Premier, Ajax, Beverley and Hayman being highly collectible. Non-British brands including classic-era Ludwig, Gretsch and Slingerland also come through the shop, which handles a constantly changing inventory of great gear that can also be seen online.”

Founded in 2012, Nick Hopkin Drums quickly established itself as one of the UK’s leading sources of pro-quality vintage gear and has steadily amassed a keen international following. “Yes,” noted Hopkin, “where better to tell vintage fans and collectors that they have a new source of high-quality collectible gear - especially those great British brands - than at a world-class drum show in Chicago, the hometown of such legendary names as Slingerland and the Ludwig Drum Company.”

MEDIA CONTACT: NICK HOPKIN - +44 (0)1873 857960 www.nickhopkindrums.com

Hayman Vibrasonic Drums

1968 saw the introduction of a new English drum manufacturer, Hayman. The man behind these drums was Ivor Arbiter, who according to Bob Henrit was the first to import Ludwig and Gretsch drums into the UK during ‘the Beat Boom’. Arbiter had identified a gap in the market for a set of loud drums that would get heard over the ever increasing volume of amplified music.

If you’re looking for a classic vintage English kit with a unique sound, then look no further than Hayman. There’s been a resurgence of interest in these British beauties in the last couple of years here in the UK. In their short production time, they attracted a number of high profile endorsers; even today, many name players have a Hayman kit in their collection for studio work due to their unique sound.

Originally named ‘George Hayman’, but quickly shortened to ‘Hayman’, these drums looked and sounded different to other English kits. With their turret style lugs, at a glance it would be easy to mistake these for Camco drums. But use your ears and you’ll experience a loud, resonant set of drums that live up to the name on their badges – ‘vibrasonic’.

Handcrafted in the UK, Hayman were marketed as ‘The greatest drum happening since the plastic head’ and claimed to be ‘more resonant than any drum on the market’.

Their quality control was so thorough all drums were sold with a lifetime guarantee. So let’s have a look at these drums in more detail….

Aside from lugs, their other most distinguishable feature was their shell interiors, with a ‘vibrasonic’ coating - Seven coats of special metallic poly-eurathene spray, bonded to the internals of the shell, claimed to be superior to Ludwig’s ‘resocote’. The shells were made of cross laminated Swedish Ply (which according to the catalogue was more expensive than regular ply and stronger due to the cross lamination) and featured 8 ply internal support rims (also laminated individually for extra strength). Initially produced in only 3 brushed metallic finishes (gold, silver and midnight blue -brass badges ’69-73), other colors were introduced later (regal red, matt black, natural pine and iceberg- smaller, silver badges ’73-75). The earlier finishes were triple laminate layers of Melinex and metal foil, which were flame resistant. They were unique to Hayman and I haven’t seen them anywhere else (although I read somewhere these coatings were used on refrigerators).

The kits were marketed in the following configurations; ‘The Pacemaker’ 20, 13, 16 & snare; ‘The Big Sound’ 22, 13, 16 & snare; ‘The Showman’ 22,12,13,16 & snare; ‘The Recording’ 18, 12, 14 & snare. Bass drums were available up to a 26”, but most kits still in circulation today are the ‘Big Sound’ and ‘Showman’.

The hardware on these drums were innovative for an English kit in the 60’s; fold-out ‘Holdfast’ bass drum spurs, triple flange hoops, ‘baseball bat’ dampers and adjustable swivel tom mounts. The tom post mounted onto a flat, curved rail on the bass drum, which one could slide to obtain optimum positioning; claimed to be ‘the most advanced to come from any drum factory’ boasting every angle and height adjustment with ‘functional thumb screws that stay firm’. Anyone who’s used them would probably disagree, as they are very difficult to negotiate and famously crush your fingers. The bass drum rods were among the first shaped to actually enable the drummer to tune his bass drum with ease.

The snare drums were the first non-American snare drum to feature 10 lugs and a simple throw off. With the vibrasonic lining and fitted with 22 strand wires, they were advertised as having the sound of a metal drum.

Speedomatic stands accompanied these sets, once again with groundbreaking features, the most rugged on the market at the time. The snare stand was the first in Britain to offer a basket holding mechanism, cymbal stands were offered as either tripod or flat base. The hi hat stand had double tension springs and the bass drum pedal was fibre belted.

Unfortunately, The Hayman brand was finished by 1975, although it was briefly re-launched in the 80’s with the shells made in Taiwan. Don’t mistake these drums for the originals.

Key players - Wilgar Campbell (Rory Gallagher); Randy Jones (Maynard Ferguson band); Paul Hammond (Atomic Rooster); Aynsley Dunbar ; Brian Bennett (The Shadows); Rob Townsend (Family); Ronnie Verrall; Bob Henrit (Argent, Kinks), Bill Bruford (Yes), Simon Kirke (Free), Mitch Mitchell (Jimi Hendrix Experience), Mitch Mitchell (Jimi Hendrix Experience) and many others over the years.

NB: Bob Henrit is currently writing the Arbiter book and we look forward to this being published soon. He’s just released his autobiography ‘Banging On’ which is a worthy read.