So the drum was given to Levon by Ringo, clearly played and signed by Levon to the son of another tremendously influential drummer, Richie Hayward. Four degrees of separation, perhaps? I was happy to win the auction, securing both drum for its history and the ability to help Seve in my own small way.
Read moreThe Tuxedo & Black Beauty
“No Drum Left Behind" - the restoration of an engraved 1920sC.G. Conn Tuxedo and early 1930s Ludwig & Ludwig Black Beauty
There comes a time when every vintage drum collector finds a “diamond in the rough” and has to decide either to: 1) keep it original (but flawed), 2) do some restoration work, or 3) walk away from the deal. From a purist’s perspective, any change to a vintage drum will greatly diminish, if not destroy, its value. However, I would argue that there are times when salvaging a drum through expert restoration is truly warranted. Here are two such examples…
Some time ago, I stumbled across two such “rough diamonds” on Ebay. One auction had no other descriptor than “1920s-30s C.G. Conn 5X14 Brass Snare Drum.” I looked closely at the pics by eye and thought I saw some engraving on the shell. To examine it further, I downloaded the auction pics and zoomed in using Photoshop. Lo and behold, it looked like a 1920s C.G. Conn engraved Tuxedo with the characteristic four diamond cross pattern! The inside of the shell still retained the black nickel so I was pretty certain the outer black nickel plating had been removed. I won the auction for a very reasonable amount, so the thought of black nickel re-plating seemed like a worthwhile investment. When the drum arrived, my presumptions were confirmed. It was indeed an 8-tube lug, 1920’s Conn Tuxedo with “Made by C.G. Conn LTD, Elkhart, IN U.S.A.” stamped on the upper hoop, 4-screw “Presto-like” strainer, Knobby Gold hardware and shell engraving in beautiful condition. Next, I set about to do some research on what it would take to properly restore this drum. I needed to think long and hard about this, as it required additional investment and had to be done correctly if done at all. Meanwhile, another orphan drum serendipitously crossed my sights on Ebay.
This time, the drum was clearly identified as a “1920s-1930s engraved Ludwig Black Beauty.” The early 1930s art gold hardware looked amazingly well preserved for its age: 10 brass tube lugs, timepiece strainer; smaller, more rounded snare gates, “Super-Ludwig” embossed on the bottom hoop in block letters. The logo engraved on the shell was somewhat unusual, reading “Ludwig – Trademark” rather than the usual “Ludwig, Chicago U.S.A.”, and bounded by a rectangular box (actually, a parallelogram as I was corrected by my daughter) one panel to the left of the strainer. The catch was that the engraving was thoroughly blackened with none of the brass visible. During its lifetime, the drum had either been painted black or poorly re-plated. I took a gamble and placed a winning bid, hoping that there was some original black nickel underneath. When I got the drum, I sent pics out to Mike Curotto and Harry Cangany for their thoughts on the shell. None of them could be certain from the pictures whether it was black paint or nickel. So off the drum went to Mike Curotto’s shop for closer examination. A short time later, Mike gave me the unfortunate news - the drum had been painted and no black nickel remained.
This now left me with two wonderful vintage drums whose hardware was in great shape, the original engraving intact, but stripped down to the brass. I consulted Harry Cangany about restoration, weighing the concerns of valuation/devaluation vs. preservation. I finally came to the conclusion that these two drums needed to be brought back to life, to the way they looked in the 1920s and 30s (fortunately, Harry agreed ☺). This was not about vintage drum investment but more so about preserving our drum heritage.
I was convinced re-plating was the right thing to do. So, I contacted the amazing drumsmith, Adrian Kirchler (“AK”), in Italy. I was aware that AK not only made great drums for Ludwig (100th Anniversary Triumphal) and Craviotto (AK/Craviotto Masters Metal series, 10th Anniversary Black Diamond) but also was the only craftsman in the world who could re-plate engraved drums and leave the engraving shining brightly through the black nickel. Mike, who had the drums in his shop, kindly sent them shells to Adrian for re-plating. Mike kept the hardware to polish/buff up and spray a coat of clear lacquer. As Mike says, “rust never sleeps."
About six weeks later, the drums arrived at my home. I think the pictures speak well to the outstanding work of AK, together with the gentle, expert cleaning by Mike Curotto. I have no regrets. The drums are beautiful. They have been kept intact with original or period-correct hardware and original engraving. However, now the artistry of the engraving glistens against contrasting dark, black nickel as it once did almost century ago. The drums are whole again. I feel content that two drums have been saved from the scrap heap, and now serve as gleaming historical artifacts of early drum craftsmanship. I guess it’s the next closest thing to a time machine… I just wish I could bring back the original owners in order to hear how the drums sounded in their hands. I’ll just have to settle with playing them myself and pretending…
Best wishes, Bob
Many thanks to Harry Cangany, Mike Curotto and Adrian Kirchler who kindly provided guidance, encouragement and their talents to this project.
The Ludwig Silver Anniversary Standard Snare Drum(s)
In 1935, Ludwig & Ludwig celebrated its 25th, or “Silver”, anniversary. As stated in the Ludwig Drummer magazine of 1936, Ludwig & Ludwig was “Climaxing twenty-five years of supremacy” and introducing a “new sturdier shell construction: Ludwig All-Metal shells are spun from the best quality heavy-gauge brass with sturdy reinforcing bead in the middle, and edges are flanged and turned in against the inside wall of the shell for further strength and rigidity. The new heavy flanged counter hoops and modern design tension cases for the key tension lugs add both beauty and strength to the ‘Silver Anniversary’ models.” Ludwig offered these in brass or mahogany Super-Sensitive, Super-Ludwig, and Standard versions (5” X 14” and 6½” X 14” sizes). To me, the All-Metal brass snare drums were quite special as they had the newly introduced Silver Anniversary L&L badge, eight Imperial lugs (directly tapped, no inserts), heavy flanged hoops, and square bead in the middle of shell (although that was not always the case – read on…).
There is an aura which surrounds 1920s-30s Ludwig brass drums that continues to fascinate and thrill me. I’ve never heard one that didn’t sound terrific, and each has its own unique character. So I set my sights on obtaining one of these Silver Anniversary drums, and by a coincidence of fate, two Silver Anniversary L&L Standard snare drums came by my way: a 6½” X 14” and a 6½” X 15”. The 6½” X 14” was exactly as described in the 1936 Ludwig catalog, with the eight direct tapped Imperial lugs, square center bead, Professional strainer and nickel over brass finish. As you can imagine, one must be quite careful in not over-tightening the tension rods as you can strip the lugs, i.e., as they have no inserts. This drum was in good condition and sounded wonderful – great depth, projection and the rimshots and cross-stick off those heavy flanged hoops were to die for.
I was very impressed by this drum. About 6 months later, I came across a 6½” X 15” Silver Anniversary Standard snare drum for sale. I was a bit confused as the L&L 1936 catalog showed only a 14” being available, and in addition, this drum seemed to have a rounded center bead. I was starting to wonder if this was an authentic Silver Anniversary model. However, other than the size and bead contour, all else seemed identical to my 14” Silver Anniversary Standard. I did a bit of research and found that in the 1937 L&L catalog on page 6, there was additional fine print which said “see page 8 for special 6½” X 15” metal shell model”. So finally, on page 8, there was the 15” Standard snare and it showed a rounded center bead, although this was not specifically noted. The 6½” X 15” Standard Anniversary was “made in a special larger size recommended for large military concert bands because of its unusual volume and carrying power….made only on special, non-cancelable, non-returnable order.” So I had another wonderful L&L Silver Anniversary drum; this one with even a little more punch and depth. But the story does not end there…
It turns out that the 6½” X 15” Silver Anniversary drum was owned by none other than Ken Coomer, Nashville drummer and producer whose credits include Wilco, Clockhammer, Uncle Tupelo, Emmylou Harris, and Will Hogue to name a few. Ken was kind enough to share a little personal background on this drum.
“Here is a little history on the L&L snare drum. I purchased the drum from a pawn shop where Wilco bought a ton of different gear for recording and live. I knew it was something different, so I did some research and "presto chango" I find out that there may not be more than a handful of these know to exist, especially this unusual size. But, I would not have bought the drum if it sounded "like the box it came in." I have to be able to use a drum in some capacity. This drum had the first issue non- slotted (tapped) lugs. So you could strip them, and imagine where, if anywhere you could find the original parts. Early on I decided this was not going to be a road drum. But, I loved the tone, especially when I put the extra wide 42 strand Gretsch wires on - a great, sweet, sensitive snare drum.
I used this drum on Wilco's ‘Summerteeth’ and ‘Yankee Hotel Foxtrot’. I also think I used it on a Steve Earle track from a movie called ‘Side Tracks’... always loved a press roll on this drum!
Hope that helps some....I feel like this gives me some closure on parting with this drum, sounds silly, but I think you get it.”
Indeed Ken, I do very much get it. This is an amazing drum, an important part of your musical legacy, and a rare survivor of over 75 years. I will be a good caretaker and ensure that it continues to make music and endure.
So now I’m off to find another cool drum story… if you have any of the other Silver Anniversary snare drums, please let me know (fallendrummer@mac.com)!
Happy drumming! Never forget that we drummers are custodians of both our music and the stories behind the drums we play… If we do not share these stories, they will fade away and tragically be lost…
Special thanks to Mark Cooper for his invaluable assistance in the preparation of this article.
IN MEMORIUM: Ralph Morris Penland
IN MEMORIUMRalph Morris Penland (1953 – 2014)(Including a previously unpublished interview with Ralph)
by Bob Campbell & Paul Mason
It is with great sadness that we share the news that Ralph Penland, an amazing teacher and performer, passed away on March 13, 2014, at the age of 61. Ralph was one of unsung heroes of the music community; a kind and modest drummer whose accomplishments spanned several decades. He started out in Cincinnati, Ohio where at age 9, he took up an interest in music and drums. At age 15, he bought his first drum kit, and within two years, he was playing as featured percussionist for the Cincinnati Symphony. By age 19, he began playing with the great Freddie Hubbard and his career took off. From 1973-2013, AllMusic (http://www.allmusic.com/artist/ralph-penland-mn0000388206/credits) listed 164 credits for Ralph Penland in roles as drummer, percussion, arranger, producer and/or composer. He played with some of the most influential artists of our time, such as Chet Baker, Natalie Cole, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Freddy Hubbard, Hubert Laws, Etta James, K.D. Lang, Buddy Montgomery, Carlos Santana, Frank Sinatra, and Nancy Wilson just to name a few. Ralph was also an educator, having taught at the New England Conservatory early in his career and then more recently in the Jazz Department at Pasadena City College. He also led his own band, the Penland Polygon.
We each had the opportunity to speak with Ralph at various times in his career – Paul Mason as the owner of Tempus Drums (whose drums Ralph played) and Bob Campbell as an aspiring writer. It seemed altogether fitting to share our personal experiences with Ralph, including a previously unpublished interview from 2002. Please note that the interview was for a book on snare drums, so there are many snare drum-focused questions.
Paul Mason:
I met Ralph when he visited my booth at the January 1986 Winter NAMM Show in Anaheim, California. To my discredit, I did not at the time know who he was, although that changed quickly as I got to know him personally and learned of his already impressive résumé.
Ralph and I kept in touch during the following months and years, a time during which I was always happy to see his career very deservedly taking him farther afield and putting him into musical settings with an ever-expanding circle of brilliant and diverse artists. And yet, for all that he seemed always to be playing/recording with a literal Who's Who of jazz greats (not to mention his performing with such widely disparate musical giants Santana and Frank Sinatra and rehearsing with Allan Holdsworth), Ralph somehow never became one of “The Names” in a way that I felt he'd earned.
The man, quite simply, could play. He was an absolute natural, genuinely gifted in the truest sense of the word. And he had a boundless enthusiasm for music, something which was apparent from our very first meeting when I got to watch him sit and play as part of a spontaneous percussion improvisation with Billy Cobham, who was trying out the exquisite metal instruments of Pete Engelhart at the booth right next door to mine, as well as a conga player who joined the fun at the booth beyond that.
Or, to put it another way, Tony Williams once described Ralph Penland as his favorite drummer.
Ralph seemed to love my work. He'd visit at every trade show, purely so that he could sit down at a set and play. He eventually had me build him a custom set which he went on to use in a variety of musical settings, both live and on record. And I made a point of hearing him play wherever I could, whenever we both happened to be in close enough proximity for that to happen. Between those times he'd call from various places around the globe, always on tour with some other luminary; this week perhaps just back from Japan with Pharaoh Sanders, next into the studio with Dianne Reeves. One project about which Ralph was extremely excited was a proposed recording with Allan Holdsworth; he called me one day just to play me an answering machine message which Allan had left at his home number, Holdsworth phoning to set up rehearsals for what would become the ‘None Too Soon’ album on which, unfortunately, Ralph did not end up playing.
We became friends, at least as much as two people can do when they live 1200 miles apart and see each other perhaps once or twice a year. His then wife, Linda Lawrence, was a lovely woman, and I watched Linda's son Trevor grow from a young boy into a successful artist in his own right, inspired early on by Ralph's encouragement and input. Conversely, in late 1989 my wife, Shelley, and I took our newborn son Taylor to see Ralph play with Freddie Hubbard and George Cables; just a couple of pals hanging out.
And although he occasionally voiced his frustrations with the constant struggle of being a jazz drummer, Ralph never complained about his life; he was genuinely appreciative of the opportunities he'd earned through his formidable talents. Those of us who knew him and admired his accomplishments were perhaps in the minority but I always firmly believed that, one day, he would be awarded at least some greater degree of acclaim from the larger drumming community.
I miss him. Fortunately, I'll always have his music.
Bob Campbell:
I was introduced to Ralph Penland by Paul Mason (Tempus Drums) around 2002 as I was doing some research for a book. We did an interview over the phone that, for various reasons, was never published. He came across as quite knowledgeable, personable and passionate about music and drums. It was a privilege to speak with him.
An Interview with Ralph Penland, drummer extraordinaire (2002)
Ralph, could you tell me a little bit about your musical background?
I went to Boston after graduating. I wound up in a program teaching at the New England Conservatory, in the early 1970’s. They had a special program where they were opening up music to the community, to the inner city students, and I was on the faculty and was teaching. Also, in Boston I had the pleasure of hanging out with a lot of great musicians that were up there. I never studied formally with Alan Dawson, but we did kind of hang out. In my second year at Boston, I had the pleasure of sitting in with Freddy Hubbard. That actually starting my playing with him. From the age of 19, I was on the road playing with Freddy Hubbard. We started working almost immediately. I started playing and recording. We did a record on the CTI label called “Keep Your Soul Together” (1973). There was another one on Columbia called “High Energy” (1974). It was kind of off to the races. Things kind of came along quickly for me. So it was awesome; I was very honored and fortunate.
So of all of the work you’ve done over the years, what are you most proud of?
That’s kind of hard because I did a lot of things. In addition to joining very early with Freddy Hubbard, I can mention a few names. I had the pleasure of working with Amad Jamal, Charles Lloyd, Nancy Wilson, Stan Getz, Toots Thielemans, Sara Vaughan, and Ron Carter. I played with Herbie Hancock, Pharoah Sanders, Joshua Redmond, Wynton and Bradford Marsalis, Harry Connick, Jr., Wallace Roney. I’ve done commercial music. I worked with the Supremes briefly, Marvin Gaye. It covers the board. Steve Vai, Brian Auger, Robben Ford, George Benson and Frank Sinatra, Carlos Santana. I’ve played blues with Etta James. I did her last two albums. Music soundtracks, a couple of comedies…’Throw Mama From the Train’, ‘When Harry Met Sally’, a documentary of Chet Baker, Sean Connery’s ‘The Russia House’, ‘Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil’…I did that. So there’s a lot of music I’ve had the pleasure of touching on that’s helped me, helped my life and my career to be versatile. That’s very important to be versatile in music…oh, and I have my own record out. I started my own record label called Polygon Records. My record is entitled “To Journey a Dream”. There’s many all-stars on this record. I’ve been working on my own music for the last 20 years and each time I had songs I would go into the studio and record them. On the record, there’s some great musicians…some names you know and some names you may not know. My current band… my trumpet player is Charles Moore, bassist Tony Dumas, young saxophone player named Gerald Pinter, a keyboard player named Greg Kurstin, which is the current band. They are on the record as well as Patrice Rushen, pianist, saxophonist Carter Jefferson, the vocal sound of Minneapolis native, Roberta Davis. Also there was jazz harpist, Dorothy Ashby, pianist Victor Feldman is on this record as is vocalist Bobby McFerrin. I’ve got Steve Hall, another tenor player Wallace Roney. So it’s kind of a collage of the music that I had been writing and recording.
So as I am a snare drum collector, I hope you don’t mind if I ask you a couple question about snares you’ve used. Do you remember the first professional snare that you owned?
That would have been a Gretsch drum. Coming up in the jazz world and having all these guys as famous and mentors, having met them, like Elvin and Tony, they were all playing the Gretsch drums a the time. So my first professional drum set was a Gretsch set. Those Gretsch drums would have been on the Freddie Hubbard records, ‘Keep Your Soul Together’ on CTI and also ‘High Energy’ which was on Columbia. That’s my original Gretsch kit on those recordings. I still have it and record with it. It’s a custom-made 3 piece with a 16”X16” bass drum, and 8”x12”, 14”x14” toms, with a 5-1/2 x 14 chrome (over brass) snare. That snare had die-cast hoops and the wide 42 (strand) snare wires. I was always curious about that. Why some drummers had these wide snares…and I kind of became accustomed to that. Once you get into the sound and it gets into your head and you’re recording with it…that kind of became a basis for all the other snares that I’ve played and that I own.
Back in the day of Tony Williams when he was doing the Tony Williams Lifetime, he was playing Gretsch drums so he made the Gretsch sound applicable to any setting. When I met Charlie Watts, he told me he’s a great lover of jazz drums. I’ve got a picture with him, Billy Higgins, Elvin Jones, and myself. Charlie Watts, in his whole career with Mick Jagger, he had a Gretsch kit and was inspired by Max Roach and Tony Williams and those guys. He’s playing on a jazz kit basically tuned to what he plays with the Stones. I’m saying that because Tony Williams actually pioneered a lot of things as far as jazz-rock or fusion or whatever they’re calling it now.
Could you describe some of the other snares you’ve played and you’ve owned?
I own a set of Tempus drums that is made by a gentleman, Paul Mason in Canada. He custom made a snare drum which was very unique for me, and a whole set actually made out of fiberglass, but it’s not fiberglass the way the old Fibes drums were. The fiberglass that you could see through. He had a process of doing layers of this fiberglass material and he kind of layered them like layers of wood. Mine has a special finish on the outside of mine. It’s like a black-gray swirled. So it was a different way of doing something and I used those drums with Carlos Santana when I played with him, as well as with Frank Sinatra.
What size was the snare drum on that Tempus kit?
It was a 5” x 13” snare. I think it was standard with die-cast hoops. Die-cast does give a little more focused attack. Maybe a warmer attack; it could be brighter. To me, the die-cast can work in any setting.
And you picked that?
Yeah, I chose that. I was trying something different. I thought it was great. The snare drum had a nice sound to it. It was a nice solid sound, more compact than the 5” x 14”. It was a little tighter sound. So I was able to cut through and get some different colors. I kind of tuned it high. I used to love drummers like Stewart Copland from the Police. You’d get a nice kick to it, a nice sound. I still play it. I even had a mic put inside of the drum, the May EA system. I put in the snare drum and also in the bass drum. I had 2 bass drums, a 20” and a 22”.
How would you compare it to your Gretsch COB snare?
It had a brighter sound. Definitely a snap to it where you could definitely hear it. One of the drums I could play with more volume. With Carlos Santana, of course, it would cut through the music, and with Frank Sinatra where we were playing with a full 30-piece orchestra. Yes, it was very good live and I’ve definitely recorded with it. Good drum.
Are there any other snare drums you have or played that come to mind?
Yes, I’ve been recently playing several. Premier put out a high-end maple kit called the Signia. They have a die-cast hoop on the snare drums and I was really impressed by that drum (a maple 5 ½” X 14”). I’m almost exclusively playing that drum now. That kind of became my favorite drum. It really had a nice warm sound, very close to Gretsch, maybe a little more projection. All drum companies try to modernize. They put in a reinforcing ring in there. Some drums have it and some don’t, but it seems to give it an extra bounce. A little extra snap. Then with that, I decided to try the wide 42 strand snares on it. And it’s even closer to the Gretsch sound. So that’s kind of been my influence. And even on the 13” Tempus snare drum, I put some wide snares on it. Gave it even more of a “snarey” sound as well as the brilliantness of it. I have about 3 or 4 different snares, but the sounds are similar, but they’re also varied enough that they can stretch over into rock or R&B or something soft.
Didn’t they also make the Signia drum also with wood hoops?
Yeah, they had some with wood hoops, but not many. They were metal hoops and it was an unusual die-cast hoop on the top. It was a little heavier and, it really was very close to Gretsch drums. So that’s the reason I like it. I think it’s inspired by Gretsch.
Do you think the die-cast hoops make the drums easier to tune?
I think so. As a matter of fact on my Premier Signia kit, they had the die-cast only on the snare drum. Then I put die-cast on all of the tom-toms because again it sounded so close to Gretsch and I wanted to go that way even further. So I had die-cast put on the Premier Signia drums.
Do you bring all your snares when you’re not sure what you’re going to cut?
I usually bring 2 or 3 and I usually ask in advance what kind of music do you want me to play. If they tell me it’s all streety and jazz, then I’ll know what to take, or if it has rock guitars and pop. I’ll take the snares accordingly. Sometimes I may bring a jazz snare to a pop gig just to see if it will cut. I can play all of the drums on any of the sessions, but it it’s a rock session, I may use my 13” Tempus or maybe a little 12” Fever drum (which is wood and Formica). If it’s jazz I’ll use my Signia Premier snare.
So is the idea to be as versatile using the drums that you have or is it just whatever seems to sound good to you at the time?
A little of both. I’m definitely trying to be versatile. If I have a little jazz kit and then a giant Tempus rock and roll kit, 22” bass drum, 3 mounted toms, 3 giant floor toms, so it is the application of the music, but then sometimes, maybe the warmer drum will work in a rock setting.
It’s great that you are open to the different things that are out there.
Definitely. Plus, what the older guys all said to me, like Max and Blakey and Elvin, they say ‘if you’ve got a drum and know how to play it, and you know about the tuning and choosing the right heads and playing it properly, you can make any drum sound good’. So I kind of kept that in my mind.
Do you remember specifically any recent recording cuts, what snares you might have?
Well, in the last 2 Etta James records that I did, she was doing the music of Billy Holiday, some blues type songs. I probably had the Premier Signia snare drum with the die-cast hoop on it. That seems to me my general all around favorite drum that can work in any application. Her last 2 records Etta James on Private Music is the record label - I’m very proud of that. I also used that same snare on a Natalie Cole record. It was called ‘Stardust’ on Electra. Also when I did that music soundtrack with Clint Eastwood, ‘Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil’, they did a whole jazz sound track so I remember the recording I did. Clint Eastwood loves jazz. KD Lang was on the session so I got to record with her.
Do you have any interest in vintage stuff, like an old Radio King or old Gretsch? Has that ever attracted you?
It has. I’m really good friends with trumpet player Wallace Roney, who is not only a great trumpet player, but he loves drums. He had a couple of drum sets that he got from Tony Williams and Tony got him into Gretsch drums. Wallace has a couple of vintage Round Badge Gretsch drums, so he would talk a lot about those and the vintage sound going back to the old 3-ply as opposed to 6-ply.
Is there anything else you’d like to say, perhaps what you think is the role of the snare drum in a drum kit? Why have more than one snare drum?
I think it’s very important to see that the snare drum is kind of the focal point that the drummer is dealing with. They way you’re sitting, you’re two legs are encompassing the snare drum. Everything is built around that. The way you set your snare, you’ve got your high hat on this side, the bass drum on that side, the cymbals around you. Both of your hands, your legs, everything is centered around the snare drum. So it could be the most important piece of the kit. It’s a good subject to have. We’ve touched on everything else, the drum sets, books on cymbals, so yes, the snare is very important. I highly recommend having a good snare and having a foundation.
I would say as far as snare drums, all the drums seem to be in a general category because everybody is trying to improve on the product. Just like carmakers. Everything is improved and everything is kind of generally great if you think about it. You can customize anything. You and customize a Ludwig snare or Yamaha snare. All of these little independent companies are branching out - they really seem to be into detail and sound, and checking out the hoops and the bearing edges. So I just basically love all types of snare drums. It just depends on the application.
Do you tune your drum to the song or to the drum? What makes the drum sound good?
I tune it to the drum. I have a general sound, some general pitches. I even have some general notes. I will tune my snare to a G. G has been a general tuning note for me. I build everything around that G. It seems to have worked. They’re all in these different musics and styles that I’ve had the pleasure of playing with. So some tune in keys. Tony Williams tuned his drums in pitches and I deal with pitches too.
I would encourage everyone to check out jazz drummers because in jazz music there seems to be a great flexibility and a lot of rhythms that you can play as opposed to if you’re playing a pop song. You’re kind of limited. So jazz drummers really open my head up to the world of rhythm. I encourage people to check out jazz drummers and their snare drums and what they’re doing. With all the work that I’ve done, playing with a lot of people, I’m personally trying to concentrate on my own group, my own sound, my own recording. My group is called the Penland Polygon. Polygon means a many sided figure or having various angles and in my music I’m trying to play jazz and R&B and fusion and incorporate all of that out of the jazz tradition. So I’m going to be concentrating on doing that, my record, my music as well as free-lancing and playing with as many people as I can.”
Thank you for taking the time to share your insights and experiences. I look forward to hearing more from the ‘Penland Polygon”!
My pleasure.
Ralph will be remembered as the talented man who loved being behind the drums - a man with a huge smile, warm heart, and a gentle touch; forever being one with the music, never over-shadowing. Rest in peace and know that your legacy lives on.
The Buescher True-Tone Snare Drum
While surfing eBay a few months ago, I came across an auction titled “Rare vintage Buescher marching snare drum.” The drum was 4” X 16” and looked like it had a brass shell. Around the vent hole, there was some nice engraving: “The Buescher, Elkhart, IN” and the serial number, “14157.” It had metal (possibly nickel plated) over wood hoops and what appeared to be the original calfskin heads (the bottom head had “True-Tone, Buescher Band Instruments stamped on it). The tension rods and hooks (8) looked very similar to an early 1920’s Nokes and Nicolai “Double Tension Rod Orchestra Drum” (for pic, click here), where both heads can be tensioned simultaneously by turning the tension rods with a square-slotted wrench, i.e., this requires one side of each lug to be reverse threaded. As such, this would qualify as one of the early free-floating shell designs. The strainer appeared quite different though. It was a bit more primitive, with a dual scalloped tensioning screw attached to the top hoop leading to a trapeze-like, triangular cable snare mounting bar. A leg rest was welded to the bottom hoop. Other than some well-worn heads and a bit of tarnish, the drum looked in rather good shape for being somewhere around 90 years old.
I was amazed that no one was bidding on the drum. This was drum history and needed to be preserved. At least that’s the reason I gave to my wife when I bought it…
The story behind this drum begins with a man named Ferdinand August “Gus” Buescher (pronounced “Bisher”), born in Ohio on April 26, 1861; two weeks after Confederate forces fired upon Fort Sumter to start the American Civil War. Buescher worked for C. G. Conn in his band instrument factory from 1876-1894, rising to the ranks of foreman but clearly aspiring for something greater. In the fall of 1894, he opened up his own band instrument factory and metal shop on in Elkhart calling it the Buescher Manufacturing Company. In the preface of the Buescher catalogs, it is written: “… Ferdinand A. Buescher then a lad (then a young mechanic) in his early teens, started his career at the bench as an instrument maker. Gradually, his fame for exactness and fitness spread among professional musicians, and soon he opened a place of his own – just a little wooden shop in Jackson Street, Elkhart, Indiana.” Beuscher’s workplace motto was “Nothing is good enough that can be bettered.”
From Catalog 26 (1928), Buescher True Tone Band & Orchestra Instruments
In 1903, there was an unfortunate bank failure that put Buescher in an unfortunate financial position. One year later, he was forced to reorganize the business, restricting it to only producing band instruments, and renamed it the Buescher Band Instrument Company. In 1916 at age 55, Buescher sold a majority stake in his company to six wealthy businessmen. Ten years later, the Buescher Band Instrument Company was absorbed by the Elkhart Band Instrument Company (it is unclear if this was a merger or buyout). Andrew Beardsley, the president of Buescher, and Carl Greenleaf, the president of C. G. Conn, founded the Elkhart Band Company just three years before. Buescher resigned eventually in 1929 but stayed on as a consultant engineer. He died in Elkhart, Indiana on November 29, 1937 at the age of 76. Buescher’s legacy lived on, most notably in form of his TrueTone horns, which are highly collectible and sought after today. Unfortunately, his contributions to our drum heritage were not as well acknowledged, perhaps as they were eclipsed by Conn, Leedy and Ludwig.
One side note: the name Buescher seemed familiar to me but I couldn’t place it at first. George Way leased the Leedy factory building, originally known as the Buescher Building, in 1954 to start production for the George Way Drum Company. In 1963, Buescher was sold to H.A. Selmer, which later became Conn-Selmer, Inc. whose residence remains at 1119 N. Main Street in Elkhart today. So throughout the annals of drum history, the names Buescher, Conn, Leedy, Way and Conn-Selmer (Ludwig) have been connected.
So fast-forward to today and here I am with one of the only examples of a Buescher snare drum that remain. I contacted Harry Cangany and he had not seen one previously. I did my best to find any surviving copies of Beuscher Band Instrument catalogs to identify the drum more specifically. In the 1909 Buescher catalog (see picture), a “#100 True-Tone snare drum for band and orchestra” is shown as being available in either 6” X 16” or 8” X 16” sizes with “two finest calf-skin heads, hoops brass-capped, 16 solid brass tighteners with belt hook, knee rest and 12 waterproof snares.” The options included a “metal shell, highly polished brass” for $15.00.
Now my drum looks extremely similar to the 1909 version, but with subtle differences:
- Only 8 lugs (perhaps the other 8 were removed for convenience? These lugs are not fun to remove…or perhaps a subsequent 8-lug model?),
- 4” shell depth, although it is 6” if you include the hoops,
- Tthe thumb-screw for the strainer pictured appears to have only one scallop, whereas mine has two, and...
- The hoops are not brass capped but seem to be a nickel-plated metal.
According to on-line Buescher serial number guides, the drum (#14157) may have been manufactured between 1911-1912. I located a 1915 TrueTone Drums and Traps catalog at the Indiana Historical Society and found that the Buescher drums had since evolved to either thumb-screw tensioning or center-mounted lugs on the shell. Therefore, it seems plausible that this drum preceded 1915 and was a variant of the close relative pictured in the 1909 catalog. If anyone out there has a Buescher Drums and Traps catalog from 1910-1914, please let me know!
I hope this beautifully engraved Buescher snare drum and short narrative will help you remember Ferdinand Buescher and pass this information down to our next generation of drummers. Until next month, best wishes from this humble student of drum history…
The Engraved ‘Magnolia’ POCO NSMD Snare Drum
“Every Drum Tells a Story…”
This is the first of a monthly series of articles devoted to the story behind some memorable drums because ‘every drum tells a story.’ These drums are snapshots of history, and in many cases also works of art. Indeed, the pinnacle of craftsmanship. Drum history can often be personal, attached to a specific event or memory. It can also be one with provenance; an instrument which was played by a drummer of note. I find it is important to preserve these anecdotes so that a drum may be viewed and appreciated not only on its face value, but on the whole of what it represents. So in that vein, I started off writing about a drum which is indeed all of these things; a drum which I prize personally for the story of its making, the wonderful drummer who designed it, and the mastery of the craft of drum building.
The story begins around 1978 when Poco released their 13th album, Legend. The album produced several hits, including “Crazy Love” and “Heart of the Night”. I was 18 yrs old and playing in a cover band when the album came out. I loved playing in a band with 3-part harmonies and the sound of 12-string Ovation guitars. Our set list had a lot of Eagles, America, Grateful Dead, and soon Poco. The guys in the band gave me a copy of the Legend album and I loved it. The album had the outline of a stallion on the cover, the logo of Poco. I learned all of the songs on Legend and never got tired of playing them. To this day, from George Grantham to George Lawrence on drums, I have been a die-hard fan.
So fast-forward to 2011 (many bands later ☺)… Through my drum collecting and writing, I became acquainted with George Lawrence, the current owner of NSMD magazine and drummer for one of my favorite bands, Poco. Around 2012, George posted a pic of a NSMD black nickel-over-brass, 8” X 14” drum he had engraved with the Poco logo. I was awed by the drum (actually, I was salivating but that doesn’t sound too appealing). The engraving was superb, done by the one and only John Aldridge, the master engraver. The logo reminded of my earliest days at the drums playing those great Poco songs - I really wanted this drum! My opportunity came about a year later when George was looking to sell some personal items to finance the purchase of some property. I jumped at the chance to offer to buy George’s drum. To my surprise, George was willing to part with the drum. He had it drilled for tube lugs and a Dunnett throw-off as I requested. This took quite some time as George was quite busy with his many projects. But in the end it was worth the wait. Here was a drum that represented both my past and present, my admiration for Poco and George Lawrence, and my passion for drums as art. Oh and yes – the drum sounds great too! I’ve been going through a “deep drum” period, so I love the sound of an 8” deep snare.
BTW – John Aldridge told me recently that this was the first 8” drum he ever engraved. He said, “I liked the space so much I bought one to engrave myself, just haven't gotten around to it yet. In addition to this being the first 8x14 I engraved, it was also nerve wracking, as there were no holes to help space the patterns (Note: at this point, this was an undrilled shell). I usually use the lug and strainer holes to center the pattern. For this drum, I found the centers of the snare beds and marked them to give me a starting position. Then I taped together a strip of patterns that I'd drawn and digitized, until I had a strip of panels that circled the drum. I used my snare bed marks to center the butt and strainer panels, which then aligned the rest of the pattern strips around the shell. After that, it was just a day or two of cutting out those huge magnolia flowers. ” So this is my story about the wonderful “Magnolia”/Poco engraved NSMD snare drum.
It is also important to hear George’s tale of the ‘Magnolia” snare; which he shared with me recently:
“In the mid 2000’s, I was looking for a brand name drum company to buy, and wasn't having much luck. When the opportunity to buy ‘Not So Modern Drummer’ (a.k.a. NSMD) arose, I talked with John Aldridge about it. John was the original owner and editor of NSMD. I told him I wasn't really interested in buying a magazine business, but then he mentioned that the Not So Modern Drum Company was included. That swayed me, so I bought it from Bill Ludwig III in 2009. I sold only a few black nickel-over-brass engraved NSMD drums a year, and kept a demo of each size drum in stock. I planned on increasing the output at some point. Every time I would decide to keep an engraved drum for myself, I ended up having to sell it to a customer who did not want to wait for John to engrave another one. So in 2011, I asked John to engrave a personalized drum for me that I never intended to sell. I decided on an 8"x14" black nickel-over-brass model. I figured not too many drummers would be asking for a brass drum in that depth. I had John engrave my name, the state flower of my home state, Mississippi, - the magnolia- and one of the logos of the band I've been playing with for ten years - POCO. Magnolia was also the name of a J.J. Cale song that we performed frequently. The rest of the art I left up to John and he did his usual superb flowing lines that tied the stylized elements together.
The original Poco horse was drawn for Poco's Legend album by a famous comedian, the late Phil Hartman. Phil's brother, John, was Poco's manager. I had John Aldridge engrave an undrilled shell, knowing that I would be hesitant to drill into an already engraved shell (helping resist the urge to sell). I gave the drum the name "Magnolia". It sat in a special place on a shelf in my workshop and I considered it a piece of art that might not ever have hardware attached to it. In 2013, I found a great cash deal on some land in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, in the Smoky Mountains and need to raise money quickly to take advantage of it. I had always regretted selling the cabins that my family owned in that area and had recently decided that I wanted to build a vacation cabin there. So, I sold a lot of my rare instruments including this drum to pay for that land. I do not regret it for a moment and am glad that it was bought by a well known drum collector, Robert Campbell, who I know will value it for John's engraving and for the Poco history associated with it. It took me months to find undisturbed time to get it drilled and put together and I appreciated his patience…”
So off to find another drum, another story to tell, and a piece of drum history to share. See you next month!