DW Workshop Series

The Chicago Drum show in May was all I expected it to be. My only problem was I didn't have enough time to really dig in and see everything. My wife and I drove to our son and daughter-in-law's home in Charlotte on Friday. It was hard to sleep Friday night. I was extremely excited about going to the show on Saturday. My son and I started out early Saturday morning with a flight to Chicago. We rented a car and drove out to St. Charles to the fairgrounds where the show is held. I thought I would have plenty of time to see everything and visit with friends. There was so much to see and it was time to catch a plane back to Charlotte before I knew it. If I get to go back next year I will definitely plan to have more time. There were so many people there I wanted to talk to, and if I didn't get to speak to you, I'm sorry. I highly recommend that you go to a vintage drum show if you possibly can. Watch for announcements in the magazine for shows around the country.

The drum kit I want to feature this month is a beautiful set built by Drum Workshop. I know you are all familiar with the awesome drums this great drum company is making. The Collector Series is the flagship drums of Drum Workshop. They have the Aristocrat lugs like the ones made popular by George Way and Camco drums. Drum Workshop is built on the foundation of Way and Camco. The Workshop Series line of drums was the company's first attempt at a second line of drums. It was a set that was offered to the working and hobby drummer at a slightly better price, but still very high quality in every way. The most noticeable difference was the oval lugs instead of the round lugs. Another difference not so noticeable was the thin Keller shells without reinforcement rings. These drums sound fantastic. The first Workshop Series drums were limited in colors and sizes. That soon was scrapped because there were special orders for Workshop Series drums in special sizes and wraps. Drum Workshop officially only made the Workshops a couple of years, but continued to make them for special orders for quite some time.

The following information was gleaned from a drummer's forum. There was no name given, so I can't give proper credit. The facts are good and answers a lot of questions about these great drums.

BACKGROUND INFO ON THE DW WORKSHOP SERIES LINE:

"My drums are DW Workshop Series, made in the U.S. in 2000. There is much confusion surrounding this somewhat-rare line offered by DW.

I have read a lot of messages of people inquiring about DW Workshop series drums with most replies having bits and pieces of truth with some personal opinions thrown in. Lots of readers want to know about their quality and their price range. The Workshop series for the record were indeed 100% DW drums. They were manufactured in the USA (Oxnard), contrary to what some people have been stating. They were never made in Ensenada, Mexico. They were manufactured with what resembles the PDP lug to distinguish them from the Collector series.

They were built for only two years. They were made without reinforcement hoops, and were meant to be DW's good, mid-range product. Since they were just as expensive to manufacture as DW's Collector's Series, they were discontinued. Apart from that, they were favored by many DW endorsers in spite of the Collector's series.

They were DW's first go at manufacturing an American made "mass produced" set. They didn't offer the custom features like timbre matching and had limited finishes. The finishes were a high-gloss lacquered all-maple shell, or a Satin-Oil all-maple shell. The drums, aside from the different lugs, garnished authentic DW hardware as in the snare strainer. bass drum spurs and tom mounts. Again, 100% DW. DW dropped this line after about 2 years in production because they became too costly to produce, rivaling the production costs of their collector series, but they didn't carry the same retail price tag.

So with that, the line was scrapped in favor of the Pacific line. With the technology they gained making the Workshop series, they started to produce the PDP's in Taiwan. Pacific’s were not originally manufactured in Ensenada. DW chose to move the PDP line to Ensenada in the mid 90's to keep the costs down on the shipping tariffs from overseas and to be closer to the factory for quality control. But to state it one more time, the Workshop series was an American manufactured all-maple set. The sound is impeccable and they do not have the reinforcement ring for a broader sound, something DW is now offering (priced) on their Collector series sets. All the Workshop series drums have a DW badge with a serial number stamped on each shell stating "Made in the USA."

The Bottom Line Facts: These drums were "Made in the USA", with the same quality maple and parts that go into the Collector's Series drums. The only difference- apart from the differently-shaped lug housings, is that these have no reinforcement hoops. This difference is said to give them more sustain and a more open tone. I completely agree. I didn't buy these because they were less than the Collector Series: they just sounded better, more open, to me."

The toms on this kit I am featuring has a 10", 12" and 15" configuration. The bass drum is a thunderous 22"X18". The matching 14"X5" snare is also a very nice touch for this set. This set was obviously a special order and not a standard Workshop Series Kit. The tom sizes and the Ultra White Oyster wrap clearly had to be ordered. If you have a set of Workshop Series drums please comment. I live for your comments.

Hope you have a great Summer.

 

1935-36 Ludwig & Ludwig Silver Anniversary Black Beauty

By Mike Curotto


 

1935-36 LUDWIG & LUDWIG 6.5 x 14 SILVER ANNIVERSARY BLACK BEAUTY

Hi all,

Here’s another snare that I was able to add to the collection...fresh from the 2015 Chicago Vintage Drum Show. I got this drum from Joe Luoma, he had one to spare so we sealed the deal over the phone 3 weeks prior to the Show and culminated the deal at the Show. Thanks goes to Joe for helping me to add another cool and very rare drum to my collection. Joe’s drums are always pristine so this was an easy cleaning.

The SHELL:

The “sparse” later 1930s 10 pt. floral engraving pattern is clean and in good shape. The black nickel is also in good condition with some normal “freckling” that is to be expected on an 80 year old drum. I just gave the shell a minor cleaning with some lemon oil and all is good.

The HARDWARE:

Around 1932 Ludwig changed their Artgold (bright copper plating /gold lacquer) DeLuxe hardware option to Classic Gold (brass plating/ yellow gold lacquer). The Classic Gold on this snare drum was in very good condition and only needed a basic cleaning. The threads on the tension rods needed the most cleaning. One side of one of the tapped Imperial lugs was stripped but my good friend Al Schneider, The Drum Doctor, did his magic with a 12-24 Heli-Coil and as I’ve mentioned before, do not let stripped “Anniversary” lugs be a deal killer, there is a fix, a 12-24 Heli-Coil is the correct fix.

Of-the-era calf heads (note the tone control stamp on the top head) and James Snappi wires rounded out this simple cleaning.

Silver Anniversary Black Beauties are extremely rare, there are only 5 known at this writing and every one is different but I do realize that there is always the possibility that there are others out there. Be sure to weigh-in if you see or hear of another Silver Anniversary Black Beauty out there in vintage drum land.

Here’s a list of the 5 known Silver Anniversary Models:

  1. 5 x 14 gold plated Standard Model (Joe Luoma Collection)
  2. 5 x 14 gold plated Super-Ludwig Model (Joe Luoma Collection)
  3. 6.5 x 14 chrome plated Standard Model (Bun E. Carlos Collection)
  4. 4. 5 x 14 chrome plated Super-Sensitive Model (Mike Curotto Collection)
  5. 6.5 x 14 Classic Gold Standard Model (Mike Curotto Collection)

Enjoy!

 

1934-35 Slingerland Broadcaster

By Mike Curotto

Hi all,

Here's another one cleaned up and entered into the collection. I got this snare drum at the 2011 Chicago Show from our good friend and fellow collector, Mark Cooper of Cooper's Vintage Drums.

1934-35 SLINGERLAND 6.5 x 14 SPARKLING GREEN/ARTGOLD *BROADCASTER MODEL

*The Broadcaster Model was very short-lived so for those of you that may not be familiar with this model here is a short history and background data regarding the Slingerland Broadcaster Model. The following is from Rob Cook's Slingerland Book (first edition): "The Broadcaster was evidently a forerunner of the Radio King, the strainer is a very early Radio King style strainer and the lugs do not have inserts. (The tension rods thread directly into the lugs.) The muffler was the single-pad style Harold R. Dodd muffler." Thanks again to Rob Cook. I have also read that Slingerland was legally forced to discontinue using the word "Broadcaster" (with a "c") as the Fred Gretsch Co. had been using the name "Broadkaster" (with a "k") on their drums way before Slingerland and therefore the court ruled in favor of Gretsch that Slingerland's Broadcaster was too close sounding/looking to Gretsch's Broadkaster.

The Shell: The Sparkling Green wrap was in pretty good shape with very few of those black "cancer" spots that usually show up on these older Green Sparkle drums. I was able to get a few layers of age off of the wrap with my Maguire's cleaning/polishing regime and the Sparkling Green finish came back to life. The solid maple shell interior was also in good shape and only needed a very light cleaning. The cloud badge was tight and weathered the last 75+ years pretty well.

The Hardware: I'll call it Slingerland Artgold but the hardware finish on this snare drum really resembles the Ludwig & Ludwig Classic Gold (brass plating with gold lacquer) finish that L&L used on their early-mid 1930s Black Beauties. There was a lot of Artgold present but an equal amount of age and tarnish. I haven't figured out how to duplicate the Classic Gold finish yet so the decision was to leave the hardware as is and just do a simple cleaning with a light coat of gold lacquer to seal everything to prevent any further tarnishing. The 16 tension rods were not correct so I went to my stash and found the correct tension rods but these had to be brass plated, antiqued and lacquered. Thanks again to Les and Brian Hadnagy of Avenue Plating for the brass plating and antiquing. The threaded snare gates have the letter "A" stamped on the inside (not seen) part of the rim and gates. This is called a "manufacturer's cartouche", thanks to Slingerland expert Dr. Carl Wenk for that information. I'd love to know if those type of markings are under the riveted snare gates, feel free to send photos. The Slingerland Broadcaster engraving on the top rim is pretty faint but it is there. All in all, the "carpet matches the curtains" pretty well on this drum.

Of-the-era calf heads and extension wires rounded out this cleaning/restoration.

Enjoy!

 

1960s Gretsch Name Band

Greetings,

I have some great friends who love, collect, and play vintage drums. It is indeed a pleasure to share this common interest.

My editor has put harsh and undue pressure on us to get an article out in time for the Chicago Show. I'm kidding about the harsh and undue part. The editor is really a nice guy, and we all love him and appreciate what he does to get us out a magazine about our passion every month. If you don't think he is doing a great job, you should try to do it. I am hoping I can be at the Chicago Show this year so I can see all my collector friends, and share some time together looking at and hopefully buying some new "toys." Getting to know and keeping in contact with friends who love these old drums is one way to know about good deals for buying, and also it opens up contacts for selling your items when you want to or need to move something. I would much rather sell to a collector friend than ship a great drum off to who knows where. I am not knocking those who sell their drums out of the country, but once that Black Beauty leaves this country it's definitely gone for good. I will get some negative comments about this for sure.

The set I am featuring this month is a 1960s Gretsch Name Band set in blue sparkle. Sometimes I have to tell you why a set is cool, but I don't think I have to tell anybody how cool this kit is. The set is made up of : 20"X14" bass drum, 16"X16" floor tom, 13"X9" ride tom and a very cool 14"X5" matching snare drum. The snare has eight lugs and the Micro-Sensitive strainer. An alternative 22"X14" bass drum was also available in the PX4015 Name Band set 1961-1976. These drums sound great. The shells are six ply with silver sealer inside. The blue glass glitter finish is still very strong and vibrant on these fifty plus years old drums. It is a joy to own and play an old "round badge" Gretsch drum set from around this era. The die cast hoops and distinctive hardware give them a distinct look. What I would call a timeless classic look. They are truly beautiful.

I was saying how great it is to have friends who also share an interest in vintage drums. I bought this drum set from Bill Pace many years ago when I was just starting out collecting. One of my oldest and best "drum friends" is Bill Pace from Forsyth, Georgia. I have been friends with Bill for a long time, and I can truly say with all our drum trading he has always been fair with me. I have tried to do the same with all my drum trading as well. We need to have some ethics and deal with people in accordance with the "golden rule." You know that one, right? "Tell all the issues with the drum to others as you would have them tell all the issues to you." I know you do that already because you don't want a negative feedback. In the old days the only negative feedback was you got a bad name if you didn't deal fairly. Bill is quite a character though. He will work hard to get a good price selling his drums, but he will work even harder to get your drums at a good price.

The funny thing about this set I am showing you is it was bought by Bill at a pawn shop. When he bought the set the floor tom I now have with the set was not with them, instead the set had a MIJ 16"X16"" blue sparkle floor tom. It was a Jet model drum. When Bill bargained with the poor owner of the pawn shop he really focussed on the Jet floor tom. He acted so disappointed that the set didn't match etc. etc. etc. The set was sold for a lower price because of Bill's whining. He sold me the set as a "One Nighter Plus" which was listed in the catalog without the floor tom. I later added the floor tom I now have to make the set a "Name Band" outfit.


We come from the land down under - Australia’s Drouyn & Drouyn Drum Company (1928-1990)

by Tony Moore

When we think of vintage or classic drums, great drum makers, innovators, pioneering drum companies - those giants of our drum history, the founders of the inheritance that we now enjoy, those innovations and the men and women who made them - only a handful of people would know to include Australia's Drouyn & Drouyn drum company. Even less would know of their chief designer, engineer, innovator and drum maker, the great George Meacham.

For this, my first article for Not-so Modern Drummer, I'd like to introduce or reintroduce many of you to Australia's first drum manufacturer, the much loved Drouyn & Co. Drum Company, fondly known simply as ‘Drouyn’.

Midnight oil, The Easy Beats, The Penny Rockets, The Jonny O’Keefe band, Max Merritt and The Meteors, Billy Thorpe, Stevie Wright, Kings of the Sun, Skyhooks, Matt Finish and numerous other Australian bands and artists know of that world-class quality and unique sound. Freddie Strauks, Rob Hirst, Johnny Dick, Clifford Hoad and Drouyn’s official endorsees such as: Bobby Bell, Vincent ‘Nutty’ Cook, Bob Forman, Des McCreath, Tommy O’Connor, John Osborne, Tommy Spencer, Barry Sutton, Max Sweeney, The Shaws Band, Bob Watson, Neil Wilkinson and Al Vincer, all knew that DANDY magic.

Not a drum in sight [well almost]

Drouyn and Drouyn were first founded in 1927 with the signing of a tenancy agreement by sibling musicians Douglas (Doug) and Dorothy Drouyn, who subsequently opened a small music store situated at 187 George Street Brisbane City Australia. Both Doug and Dorothy were avid performers and with growing social status and rapport from playing in dance band concert halls, ballrooms, including Brisbane’s famous Cloudland in the forties, and their appearance on local Radio station 4BK. They quickly established a regular clientele who valued their currency of style, quality, satisfaction and trust.

Commencing business in 1929, originally selling basic music supplies, music books and orchestra music, they quickly moved into drum repairs, importing drums and quality temple blocks, as well as manufacturing custom piano accordion and guitar cases. Doug, an accomplished saxophonist, saw a market and quickly diversified into selling woodwind and other instruments, providing customers in-house servicing and repairs.

By the early1930s Drouyn's expanding business included other products, services and sales - notably Ludwig drums and banjos, National Silver guitars, Paolo Soprani, Rita Livio and Adamo piano accordians, Bulscher saxophones and trumpets, Boehm and 'D Noblet (Paris) Clarinets - winning a publicized 'First Order of Merit Award' at the 1930s Royal National Show for their musical instruments display.

A distinguished man of principle, Douglas Lewis Drouyn felt that treating people respectfully deserved his personal guarantee.

Introducing George Meacham

By 1935 Drouyn and Drouyn had become Australia’s largest stockist of Accordions. The masterstroke came when Douglas Drouyn hired all-round, inventor, engineer, manufacturer, designer and friend, Mr George Meacham.

George started with Drouyn and Drouyn in 1937, and I’m certain that Drouyn drums would never have been if it was not for this brilliant, servant-like and humble man. He lovingly serviced client’s instruments, repaired broken bits and manufactured things that just didn’t exist. During the early formative years, George’s talents for everything pioneered the Drouyn and Drouyn Music House, right down the pathway towards manufacturing. With the addition of George and other key- staff, such as Maurice Hinds - who joined in 1943 - Doug had assembled a team with the skills and desire to create, copy and innovate.

Drouyn’s Music House had fast become the go-to experts in musical instrument repairs, and Australia’s premier instrument repairer, servicing military instruments and imported drums such as Leedy, Slingerland, Noble and Cooley, early Ludwig etc. For many years Drouyn‘s would carve out a specialty musical instruments sales and repair business that expanded to custom case manufacture, in-house parade drum manufacture, instrument modifications and an expanding new musical instruments catalogue.

This period repairing other manufacturers drums was essential in providing George and his team the skills, know-how and confidence to step into the drum manufacturing market. The early Drouyn-made drums were mostly military or elementary school parade drums, of which known examples clearly demonstrate the chain of improvements and advances that led to later models, advances and successes.

 Building the Brand

Soon business began to expand nationally, attracting and pursuing distribution agreements for Dandy drums, building beneficial retail and distributor relationships and uncovering fresh opportunities to expand and open into new markets.

A good example of Doug’s business-savvy acumen and far-reach is evidenced in how his distributers supported the DANDY brand in their advertising. Shown is an ad published in a Western Australia newspaper in February 1942, for the musical instruments wholesalers and distributers - this advertisement features three Dandy parade drums: The Sergeant Major (14” x 14”); The Grenadier (28” x 11”); and The Sturdy (14” x 6”). All of which became a staple of their manufacture.

Paper Badge Drums and that D.AN.DY name

The Musgrove’s advertisement provides the first of two clues that identify distinct periods of Drouyn’s drum making. The obvious clue I have called Drouyn's 'paper badge' drums. Drouyn's 'Paper Badge' drums represent a period of Drouyn’s history between the late 30's and late 40’s/ early 50's, where Drouyn first intentionally branded and marketed a range of drums which they fondly named D.AN.DY.

The brand name DANDY is actually a partial acronym, which can be first observed from the subtle full stops between the first 'D' and A, and also the 'N' and second 'D'. The first 'D' is short for Doug and the second D is short for Dorothy; the 'AN' is an abbreviated inference for 'and' - as-in Doug and Dorothy – with the 'Y' complementing the early 1900's expressions and meanings of the word 'dandy' as being stylish and fashionable, or "an excellent thing of its kind".

The second clue, is inferred or deducted from the first. I have on record or archive the details of hundreds of Drouyn made drums,
collected over 30 years, which testify and highlight the many very-early drums made by Drouyn, which had no badges (not even paper ones). They had no numbers or date-related markings, or other intentional identifiers of their age. These drums were early forms or developmental variations of the later DANDY paper badge drum shell, hoop, tension systems and lug designs. Pre paper badge drums cannot normally be dated specifically, but otherwise grouped into a date range and then within this range, ranked in order of early versions to later ones based on known manufacturing changes and advances or modifications to the drum line.

Numbering, or serial numbers came later for Drouyn. As manufacturing transitioned from ad hoc or demand based to more intentional marketed drum manufacturing, these processes required serial numbers for tracking through the manufacturing process and also for department stores and retailers to receive and stock take Dandy items.

In brief, both the pre-paper badge and the paper badge drums were often made from a new (at the time) product called masonite. Masonite is a reconstituted fibrous hardwood sheet-based product, which 50 years later would be used by Premier in their XPK kits. Ironically, Masonite, like Remo’s Acousticon, has great acoustic properties and adds both economical and tonal value to it use.

These early Drouyn masonite drums were generally fitted with steam bent reinforcement rings of varying local timbers and utilized a rope and tag, or DIY styled post and rail lug tension systems, or hoop to hoop tuning. These systems and tension assemblies were very similar to Leedy's drums of that period. All drums had steam bent wood hoops, and in house fabricated brass soldered metal components which were nickel plated and fastened with off the shelf whitworth fasteners and washers.

The shell finish was a hand painted finish, similar to enamel paint with the hoops more ornate or regal in appearance. A paper badge was fixed with glue and shellacked over to finish. Drums were fitted with calf or kangaroo skin heads, lapped in house and tuned prior to dispatch.

Drouyn's pre-paper badge history is extensive and difficult to excavate. Their paper-badge history was relatively short, for with increasing sales and growth came opportunities to build purpose built machinery and add other touches such as brass name plates.

The Roaring Forties - When the Drums Began to Bloom

This period from the mid 1940s and to the late 1950s marks a point in Drouyn's history where Drouyn & Drouyn's Music House transitioned from musical instrument servicing, piano tuning and repairs, retailer - of even radios - to drum products manufacturing giant.

One advertisement states:
“Not Just Drums-but GOOD DRUMS!”.

It highlights their growth and advancement from earlier paper-badge drum tensioning systems to something more intentional. In doing this, Doug and Dorothy nailed their flag to the mast and said:

WE MAKE DRUMS - GOOD DRUMS

It was this intentional focus that would open the next door towards success.

A Drum - by another name - is still a Drouyn: Allans, Suttons, DANDY, Stradivarius, Nicholson and Drouyn.

As exclusive Australian importers and distributers of many musical products, Doug and Dorothy had developed supply channels with Australia’s retail giants, such as:

  • Australia’s oldest music retailer Allans Music – Melbourne Victoria established in 1850 by Joseph Wilkie and George Allan;
  • Suttons Music Store - Ballarat Victoria, established in 1884 by Alfred Sutton;
  • The Stradivarius Instrument Co. - Adelaide, South Australia; and
  • Nicholson & Co. - Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane & Perth, which was established in 1878. 
Drouyn’s reputation for quality and sound, had established DANDY drums as a clear leader.

With a solid product and increasing demand and respect from drummers, these major retailers and speciality musical instrument suppliers commissioned Drouyn and Drouyn to manufacture DANDY drums under their own respective trading names and brand.

Pictured are nine of the known badges that Drouyn & Co. manufactured under. So with much badge confusion, it had been a long held puzzle how these different brands fit into the Drouyn story - if they were related or belonged at all.

In brief, all of the above drums, regardless of badge, were identical in manufacture, both inside and out, with only the badge changing. This was a great business concept because with every Drouyn made drum sold, regardless of the badge, their lug design, sound and classic look built the brand name Drouyn & Drouyn.

So yes! the numbers have it, all nine of the drums pictured were manufactured by Drouyn between 1929 and 1990, including the pre-paper badge or badgeless drums.

Drouyn's Serial Numbers Theory. Do the numbers have it?

There are many mysteries, beliefs and theories about Drouyn drums. It appears that whenever there is an absence of information, we tend to want to fill it with a story or try to make sense of it. Instead of just letting the drums speak for themselves we tend to speak on their behalf. I have been researching, gathering and analysing this material over the last twenty years, and the drums are beginning to speak.

With out giving the plot away, the numbers (from top to bottom) simply mean: Serial, Job and Model. The most popular belief, is that the first two numbers of the Job number, which is the middle set of numbers, reflects the year of manufacture. So, 5801 would be manufactured in 1958; the 5617 would be 1956; and so on.

Records indicate that Drouyn used the same stamping system from the 1950s until the 1980s, when a new stamp was suddenly introduced. Shown is the stamp of a drum made in March 1987, which was only 23 months before Drouyn and Co. was deregistered. You can see that a new stamp was used, and has the following titles under the 1965 Drouyn snare drum and stand logo at top:

• SIZE
• MODEL
• SERIAL No
• VENEER
• DATE
• OFFICIALS (though not sure)

It is a cue, although subtle, which indicates indecisiveness and a lack of the same confidence that saw Drouyn drums roaring in the forties, flying in the fifties and swing in the early sixties. Late adoption of new manufacturing systems, few new products or product advancements, poor management and no succession plan to replace the aging and retiring highly experienced drum makers was uncharacteristically Drouyn. This gives clue to factors that will later prove to be the determinants that lead to the slow drawn out death of the Drouyn & Co. But first, let’s celebrate the swinging sixties.

All Systems are Go!

The early sixties marked a great year in Drouyn’s history. Following the loss of his much loved sister Dorothy in 1954, Doug took some time to refocus. The success of the Dandy paper-badge drums in the 40s and early 50s had given Doug the means to grow the business, to change with the times and seek out new opportunities.

The establishment of Drouyn House, aka the Drouyn Drum Factory, at 382 Logan Rd, Stones Corner Queensland was the most significant investment in success as it gave the Drouyn team the ability to make high quality drums more efficiently. The tightly packed factory was a hive of manufacturing and production activities as this Australian Drum Making marketing depicts.

Steered by the guarantee of Doug and Dorothy in the early days - their business brand DANDY, was always built on style, world-class quality and sound, but also the belief that “...every satisfied customer, is our best advertisement.”

In 1958, Drouyn & Co. Pty Ltd. was registered as a company - a decision that would prove essential to secure later lucrative government contracts - and saw the way forward. From the mid 50s the brass plate DANDY drums had carved a niche and proved world class by famous Australian drumming greats and visiting drummers. So it was time for Drouyn to declare it and to let the world know about DANDY drums.

In 1960, Drouyn and Drouyn released their DANDY DRUMS catalogue, a twenty page catalogue featuring four snare drum models, four bass drum models, nine floor tom and tom tom, models including timbales, concert toms and bongos, thirty eight accessories and hardware items, all made in-house.

What is most remarkable about Drouyn’s DANDY drums catalogue, is that almost 98% of these items were made within the four walls of their Stones Corner factory. Vellums were lapped, lugs cast, hardware made, tension rods, fittings, stands, snare wires, pedals, springs, hoops, wood blocks, claves, felts - almost everything was manufactured in house, with chromium and raw material such as veneers, metal and vellums, being the only few items and/or processes outsourced. This would be a feat that, todays custom drum builders would be hard pressed to achieve even with all the technological advances
and ease of manufacture. Back in the 50s, it all had to be invented.

Their retail success, service, quality and respected prominence on the music and military scenes, particularly with the success and growth of their school and parade drum programs positioned Drouyn & Co for some very big achievements.

 The world’s most expensive drums: RAN Silver Drums

Drouyn’s peak achievement, both personally for George and Drouyn as a business, was in 1958 with the commissioning by the Australian Federal Government to manufacture the world’s most expensive drums made entirely from solid sterling silver.

This commission was to commemorate the Royal Australian Navy’s 50th anniversary on 10 July,1961. Each drum, on completion, was presented to their respective States and Territories from December 1963. Their first collective official appearance was at The British Military Tournament and Tattoo, Sydney Show grounds during September and October 1964. These drums, including the badges, lugs, hoops, tension rods, washers, screws, snare mechanisms and claws and T-rods are all solid silver. Valued at over 1.5 million dollars, the world’s most expensive set of drums are encased for public display, housed in a secured purpose built display cabinet on a fortified Naval facility on an island in Sydney harbour.

The new Era: Simply ‘Drouyn’

It was almost as if Doug knew that Drouyn drums were going to be a big deal when he made it into a company in 1958. The 60s saw massive growth and accomplishment, with the increasing sales, revenues and fame, all made possible by their premises in Stone Corner, affectionately know as ‘the Factory’ .It was other wise officially known as ‘Drouyn House’.

Following Doug’s death in 1964, a complete badge change occurred, the badge I call their ‘tear- drop’ badge, which simply says ‘Drouyn’. It’s not known if both Dandy and the new teardrop badge drums were made at the same time for a period. There certainly was an ability to special order a matching DANDY badge drum, but details are unclear here. Regardless, in 1965 Drouyn’s released a new catalogue, had dropped the DANDY badging, and ran out numerous models of teardrop badged Drouyn drums, some shown here as their ‘Big 5 compacts’. These were budget models and concept kits to capture the ambitious young drummer.

There were three new models of ‘Ambition’ bass drums: B206 22” x 14” with 16 individual lugs; the B207 20” x 14” with 16 individual lugs; and the B208 18” x 14” with 12 individual lugs. What is unique about these models were the triple flange metal bass drum hoops, the swing away bass drum spurs, and a "conversion clamp which attaches to the steel countertop for use with normal foot pedal and the finest plastic heads”. So, in essence this was an early version of a modern day floor tom conversion bass drum set up. They even made triple flanged 22”x14”, 20”x14” and 18”x14” shallow converted floor tom-like bass drums that featured a steel tom hoop to bass drum pedal conversion clamp and fold away bass drum spurs to replace the floor tom legs, model numbered respectively the B206, B207 and B208. Quite amazing really.

In addition to the Big 5 compacts, Drouyn also introduced a dozen new custom finishes; a 14” x 5” Aluminum S100 snare drum, which is an amazing sounding drum, a professional 14” x 5” timber version S101 featuring their “Ultracoustic” shell; and a 14” x 8” concert drum, all with their own custom in house snare wires, snare mechanisms, metal shells, hoops, and lugs. But due to the volume and mechanization advances, they now outsourced tension rods and a few other high volume and specialist parts.

Another addition to the Drouyn difference was their cannon bass drums. Their standard models were a 22” x 17” the B203; a 20” x 16” the B204 and the B205 an 18” x 16” deep drum. In addition Drouyn made, 22” x 22” deep bass drums. Their largest bass drum was a concert bass drum and was 60 inches in diameter.

Brady drums and Drouyn - ‘by George!’

With the establishment of the factory in Stones Corner, Brisbane, Australia in the 50s, drums had became the primary enterprise for Drouyn and Drouyn.

George was tasked with designing, engineering and mechanizing the production process. He made the molds to produce the drum shells as a female mould with a fixed outside diameter, and also settled on the drum shell design and it’s construction. Like a stroke of brilliance and against the trend of drum manufacturers at the time, George came up with what is now known as a horizontally applied veneer drum shell, or HAV for short.

The difference in construction between plywood and veneers is considerable. A plywood shell - with beech reinforcement rings, similar to Ludwig, Slingerland, and Leedy is made from a flat sheet of three or four plies which are several layers of x-laminated veneer. X-laminating is used to make ply wood stiff and flat. The ply wood is then bent into a cylinder and held there by steam bent hoops and glue. Sheet ply saves time and money in construction, as there is less labour involved to laminate the veneers into a sheet of ply first, but it puts immense tension on the shell, physically pulling the ply sheet back to flat.

Most drum shell manufacturers to the masses, such as Keller shells, still use x-laminated plywood in their shells, but combine the construction process with thinner outer veneers, multiple inner ply sheets and/or a thicker core ply or veneers to reduce the need for reinforcement rings. On shells such as Drum Workshop supply, plywood reinforcement rings are only really decorative, though they do change the sound a little. Keller shells are generally made from plies of two or three veneers and co laminated together, hence the 5, 6, 8 and 10 ply shells.

A veneer shell, as opposed to a plywood shell, is made with individual veneers, usually thicker; 1-2mm, which have little tension or torsion when formed into a cylinder. Furthermore, when horizontally applied, there is no need for cross laminating. The result is a super strong solid shell that resembles the tonal qualities of being one solid piece of timber.

Manufacturers such as Gretsch, with their Jasper shells, and Rogers clearly understood the limitations and counter productive impacts that plywood and reinforcement ring construction has on the quality, sound and performance of a drum. They constructed drums by laminating less rigid plywoods and using veneers within a mould, whereby the glue, not the reinforcement ring, held the drum in round.

George Meacham was an astute and discerning engineer and musician. He too could hear the benefits to the tone that single veneers introduced. He understood the physics and interplay of each component and how to extract the best from his materials and tools, and so he had a new solution or method to make drum shells.

George’s point of difference was to use three, four, or five 2mm thick single veneers and laminate them together in a horizontal method, scarf jointed to fit the diameter of the drum. This horizontally applied 3 to 5 veneer drum shell - meaning no cross-laminated veneers or plywood - would be a world first, and George was the inventor and pioneer. However, Chris Brady, of Brady drums Australia in 1988 would claim to be the pioneer of this revolutionary method some 40 years later.

16 feet of wood wrapped into a drum makes 60 Inches of Thunder and 52kg of boom! - The Largest Drum in the Southern Hemisphere.

In 1980, lead percussionist Brian Sadique of the Western Australian Symphony Orchestra decided that 42 inches was not enough and they wanted more. Drouyn & Co. were commissioned to build the drum and met the challenge with pride, skill, innovation and excitement.

Made of Queensland Coachwood and Yellowbean, this 22mm thick shell was made up of 5 solid pieces of 4.3mm thick timber steam bent, glued and clamped into the mold. This big whopper debuted to the bellows of Mahler’s Symphony #2 in front of Perth Music Festival attendees. However, it’s not just the big achievements that make Drouyns legendary. It’s the in house innovation and can do attitude that truly separates them out as the real deal.

A drum rack like no other: well before its time

One example which demonstrates the innovative and bespoke engineering that the Drouyn team were capable of is their drum rack circa early 1950s, as evidenced in the tooling and ideas used at that time. Inspired by old school drum consoles and the growing need for drummers to have one of everything, I can only imagine some DANDY drummer rolling into the factory and saying to George, ‘hey cobber, do you think you can make something to do this?’... and George, looking over his glasses would say ‘I’ll see what I can do’.

A simple yet brilliant idea of two collapsible semi circles, one in front of the bass drum and the other attached by a hinge clamp suspended over the bass drum supported by two drop down legs makes this drum rack fold up to be carried in one hand. The fittings were all hand made in-house and stamped with a ‘D’ for Drouyn. Each clamp had a different function and form to facilitated suspended toms, cymbals and percussion instruments, like skulls, wood blocks and triangles. The front center bar, was also ingeniously fitted with an external bass drum mute for the resonant head and a floor spike at the bottom to stop sliding bass drums.

Sleishman Drums and Drouyn

Don Sleishman, another remarkable drum innovator, looked for local Australian made drum shells to fill his resonant suspension system. Early Sleishman drum sets used unbranded Drouyn made drum shells. Don’s proto type kit serial numbered ‘1’ (Circa 1981) features solid Rose Alder HAV drum shells made by Drouyn and Drouyn.

The End

The 80s was a bad period for Drouyn. With a passion and love for Drouyn drums inherited from my dear Grandfather Eric who sold them from the Salvation Army trade department store and also my Uncle Ray a drummer and drum educator, I frequented the Drum Factory often. It was a 2 hour train and skate board ride from my home on the North side of Brisbane.

In 1987, having saved the necessary money to purchase a brand new Drouyn drum set, I called the factory several times leaving message after message with no response. On a few occasions I would speak to Doug’s daughter, Lois, who managed the business. I knew her and she knew me. She would tell me that they were very busy, didn’t have time to quote new work and that she would have to get back to me.

One Saturday morning, having spoken with Lois on the phone numerous times without result, I rocked up to order my brand new dream kit. The set consisted of 10”x6.5, 12”x7.5”, 14”x9” tom toms, 14”x15.5” & 16”x18” floor toms with a 22”x22” cannon bass and 14”x5.5” matching snare, all in bright white and made from an Australian timber called camphor laurel or Queensland Maple. Having discussed the order with Lois and extracting a price guide, all was ready to go but ultimately I could not get Lois to engage with the order and take my money.

Somewhere between Doug and Dorothy’s client satisfaction guarantee and subsequent successes of the 40s, 50s and 60s, and my unsatisfactory experiences of the 80s, Drouyn’s lost their way, or lost the passion, love and care for the people and players who love their products. Drouyn & Co. sold the Drouyn tear drop badge models right up until the late 80s when the drum makers retired and the business failed to reinvent itself or change with the times.

As it turns out, analysing reconstructions of the dozens of times that I visited and hung out at the factory, and from conversation with long term drouyn customers and staff, I saw the signs of dissatisfaction and the beginning of the business’s demise. I saw dwindling production, with dusty unused machines more dormant than alive. I saw the potential of the future defeated by the volume of cheap imports and increasing competition. Importantly, I saw little effort to advertise or build the brand of Drouyn or run a business to success.

As such with significant business complications and a lack of leadership and direction, Drouyn’s mastery, innovation and contributions to the world of drum making began to depart first with the death of Douglas Drouyn and with the retirements of George and Maurice. The factory, under Lois’s control existed as almost a memorial to what had been, sustained from incomes of the leased shops at the front of Drouyn House.

In March 1990 DROUYN & CO. PTY LTD was deregistered. In August 2012 the property was force to sell and sold for 1.3 million. The Drouyn factory and up stairs offices were gutted and all drum related stock, materials, machinery and memorabilia were relocated or disposed of with only a few leads left to follow.

So as the Men at Work song goes:
"We come from the land down under, where the drum-rolls silver, they’re big, and they thunder. Can you hear? – can you hear that thunder? Drouyn drums - Drouyn drums - We came from the land down under.”

I'd like to thank Not So Modern Drummer for the opportunity to present to the world one of the most organic drum companies of their time. It’s my hope that one day Drouyn drums will be able to stake its claim to innovations, ideas, production and manufacturing techniques. Maybe that will establish the designers and drum makers of Drouyn drums, as equal to the drum greats such as George Way, Leedy, Slingerland, Ludwig and our other loves.

Best regards - happy hunting

Tony Moore - MPPP [current], MBA, GradCertLegStudies, BA Behavioural Science (Psychology) and Trade qualified Cabinetmaker and occasional drum maker.

Tony is an Australian Politician (un-elected), Author, Drouyn drums historian and Professional Drummer.

 

Slow Death of Attrition: The Third Corps

Maker: Increase Blake Dated: 1839 Dimensions: 13.75” (h) x 16” (dia.)

Before the outbreak of the Civil War the largest standing organization of troops in the Union Army was defined by the regiment, which at full strength was usually a bit over 1000 men and officers and comprised of 10 companies. The large scale battles which became distressingly apparent following the battle of First Bull Run/ First Manassas, in July 1861, necessitated the need for larger formations of troops to combat Southern resistance. At this point, the largest of these organizations became defined by the division, which was made up of 2-6 brigades, each comprised of 2-6 regiments. By the beginning of 1862, Union officials had put in motion plans to combine 2-4 divisions into corps formation. In March of 1862, five corps were formed and eventually combined into the Army of the Potomac.

There were four U.S. Army corps designated as the Third (III) Army Corps: Three of which were extremely short lived. These were the Army of Virginia, June-September, 1862; the Army of the Ohio, September-October, 1862; and the Army of the Cumberland, October-November, 1862. Each of these short lived organizations numbered the member corps according to its own existence, a practice that was discontinued as the War moved forward and troop formations became more standardized. The 3rd Corps of the Army of the Potomac was a two year affair and one of fame and glory, as well as the topic of our discussion.

What became the 3rd Corps of the Army of the Potomac, along with four other corps, was formed on March 13, 1862, by authorization of Abraham Lincoln under the direction of General George McClellan. It was immediately ordered to join McClellan’s Peninsular Campaign in Virginia. On the morning of April 30, the Corps had an aggregate of 39,710 (including non-combatants), with 64 pieces of light artillery; 34,633 reported as “present for duty.” However, this aggregate was very short lived due to many issues, not to mention the bullets of the enemy. Amongst the more famous units of the 3rd Corps were the Kearny Division, Hooker’s Division, the Excelsior Brigade, and the Second Jersey Brigade. The Corps found itself in the forefront of many of the battles of the Army of the Potomac, resulting in horrific casualty numbers and ever-lasting fame.

Of the many bragging rights to come from the 3rd Corps, one of the most enduring was the “corps badge.” During the summer of 1862, Major General Phillip Kearny had the officers of his brigade wear red squares of cloth on their hats to distinguish them from other units. The soldiers of the rank and file volunteered to do the same as a matter of unit pride. When Major General Joseph Hooker assumed command of the Army of the Potomac on January 26, 1863, he issued an order for all corps divisions to have colored badges for identification. He assigned Major General Daniel Butterfield, Chief of Staff, to the task of designing a distinctive shape for each corps. Each division of the corps should have a different color of the corps badge for further identification. Since most corps were comprised of three divisions, the colors were red, white, and blue, respectively.

The 3rd Corps of the Army of the Potomac received the diamond as the shape of its badge. As can be seen, this drum has the remnants of a faded, large red diamond painted on the shell, identifying it to the 1st Division, 3rd Corps. This red diamond was obviously added to the drum in the field, most likely by the drummer himself. The red diamond is surrounded by ten white, five pointed stars, which may have been hand painted on the shell at the time the diamond was added to fill out the decoration and draw attention to the distinctive Corps badge.

The adorning façade is flanked on both sides by vertical rows of brass tacks used to reinforce the scarf joint of the 1/8”thick maple shell. The outer lap of the scarf joint was initially held tight by natural glue and a row of small, hand-cut iron nails set intermittingly between the tacks. In the center of it all is a small vent hole that is reinforced by a pewter grommet, indicating the early origins of the drum’s birth.

Inside the shell, top and bottom, are two very stout maple “stay” or “glue” rings, measuring 5/16” thick and 3/4” high. Both rings are butt joined and held tight by glue and small hand cut iron nails. The bottom edge of the shell features a rough, hand carved snare bed that works in conjunction with the period, hoop-mounted brass “clam-shell” style snare adjuster.

Inside the shell, directly opposite the vent hole is what’s left of the original paper maker’s label indicating the drum was made by Increase Blake, of Farmington Falls, Maine. The label reads: “ St[a]te Drums, / [Man]ufactured B[y] / In[c]rease Blake. / Farmington Falls, Me. / [1]839.” Although legible, this label has seen better days. Increase Blake was known to make drums through the 1840’s in his small shop. Many of his drums were in use by the militia of the day and several were pressed in to service during the Civil War. As a result of the times and his being a small maker of drums, it makes sense to speculate that up to and including the Civil War, the units carrying his drums would be Maine units.

The maple counter hoops were in good shape and measure 5/16” thick and are 3/4” high and painted black. Showing through the black paint is what remains of a former red paint as the hoops may have been repainted at one point or another. Of curious note is that of the ten rope holes in each counter hoop, the pattern of the holes is the most inconsistent of any pattern thus seen. It makes absolutely no sense from a drum making perspective, as can be seen from the final roping. The holes seem to have been drilled helter-skelter with no respect to measuring what-so-ever.

The restoration took a little more thought than most as the temptation to replace the aged and damaged heads had to be considered carefully. The bottom snare skin is covered with partially obscured, painted handwriting that indicates possible names or places, and that the drum once belonged to a drum corps from somewhere in Massachusetts, as well as other illegible and shrouded information. It was decided to preserve the skins until better forensic tools are available to determine the content hidden by the decades.

Roping the drum took more thought than usual, but, came out just fine using period-style linen rope. Four new gut snares, a leather snare butt, and one leather rope washer were also needed. It was decided to use Civil War era rope stays or “ears” as opposed to the square style stays that would normally have been used when the drum was first constructed in 1839. This decision was made as the most important feature of the drum was its use in the 3rd Corps of the Civil War era.

The year 1863 was an extremely destructive period for the 3rd Corps as it was in the very thick of the major operations of the Army of the Potomac. It started the year with over 17,000 men, including non-combatants. In each of the Battles of the Chancellorsville and Gettysburg campaigns, loses surmounted 4200 men. With continuously mounting casualties, expiring enlistments and desertion adding to the mix of depletion, the Corps was drastically being reduced despite new recruits and the addition of a third division. By the beginning of 1864, it was becoming apparent that the attrition eating away at them was curtailing the effectiveness of the organization to operate within the larger Army.

On March 23, 1864, the War Department ordered the discontinuance of the 3rd Corps along with that of the 1st Corps, and the amalgamation of the constituent units of these two corps with the 2nd, 5th, and 6th Corps. The order was very much resented by many of the soldiers of these two units. As a result of much of this resentment, the former troops of the 3rd and 5th Corps were thus permitted to wear their old corps insignias as cap badges.

Only about a half dozen drums with the old corps badges painted on them are known to exist, ranking them very high on the rarity scale. The corps badge became a symbol of extreme pride among the men who proudly displayed them and carried them from the battlefield and on to the many functions, gatherings and reunions of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR). They are also highly prized and sought after by former and current collectors of the genre. This beautiful relic of our American past stands as a constant reminder of the slow death of attrition faced by not only the average citizen soldier in the ranks of the “Late Unpleasantness,” but, by those many brave and noble fellows that chose a drum as their weapon of choice on that of most deadly stages.

From Lancaster County, PA…..Thoughts from the Shop.

Brian Hill

 

1929 5x14 Ludwig & Ludwig Rose Pearl Standard-Sensitive Model

 I love the Rose Pearl description by L&L: "Rose 'Pearl' is a red hot finish for red hot drummers. It has the zipp (sic), and the Pep, and is just what the collegiate chap has been looking for. Rose 'Pearl' looks best with DeLuxe rods....Prepare for that better job by getting a set of new Ludwig 'Pearl' drums.

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Vintage Drums, Legendary Sounds

Between 1967 and 1972, Premier experimented with lots of different fittings and mounts on their drum sets; as discussed previously, many kits in circulation today don’t match catalogue sets as they are made up from shells and fittings from different models. One can usually determine the era of a set, but generally drums from this period are a mixture of shells and fittings so don’t fit specific catalogue configurations.

By 1976 Premier had settled on some hardware design choices, which became uniform across all models and these features remained through to the late 1980’s. The 1976/77 catalogue still gives us drum set model numbers - B202, 604,605, 606, etc and the B203 and B204 featuring internal liners (Resonator). However, we see the introduction of the 392-50 tom post mount and 392 double tom holder across all models, with matching bass drum and floor leg mount blocks. It’s noticeable that the sets in this catalogue mostly have 8 lugs on bass drum, but the larger sets such as the 305 and 717 feature 10 lugs on the bass, a feature that became synonymous with their flagship sets (Elite, Resonator, Soundwave).

1978/9 catalogue features three new kits – ‘Elite’, ‘Resonator’, ‘Soundwave’. Firstly I’m going to focus on the ‘Elite’.

Premier Elite drums, from late 1970’s

The Elite retains the individual model names from the previous catalogue, but all bass drums now feature 10 lugs except the 201 which is a 20,12,14 configuration. This is a set seldom seen and highly sought after. The bass drum featured fold out bass drum spurs with spikes & removable rubber tips. By now all shells were birch with beech reinforcement hoops, all toms came with ‘tone control’ dampers and all fittings were standard as mentioned previously.

‘Identified by their superb good looks and sound, and by the flush-braced tension brackets on double-headed mounted tom toms and bass drums, with matching styled brackets on snare drums and floor toms. This range gives you an incredibly wide choice of drum sizes, types and finishes.’

At a time when many companies still featured single lugs top and bottom on drum shells, Premier retained their ‘flush braced’ single lugs claiming that ‘they take most of the strain out of the opposing tension rods…so as well as looking good this takes the strain away from the shell allowing it to respond more naturally to your playing.’

Die cast hoops were standard on double headed sets, steel hoops on single headed concert toms. Single headed concert Toms were available from 6x6” up to 18x16” and double headed from 13x9” to 18x16”. Customers were encouraged to make up sets from a variety of options, which is why there are so many sets in existence that vary in configuration and colour. A lot of people get hung up on the fact that their kit wasn’t in the catalogue so isn’t original, but in truth the catalogues state that any size, combination and colour are available as custom orders with thousands of parts to choose from. All sets were fitted with Premier’s Blue heads and Lokfast hardware.

In the USA the set configurations that made up the Elite range had names such as ‘Baron’, ‘Kicker’, ‘Superstar’ and ‘Driver’ but like in the UK were available in custom configurations.

By 1980/81 production had moved to solid colours and we no longer see the pearls from the 1960’s and 1970’s. The typical configuration for the standard Elite set was 22,13,14,16 and although the 12x8 was still in production, double tom sets usually have a 13” and 14”.

The Elites were very popular kits in the 1970’s and early 1980’s played by many of Premier’s endorsers and remain popular among players and collectors today. Occasionally one appears in an unusual colour or with a stripe around the shell, probably a custom build. Most commonly they are in Polychromatic Gold, Red or black.

Premier Resonator, from mid 1970’s

Another of Premier’s flagship kits that originated in the 1970’s was the ‘Resonator’.

The Resonator was the brainchild of Alan Gilby who, in 1972, had experimented with metal liners in some of Kenny Clare’s Ludwig drum shells. The principles & design was developed with Premier, and so was born the Resonator; a drum set that had normal drum shells with a thinner 3 ply wooden ‘resonator’ liner sprung inside. The outer shell mounted all the hardware, leaving the resonant liner free to do its job as a smooth sound chamber, enhancing the drum’s projection.

The first Resonator was named the ‘Kenny Clare’ and appeared in the 1975 catalogue boasting ‘a new really professional outfit that represents the most dynamic breakthrough to hit the percussion world in years. It gives you the ultimate in sound, power and performance…’ Anyone who has seen these drums close up would immediately notice discrepancies between Alan Gilby’s original concept and Premiers production, namely by the fact that the bass drum spurs and tone control dampers fitted to the drums pierced the resonant liners!

It wasn’t until the late 1970’s with the fold out bass drum spurs and other fittings that had been standardized, that the Resonator’s internal liners were smooth and unhindered by any hardware (apart from the 392-50 tom post mount on the bass drum).  Alongside the Elite, the Resonator was one of Premier’s flagship sets and remained so for a number of years.

It should be noted, that Gilby’s original design prescribed that the inner liners would act as the drums bearing edge with the heads resting on these rather than the outer shells. I have seen this feature on a couple of early sets from the mid 1970’s, but by the late 1970’s and early 1980’s the liners on all sets were flush with the bearing edges, which were standard Premier profile.

The resonator kits were essentially Elites with a resonant liner fitted – birch shells, with 3 ply beech sprung inside the shell - 10 Lugs on the bass drum and die cast hoops on the toms. The resonator had colour options available that other sets didn’t, mostly a choice of coloured band around the shells. As with all sets, sometimes a colour appears that has all the Premier drummers discussing in forums as to whether they’re original, but again it is to be noted that just because it isn’t in a catalogue doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist! Premier offered custom options on all their high end sets, so anything was possible.

They became popular among drummers on both sides of the Atlantic, due to the power and volume of the shells; most famously endorsed by Clem Burke who used them throughout his career in Blondie and right through to his work in the 80’s with Eurythmics.

In the early 1980’s Premier introduced the Black Shadow Resonator, which featured birch shells with the toms in power sizes, described as follows in the catalogue:  ‘the finish is unique; a black glass like surface is achieved in a special process that takes no less than 8 days to complete. It captures the natural wood grain perfectly, wrapping it in a deep, dark shroud that subtly reflects and retracts ever changing hues of black with the shifting light.’ The first series of Black Shadow Resonators featured two sets of single lugs on the toms, but by the late 1980’s design had changed to flush braced lugs the length of the shell, in line with other Premier sets of the era. The Roklok tom post mount replaced the oval 392-50 mount and the tom post gave the option to mount a cymbal arm. Alternatively, one had the option of the Fastball tom post. Lacquer finishes were standard in white, red or black with matching lacquered liners. Premier introduced some bright colours in this era, offering yellow, blue and pink with matching liners! These are rarely seen, but really stand out from anything else on the market at the time.

While other companies were realising that clunky hardware attached to drum shells killed resonance, and so began to introduce Rims fittings to toms, Premier argued that their resonator shells had solved this issue a decade before. Premier ceased production of the Resonator in the early 1990’s but they remain a popular kit among players and collectors, in any of their models during their two decades of production.

Premier Soundwave, from late 1970’s

Premier’s other flagship kit that appeared in the late 1970’s was the Soundwave. This set differed from all other Premier drums at the time due to various new features. ‘Instantly recognisable by the smartly designed separate tension brackets on each tom tom and bass drum’ boasted the 1978-9 catalogue ‘offering a free, more vibrant sound.’ The drums featured steel hoops rather than die cast, and the tension rods were square rather than slot headed, offering a much more modern image in keeping with their competitors. All shells were birch with beech reinforcement hoops, fitted with tone control dampers and the same hardware mounts as the Elite and Resonator. Like the Resonator and Elite, bass drums featured 10 lugs. They were generally marketed as a double headed tom set, although concert toms were available, and factory fitted with clear, black dot heads.

The catalogue stated that the drums were ‘available in any finish’, and that despite the lug design differing, the drums could be mixed with those from the Elite range. Rick Buckler from The Jam had a white set that was custom built by Premier, containing a mixture of Soundwave and Elite shells in power sizes. By the early 1980’s, the hardware that came with these sets changed from the ‘Lokfast’ to ‘Trilok’ – heavy duty tripod stands, a move away from the flush based models from the 1960’s and 1970’s.

Sometime around 1982 the Soundwave Mk II was introduced with a slightly reduced shell diameter, allowing the head to overhang the shell improving sound (and maximising bearing edge/head contact). The design of the drums remaining the same as it’s first incarnation, but the lugs were fitted with plinths to raise them from the shells. (These undersized shells are not to be confused with the pre international drums of the 1960’s, the Soundwave sets took standard size heads). Bass drums were listed as being available from 20” to 26”, and double headed toms from 12” to 18”. Again, concert toms were available.  Four new finishes became available in natural or stained wood ‘to show off Premier’s fine birch shells.’ These undersized shells were an exclusive for Premier, a design that was taken on board by other major drum companies in later years. The shells really sing on the couple of sets that I’ve come across, with lovely projection.

By 1985 the Soundwave was no longer in production.

 

1970s Ludwig Stainless Steel Hollywood Set

It's beginning to get warmer and there will be more yard sales, and sometimes drums appear out in people's front yards. I always brake for a yard sale to make sure there's not a sweet vintage drum for ten dollars in amongst all the junk. Check out the local pawn shops from time to time also. Tell the owner you would like a notification if any drums hit the floor. I have found some great snares and sets in pawn shops. Get your friends to be on the lookout for drums as they travel. I get a photo of a drum on my phone from friends quite often. Most of the drums they find are the newer variety, but I always tell them thanks for looking out for me. My friend Bill Pace puts an ad in the classified section in local towns. He says, "Old Drummer looking for Old Drums." It works for him, and he gets calls about drums families have in the attic. eBay and Craigslist aren't the only source of great vintage drums. Get out there and look for them, because if you don't, that brass Supraphonic will remain in that closet for many more years.

I have a real great set from my collection to show you this month. It’s a 1970s Ludwig Stainless Steel Hollywood Set. Ludwig introduced its line of stainless steel drums in the mid 1970s. These drums look so great and have a loud and powerful sound. They are also quite heavy. We all know John Bonham played a big Ludwig Stainless Steel kit soon after they came out with Led Zeppelin. The downfall of these drums was the cost to produce them. The same could be said about the Vistalite drums also. By the early 1980s the stainless steel shell drums were discontinued. They have been reintroduced in recent years for a limited run. The cost of the new stainless drums is very high. There are quite a few of these original wonderful sets out there for collecting and also playing. These drums from my collection are standard sizes: bass drum 22"X14, floor tom 16"X16", mounted toms are 13"X9", and 12"X8". The snare drum on display with the set is a 70s 14"X6.5" Supraphonic.

I have a couple of Stainless steel drum set stories I thought I would tell you. My good friend Lige Moore bought a great stainless steel set and loaned them to another friend. Our mutual friend's home burned with the stainless set inside. The Supraphonic snare drum was saved, but the rest of the kit burned. The shells came through the fire, but they looked pretty bad. Lige had a second 22" bass drum that I still have. I have his bass drum and snare drum in my stuff. Lige also gave me the shells that were burned, so I buffed them and sold them on E-Bay. They had no shine but they were still pretty cool.  Another stainless steel story - I was doing some work for a man and the topic of drums came up. He told me he played and had a drum set in his house. I told him I also played and would really like to see his drums. I figured he would have an import set, but boy was I surprised to walk in to his drum room and find a flawless Stainless Steel set with all original hardware and Zildjian cymbals. I just never expected that set to be there in his house. He had bought them new in 1977 and he had never played them outside of his house. They were dusty and needed heads and a good cleaning to make them look like they had just come out of the music store. I asked him If he would like to sell them, but he said he didn't. I asked him about trading him a new set of Pearl or Tama drums for them and he said he might do that, but as of yet he hasn't. I'm not telling any of you where they are. I'm hoping he will let me replace them one day. My set is nice, but his is much nicer.

Make a comment if you have or play a Stainless steel drum set. I would like to get your feedback.

 

WIW? Ludwig Imperials?

Got something that you want to ask the community what’s it worth? Send it in and we’ll post it here. – NSMD NSMD,

I am very interested in purchasing a drum but I'm not certain who made it. I consider myself to have decent vintage knowledge but not after seeing this one. The shell has no name or stamp on it what so ever. Also very strange is that there is no center bead in the shell. It has no extra holes drilled in it. The lugs appear to be late 30's Ludwig Imperials. The strainer also looks to be Ludwig, later 20's to early 30's. There is a welded seam on the interior of the shell. Can you please help or give me an idea of what type of shell it might be.

Thanks, Lance

What do you think? Let us know in the comments below!

 

Stanley Krell’s Rogers Drums, A Once In A Lifetime Find

by Robert Bernhardt

 Recently I acquired a set of Rogers Holiday drums from the Covington, OH era.  I bought Stanley Krell's drums.  He was a Rogers endorser in the early 60's.  I think these drums were stored in their cases for the past few decades at least.  The snare drum with this set is a very early/rare pre-oval badge Dynasonic.  According to one of the resident experts at the Rogers Owners Forum, this is a once in a lifetime find.

 I found these advertised on Craigslist. With the ad already posted for six days I didn't expect to even get an email back from the seller. Sure enough I got a phone call within thirty minutes of my emailing him. I arranged to go have a look at the drums that afternoon, knowing I needed to act quickly if I wanted to have a chance at buying these. Luckily, because of the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, I was the first person to see these. I'm new to the Rogers addiction, so I hadn't even seen a Holiday set in person. The second I saw these I knew these were different than the Fullerton script logo drums I just bought a month ago.

 I bought these four cases full of vintage drums and drum equipment. The name on all the cases, as you can see, is Stan Krell. I got them from a wonderful guy named Joe, who buys estates. He got these with the rest of the contents of a home out on Long Island. The homeowner told Joe she bought these drums for her son, back in the sixties, from Stan Krell.

 As you can see on the tag, the Dynasonic is serial number 3660. No oval badge, just the script logo. It seems to have the original reso head on the bottom. Needs a good cleaning but seemingly in very good shape for a fifty year old drum. The 12" tom seems to be the oldest, but I'll leave that for the experts. It's got a Cleveland sticker, serial 10880. The 13" tom has a Dayton sticker, with serial 88281. The 16" floor tom has a Cleveland sticker, serial number 42570. The 22" bass drum has a Dayton sticker, with serial 80690.

 All drums seem to have the original Rogers heads still, with the exception of the snare. There is one beat up, 14" head in that rolling case though. Hard to tell if it's a Rogers now, but it's there nonetheless. I included a picture of a T-Rod and Claw as an example of the condition this entire set is in. I have a feeling these have been sitting in their cases since the sixties.

 Camco bass drum pedal, Swivo HH stand, two 18" Zildjian Rides, 14" Zildjian hi hats, and what seems to be a Ludwig 10" splash cymbal. (Did they call them splashes back then?) The Rogers woodblock is interesting. Didn't do much research on it. I have to imagine that's rare. The cowbell seems very well made. No name on it, but it says Ludwig on it's hardware. A half dozen pairs of Regal Tip sticks from that time period. Some no name brushes, heavy and wiry. A Rogers drum key and a Ludwig drum key. The custom road cases themselves also just really add to the completeness of this find.

 I'm going to play these drums. I'll probably re-skin them after an hour of light playing to preserve the heads, but I can't wait to get some time behind this set. I will never break any of this up either. That woodblock will not go up on eBay just because it's probably rare. I really think that Dynasonic should remain with the rest of this set too. Like I said in my original post, this is really like a time capsule. I definitely intend to keep it that way.

 I welcome any info any of the experts would like to share regarding these drums. From what I can tell from the dating guide, the 12" was possibly made in 1957?!?!? The FT is early/mid sixties Cleveland while the 13" and the BD are mid/late sixties Dayton. That's all the research I've done so far.

 

My Drums - Their Story

I got to thinking the other day about my drums and their stories. Or is it about my stories attributed to the drums. Either way I believe that each drum, if it falls into the hands of a professional player, ends up with a story to tell. I am not a vintage drum collector but I have many drums and each has a tale to tell.  Their story can range from how I got the drum, where it was used or the individual or company that made the drum.

I have already written about my 6 ½” X 15” single-tension Leedy Snare Drum - (March 2014). It opened the Eastman Theatre in 1922 with a fortissimo snare drum roll played by William G. Street for the Star Spangled Banner. The drum was then used by Oliver Zinsmeister in the “President’s Own” United States Marine Band and probably spent a few gigs at the White House. The drum is now here with me at the Eastman School of Music and has been used for many formal occasions involving the Eastman Theatre. Not a bad history for such a drum.

In another article for Not So Modern Drummer, I have written about the Rogers Drums that are part of the Eastman School of Music Percussion Department -  (September 2014). I would like to single out one of the Rogers 6 ½” X 14” drums that is my personal snare drum. The Rogers Drum Company gave the drum to me since I was endorsing the drums and supplying the Eastman Percussion Department with their equipment. Now why is one drum so important?  This drum was in my studio and played on by all the students for their lessons. It also had another function. It was the drum used for all the auditions at the school. I auditioned 1,618 students in my 49 years of teaching – only 258 of those who auditioned were accepted. This drum has seen the best and the worst. If it could talk, I am sure it would have stories to tell.

In 1976 the Eastman School of Music played host to the first Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC). The Premier Drum Company was exhibiting at that convention and was featuring a rope tension drum 19 ½” X 17”. Jim Coffin was the man in charge of this exhibit and he being a friend of mind suggested that I buy one. I did and have had it ever since. I have played it on several occasions and each time I use it I am reminded of the convention and what a great event it was and the drums position in the history of drums.  Inscribed on a plaque on the shell of the drum is the following:

REPLICA DRUM AS USED BY 71st (HIGHLAND) REGIMENT OF FOOT – FRASER’S HIGHLANDERS – 1776-1787 – LIMITED EDITION NO. 233- MADE IN ENGLAND BY THE PREMIER DRUM CO. LTD.

Having a son who is also a drummer/percussionist has its rewards upon reaching milestones in your life. When I turned 55 years old he had W.H. Reamer make me a replica of The Grand Army Republic (GAR) Drum with the emblazonment of the Eagle clutching arrows and a shield – 21” X 17”. Since I was also in the “President’s Own” United States Marine Band, W.H. Reamer emblazoned the shell with the Marine Corps Globe and Anchor, my name and dates I served in the band. This is a beautiful drum that sounds as good as it looks. I have used this drum on countless occasions for rudimental demonstrations, clinics, parades and lectures. Inside the drum across from the vent hole there is plaque that reads:

PRESENTED TO JOHN H. BECK BY JOHN R. BECK – FEBRUARY 1988

I also had W.H. Reamer make the same drum for my son. Now we have matching father and son drums. He was also in the “President’s Own” United States Marine Band and has the Eagle and the Globe and Anchor on the shell.

As I mentioned in the previous paragraph about having a son who gives great gifts at milestones in my life, the 6 ½” X 14” Orlich glass drum was a gift when I retired from playing timpani in the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra after 43 years. As you can see the plaque reads – JOHN H. BECK – ROCHESTER PHLHARMONIC ORCHESTRA  - 1959-2002. This drum was a big surprise to my students as well as some auditioning students. I always had my Rogers Drum for them to play on but had the glass drum there so they could experience its tone and feel that I might add is great.

There you have the story of MY DRUMS – THEIR STORY. You can decide if drums have a story or the player gives them their story – I think it is collaboration between the two or said in another way – IT IS A WIN WIN SITUATION.

1960s Leedy Shelly Manne Set

I really like Leedy drums. I know some of you share my passion for these fine American made drums. I just love the history of this company, and besides, the drums are high quality and beautiful. When I was a young boy there was a sign artist that lived next door to us. He painted signs for businesses and such, and he was a very good painter. On day I went over to his shop and there was a drum head he was painting for a local band. They were called The Wild Cherries. I remember the look of the letters on the head and what stuck out the most was the Leedy logo on the head. I had seen the Ludwig logo on Ringo's drum head and I was not as dumb as some people to think it was part of the band's name. I had never heard of Leedy drums and so I guess I was dumb at first to think the band's name was Leedy the Wild Cherries. I soon started learning information about Leedy drums from another drummer who told me they were the same as Ludwigs. That information wasn't exactly right even though Ludwig and Leedy were owned by the same company for many years, and Leedy and Ludwig were even combined for a few years in the early 1950s. Then I had a friend who had a set similar to the set I'm featuring from my collection this month. He told me Leedy was not just like Ludwigs they were just like Slingerland drums. He was also somewhat right, because Slingerland bought Leedy from Conn in the late 50s and basically made what some people call "Slingerleedys". This drum set from my collection is a Slingerland built Leedy set from the early 1960s.

Leedy drums from this era (1956-1965) are very similar in every way to Slingerland drums with the exception of the lugs and badges. This set is a 22", 16", 13" set in standard depths. The lugs are Beavertail Leedy Lugs. You will hear the expression "Art Decco Design" when referring to these sleek modern looking lugs. The blue oval Leedy badges have Chicago 48, ILL. USA on them. This will date them 1960's. The first Leedy badge Slingerland made was a brass oval that dates drums mid 50s. The first blue oval badge '57-'58 didn't have the 48 after Chicago. The rims are "Stick Savers just like Slingerland drums. The Finish is yellowed white marine pearl. The set looks almost butterscotch. The yellowing is not consistent over the whole set. Something interesting to notice in the photos are the unfaded areas on the kick drum. The set had a cloth muffler across the batter head with excess cloth covering an area on the shell. Where the cloth shaded the shell the finish is still white. There is another white area where the front calf head was not tensioned equally. The place where the head covered the shell is still gleaming white. There was also a small sticker on the bass drum shell by the badge, and on the floor tom shell that covered a small spot. If the drums had been kept covered by a sheet when not in use they would probably be a lot whiter than they are now after 55 years. Any way, I still love that vintage "vibe" these drums have. They are beautiful to me.

I always share my adventures in collecting, because it is a lot of fun and exciting to score a great drum set. I buy some drums on E-Bay and I am not at all knocking that method of acquiring vintage drums, although It is like fishing in a barrel. It's more fun, and you really feel like you have scored when you find drums at good prices from owners or unlikely places. I realize that's more difficult now and it's becoming more difficult all the time. These drums were owned by my great friend Butch Braddy. I've told you before that he has helped me get a lot of drums over the years. He is the sales manager of the drum department at a large music store in a local city. He gets the opportunity to pass on or buy a lot of great vintage drums. I am so glad he's my friend. If he is letting something go or thinning his collection, I get a call. I try to keep some cash ready for just such an emergency. He called me recently to tell me about this Leedy set that he was parting with. I was there to lift his burden as soon as I could get to him. Thanks, Butch for this great set. Until next time, always peek into those dumpsters. You never know when someone has tossed out a Leedy Black Elite snare drum.