One of the many unexplained mysteries of vintage drums is the existence of vintage 1960s Gretsch Round Badge drums which lack the typical silver sealer interior paint. This was an era before clear drum heads, so few people saw the inside of their drums. However, Gretsch was marketing “The Great Gretsch Sound” and part of that sound was allegedly the silver sealer they applied to the interior of their drums starting in about 1954.
Read more“This drum is known as the Charles Cordes Gladstone. Mr. Cordes machined all the Gladstone hardware and assembled most of the Billy Gladstone snare drums. There were approximately 50 Gladstone drums made of which fewer than 30 are accounted for as of this printing. Of these 50 snare drums the Charles Cordes drum is the only 6 x 14 gold lacquer/gold plated drum known.
Read moreAccording to my WFL/Ludwig catalogs, the Ludwig canister throne was invented around 1953 and it was touted as the sensational new “seat-case” as it was designed to hold traps and accessories.
Read moreSticky Wicket rides again!
Read moreDUALLS are very rare. The Slingerland DUALL Model was manufactured from 1932-34 as compared to the L & L Super-Ludwig Model that was around from 1924 to the late 1930s.
Read moreBill Ludwig runs us through the fascinating history of Ludwig Drums! Grandson of the Ludwig founder, William F. Ludwig, his family has had a long and winding history with the Ludwig drum company - founding it in 1909 with a subsequent sale of the company in the early 80's. They
Read moren the early 1800s, Italian composers, Gaspare Spontini and Gioacchino Rossini, encouraged the use of cymbal mounting brackets in their compositions. French composer, Hector Berlioz, on the other hand, felt this practice was counter-productive and that it did not honor the quality of the music, saying it was only suitable for the accompaniment of "low brow" entertainment like sword swallowers and jugglers in his 1844 treatise on orchestration.
Read moreHi, Could you please tell me what this drum is? It has the hex bead like the 20th Silv. Ann. model.
Read moreIn October of 2020, I stumbled upon a post in Face book regarding a 1950’s K. Zildjian 13” hi hat bottom cymbal. It was an oddity.
Read moreAs the kick drum bag contained an inventory identifying the kit as having a matching jazz fest from an original sale in Milwaukee, I immediately wondered, what happened to the matching jazz fest?
Read moreThis is an probably an early [c.1930] Slingerland Tone Flange 5" x 14" [5&1/2" with the aluminum tone flange] in solid walnut with solid maple glue rings.
Read moreMany collectors place a premium on “born together” drum sets - sets which were originally purchased as one unit from the factory or music instrument retailer. This study identifies vintage Gretsch Round Badge sets demonstrated or purported to be born together to establish an objective benchmark for determining that a set of drums was born together.
Read moreIn 1978-79 Slingerland put together a new campaign to reissue the Radio King model. This time, the new Radio King was made exclusively as a limited edition snare drum model.
Read morethe original owner, custom ordered this set in late 1969 and received it in 1970 from Chanute, Kansas.
Read moreI still consider this the "gold standard" of all brass snare drums in sound and feel.
Read moreStrolling Through History - I like to do research, and I can tell you a little bit about each of the drums in my “collection”. Aside from the details of the drums, I've learned a lot about history, culture, tradition ... even economics and interpersonal relationships. It's also broadened my understanding and appreciation of the history and culture behind drums.
Read moreBefore its restoration, this instrument was brutalized : metric shell "badly resized" to have a 14", 10 extra-holes, totally flat bearing edges (1cm large), white painted shell interior (wood and screws), like gray painted hoops and nailed wrap... Just an horrible handyman !!…
Read moreA word about Leedy Oriental Pearl vs. Ludwig & Ludwig Abalone Pearl: Personally I think the two finishes are one in the same…
Read moreIt’s Halloween time and I am featuring a spooky "dark side" set of Rogers drums for your enjoyment.
Read moreA friend of mine had come across a set of mismatched champagne sparkle drums that included a Gretsch round badge 5x14 name band snare drum, 8x12 tom and 14x14 floor tom…
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