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The first vintage & Custom Drum Magazine, since 1988
For a moment in time, it was ILLEGAL to use more than 10% of metal per drum for drum making in America! The result is a fascinating collection of beautiful drums that feature wooden lugs, hoops, pedals, and hardware...most famously Slingerlands "Rolling Bomber."
Find out the reasoning behind this quirk in our nation's Drum History, as we discuss this and much more with war-era drums expert, Joe Mekler, a.k.a. "Joey Boom" of the Delaware Drum Show!
Read moreA series on the transition of drum sets with host, Kelli Rae Tubbs. The history-rich videos discuss the components commonly found on the early drum set
Read moreIn the 1969 catalogue the "President” kit was the only one to show a rectangle badge with the words president on them. They also said Pearl and Japan. These President kits were built till 1973. They still offered great looking pearl wraps such as this Tiger Eye white pearl, marine pearl and gold grain pearl. I love the oyster pearl wrap. Based on this information (warp/badge/lugs/metal bass drum hoops) I put my kit somewhere in the late 60s/early 70s.
Read more*Slingerland used the term Opal Pearl but this finish looks exactly like L & L’s Peacock Pearl or Leedy’s Rainbow Pearl finishes.
Read moreOr maybe three. But definitely not one. It's an exercise I find myself doing a lot as I work on things that challenge me: trying to get my mind -- not just my limbs -- to focus on two things at once.
Read moreAccording to Slingerland’s catalogs, the “Ben Pollack “Radio King” model was only produced for two years, between 1936-1938. This is a significant reason why this model is extremely rare and desirable. Also, the drum consumers of the day were placing overwhelming orders to Slingerland for the Krupa model. All of this was certainly because of Gene Krupa’s major popularity and drumming success.
Read moreThe exercises in Stick Control are great for getting your hands moving, so why not use them to get the other limbs involved as well? The following interpretations move the stickings around the entire drum set. While the idea is to get all four limbs working, it’s best to go easy at first, i.e. start with two limbs, then add the third (and then the fourth) when ready.
Read moreThis month’s drumming unsung hero is from the land down under…Australia. His name is Angus Burchall and, for more than 30 years, he has been the drummer for Australian singing legend John Farnham.
Read more187 pics from the 2019 Chicago Drum Show!
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But, Tony… Hearing him in that room. He would always start out with a solo piece and it felt like it was fight or flight— the hair would rise up on your arms. Primal. Scary. Loud. Resonant. Uniquely him, so much of his authentic self in every note… The coolest and the deepest 24” inch bass drum with three floor toms in THAT room. The softest whisper to the loudest roar… Grooving, swinging with explosive punctuations. The sound is seared into my memory for the rest of my life.
Read moreI’d like to share some of our conversations in order for you to get to know Mike as I did, describe a few examples of his work, and also explain how his approach differs from that of other gifted hand engravers, like John Aldridge and Adrian Kirchler.
Read moreHi, from my bunker in Memphis TN. during this time of “Corona virus bullets flying and no one is bullet proof”.
Read moreThe Slingerland “Streamlined” lugs were used on snare drums, bass drums (a larger version) and tom toms. While Leedy is credited with the first modern non-tubular lug casings, Slingerland was the first to use them on tom toms and bass drums.
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Enter To Win A Set Of Istanbul Cymbals And Other Prizes! Here’s your chance to win some bronze from Istanbul Mehmet, the original handmade cymbals from Turkey.
Read moreOur unsung hero this month is a U.K. born drummer whose rhythmic stylings can be heard on over one hundred recordings, including 56 top ten albums…
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OK, full day of studio work, jazz lounge gig in the evening, sit-in at the after-hours club ... and it's still not enough! Well, some of us really are that obsessed with playing, but 8 or 10 or 12 hours a day? Sure…
Read moreProbably a special order... a "custom" drumset as we say today. This drumset was manufactured by METJAZZ brand (Jean Metzger drum maker), whose specialty was those very decorated drumsets, very fashionable in France from the 30s to the early 50s…
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Early teardown
One by one every tour was canceling. One by one all the buses were coming back to Nashville. One by one we were hugging it out, bummed that we couldn’t finish the tour. One by one we all got in our cars and left. It only took a few days for Lower Broadway to follow suit. No industry was safe from the effects of COVID-19.
Read more“This drum has been nicknamed “The Dragon Drum” and was probably an un-catalogued one-off special order…
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This is great! and I’m having so much fun staying at home and being safe and drinking as much coffee as i want and i don’t have to shave or use punctuation and the ideas are just pouring-pouring-pouring out of my head and I’m typing 130 words a minute and I’m gonna go play my drums now and I’ll be back in a minute - woohoowoohoo!!! (“Editor on Maximum Coffee” image courtesy of the editor on maximum coffee)
OK this is a long one - I have plenty of time to write and you probably have plenty of time to read if all of your gigs and rehearsals and students have cancelled like mine. :-)
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