This month I will highlight 6 of the Ludwig & WFL wood snare drums in my collection of nearly 50 snare drums. People often ask me why I need so many snare drums. The answer quite simply is that they all look different and have their own unique sound. For this reason, I will continue on my infinite quest for more snares.
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Throughout his career Tony inspired countless drummers to strive for excellence and find their own voices, as he had done throughout his remarkable career. Drummers such as Terry Bozzio, Bill Bruford, Billy Cobham, Vinnie Colaiuta, Peter Erskine, David Garibaldi, Steve Jordan, Jim Keltner, Michael Shrieve, Steve Smith, Charlie Watts and Dave Weckl have all named Tony Williams as an important influence on their playing.
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Three Dog Night added that Sneed "also an extraordinarily unique drummer who brought so much to Three Dog Night's sound." The late musician was lauded for breaking "many barriers both musically and culturally," with the band noting how "he also influenced countless other drummers with his amazing technique."
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George,
New to me, parallel action strainer with rollers on this drum? Have you ever seen one before?
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Here are some rare and very rare 1929 Ludwig & Ludwig New Era-Sensitive models. This model was only seen in the 1929 Ludwig Drummer magazine. From what I’ve seen and from those that I have consulted with it looks like this model was very short lived, 1929-1930.
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These Drum Legends Drum Heads are a beautiful, limited-edition offering that any drumming enthusiast will want in their collection. Each drum head features an original painting by artist Maureen Brown Gratton. These heads capture the essence of each classic drummer. Each head is printed on a high-quality, Made in USA, 12” Evans drumhead, using a high-quality imprint method that will not fade.
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After collecting many 1920’s Ludwig brass snare drums, the obvious next step was to go in search of some 1930’s models. In 2015, I came across a 1935 Silver Anniversary standard 6.5 x 14 snare drum at a vintage drum store in Toronto. What a beauty!
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Happy New Year! Tootin’ my own horn and letters to the editor.
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I decided to open the trunk to have a look inside and saw a bunch of very lightweight rusted hardware, some old decorations from a party, some confetti and a few other belongings not related to drums. What did catch my eye was the top of a drum head sitting in the case. As I slowly lifted the drum out of the case, I felt a little like Indiana Jones on one of his crusades and I nearly fainted when the drum revealed itself as a beautiful very white WMP twin strainer snare drum in 100% mint original condition.
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A newer study suggests that drummers have fewer but thicker fibres in the main connecting track between the two halves of the brain. And it seems the motor areas of the brain are organized more efficiently. Playing four-way coordination at the drum set requires the use of both sides of the brain simultaneously. It’s thought this type of activity improves IQ levels. It also improves memory, focus, and hand-eye coordination.
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The set I am featuring this month is a 1970s Classic four piece 22,13,16 set with three ply shells. This beautiful kit is wrapped in Sky Blue Pearl. The blue color is still vibrant in the near perfect wrap
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My teaching studio was directly across the hall from his, where he was conducting group classes. I could hear him in there sounding like he sounded on all those Miles and Herbie recordings. Cool stuff. Because we were right there close, we started hanging out after our teaching sessions and basically just bullshitting about everything.
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My editorial this month is about two episodes of Matt Crouse’s WorkingDrummer.Net Podcast that I was involved with. Enjoy.
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Developing the skill to play accents helps to strengthen your hands in order to build technique. Moreover, accents are an essential part of playing breaks and solos. Whether it’s rock, jazz, latin, marching or classical music, accents have an important role to play. The following etude is named , ACCENTUATION. It’s from my book, DUET YOURSELF BOOK TWO. The rhythmic makeup couldn’t be simpler since the etude is all with eighth notes. At first glance it’s deceptively easy, but working up the etude to speed without making mistakes might prove a little tricky for some readers.
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Christmas Special - Moeller Sticks - $60 including shipping
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I have a habit of ranting against the rudiments. Of course I'm referring to the classic rudiments of military origin. The point I usually try to press home is that many of the ‘standard’ rudiments are rather hard to apply to the drum set and others rarely fit modern music.
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These three drums were ordered at the 2007 Chicago Vintage Drum Show. Master drum craftsman Johnny Craviotto (Craviotto Drums) teamed up with master drum craftsman Adrian Kirchler (AK Drums) to create the Craviotto Drums/AK Drums Diamond Series snare drums.
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In the 1970s, very few of these drums were made with brass shells. The Cut Badge snare has two distinct features. One is the B or BR stamped near the muffler. The other is the modified blue and olive badge.
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I’m calling this my “Cab Calloway” Set. In my opinion, this set is the epitome of vintage Jazz sophistication and elegance. I have been working on it for a year +.
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This is regarding the drum set in the 2 of the late Itsuzo Sumy's photos from the exhibition of his work in the Town of Chester in the S.E Adirondacks of New York State. From Town of Chester historian, Donna Lagoy: The man playing them in the photo is William Walkup. His son, Bill bought the drums 2nd hand from an unknown person.
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