I call it a “Monday Morning at the Office” drum because the scroll pattern is in every panel but there is no “Ludwig Chicago” engraving that would normally be just left of the strainer.

This snare drum is a rare 1950s Leedy & Ludwig White Marine Pearl 5” x14”, Broadway model with a solid 1-ply maple shell.

Woolworth’s did sell drums for many years, but unlike the other big department stores, they were not a catalog company by which we could document what and when they sold drums. So all we have are the drums themselves to tell the story.

 This is the long lost twin of a personal pair of these custom made snares for Elvins 75th birthday celebration and were never available to the public. At 5” x 10” it is little piece of dynamite.

In today’s corner I present to you one of the rarest catalogs from one of the most difficult eras to find any drum catalog from, early 1940s World War II.

The Porto-Pak is a very special snare drum.  Punchy and articulate, this 5.5 x 13 1948 – 52 WFL Classic Porto-Pak snare drum is difficult to find these days.  This drum was born out of the need for gigging musicians, be bop and club players to get their drums into the taxi cabs and onto smaller band stands and still hit the spot. 

Many of us share the introduction into the drumming world with that first snare drum, or if you are one of the fortunate ones, the “Snare Drum Outfit”!

I got this rare drum from Bill Wanser of Olympic Drums & Percussion. Bill also pointed out a Ludwig Drummer magazine article that places Rose Pearl at 1929, this aligns perfectly as the Standard-Sensitive model was first seen in 1929. Bill agrees that this was an uncatalogued finish, L & L obviously had the material but it was never seen in a catalog, only in a Ludwig Drummer Magazine article.

If any of the Japanese drums of the 60’s and 70’s stand out it’s the early Yamaha drums. They projected a professional quality in all of their drums, staying away from the appearance of beginner or entry-level and also avoiding the copycat mentality. This particular snare drum is from the late 60’s to early 70’s and has that flash to it that really stands out.

a bass player I know dropped off a couple items that he no longer wanted. One being a brass snare shell made by the Advanced Drum Co.

The coiled-steel snare wire is a wonderful invention, and a huge improvement over, uh, animal parts. But making it happen required the simultaneous invention of the snare End Plate and its introduction opened a can of worms.

"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."

Before these drums the interiors and bearing edges of most drums were not what you would call to the highest standards. The interior of these drums, the bearing edges and the outer shell are pure perfection, they feel like glass everywhere you run your finger, there is not a single rough spot, gap, glue, bump, separation or ripple anywhere.

Edward Tucker revives the "Catalog Corner" column which Harry Cangany for so many years. Catalogs are so important the vintage drum collectors. Thank you, Edward, for sharing your large catalog collection and your knowledge of vintage drums!

I call it a “Monday Morning at the Office” drum because the scroll pattern is in every panel but there is no “Ludwig Chicago” engraving that would normally be just left of the strainer.

It took me years to finally find a Ludwig Las Vegas 4 x 13 Snare Drum.  I finally got the opportunity in May of this year to purchase one from a private seller in the U.S., although it did come at a bit of an inconvenient time.  I was lying on a stretcher in the hospital waiting to go into the operating room for my scheduled spine surgery when I received a text message from the seller wanting to discuss my interest in purchasing this snare drum. 

 The Japanese drum companies used the traditional conical design but using lugs, hoops, and wraps that their drums used. Pearl and Star appear to be the only two manufacturers of bongos in Japan.

The vintage drum collecting world mourns the passing of Mark “Whitey” Cooper, a great friend and colleague, as well as one of the most important experts on many aspects of drums and drum set history. Mark was one of those guys that every one, and I mean every one, liked and loved. The first time that I met Mark at a drum show I knew that he would be one of my favorite people. Instant comrades.

 To say I am beyond thrilled to be the new caretaker of this incredible piece of snare drum history from one of the greatest drummers of all time, my friend, the incomparable Peter Erskine, is an understatement.
This is what Peter calls “…my legacy snare drum…” and I am fully aware that this is/was one of his most prized and personal snares of all time, and I am so grateful that he has entrusted me to watch over it.

One of my favorite parts of the vintage MIJ drum genre is simply admiring all the badges, the styles and types and even the brands. A badge on a drum (especially a stencil) lets you know who sold it. Any kind of badging usually accomplishes at minimum the tasks of identification and advertising, and sometimes a little deception with the styling.

Most of these drums have 10 brass wood screws or 10 brass brads on the top bearing edge that are in line with the tube lugs and are there to allow the brass ring of the Tone Flange to seat. This drum is a tad different, there are12 brass brads that do not line up with the lugs (see photo). I also noticed a difference in the internal attachment hardware. On Slingerland snares of this era there is usually a washer, a lock washer and a screw. This drum has a larger washer, smaller washer, lock washer and a screw for the lugs, 3 point strainer and butt plate.

Bob Campbell shoots great photos, period. Especially of drums and drummers. He got some great shots of both at the 2024 Chicago Drum Show in May. Too many to post here. They are uploaded on the NSMD Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/notsomoderndrummer Go check it out.

I really like the Ludwig pre-serial # Super Sensitive snare drum.  I have 10 of them in my collection from the 1920’s – 1970’s.  This month I will feature 3 of them that are from 1961 – 1964.

I’ve always been a fan of the blue and black “bowling ball” oyster finishes that Ludwig introduced in 1971.  The blue is my favorite and I have had a couple of Hollywood kits (12, 13, 16, 22) over the years, but I’ve always wanted a Downbeat kit (13, 16, 22) with a rail consolette. 

The word “rare” is a very subjective term and quite overused in the drum world, but in this case I think it’s appropriate. There are many parts of this drum which are rarely seen, or not seen at all, and they don’t appear in any known catalogs.

This article documents the types and sizes of drums recorded in a large database of 1960s Ludwig Keystone badge drums to provide a glimpse into Ludwig’s 1960s production. 

You are looking at a one owner 1968 4-piece Slingerland Brass & Black Badge, w COB Rims, Milk Chocolate Interior “Modern Jazz Outfit” No. N9 in Light Blue Pearl in absolutely remarkable condition! 12” tom, 14” floor, 20” bass, 5” x 14” 8-Lug “Buddy Rich Artist Model” snare. All ordered and born together with all the original period Zildjian Cymbals including a 20” ride, 18” crash and 14” hi-hats.

The engraving pattern is based on the engraving pattern that was used on the 1928 Slingerland Gold Plated Artist Models

METJAZZ is a french brand created just after WWII by Jean METZGER. He was working with his 3 sons, Henry, Jean Claude & André, and the workshop was located in SUCY EN BRIE near Paris. They made banjos and drums, and quickly knows a great success for their high quality instruments because METJAZZ was a very innovative brand, by design, and patented inventions.