5x14 snare drum made using a Keller Vintage Mahogany shell. The shell
consists of a mahogany outer ply, then ply's of poplar, birch, two poplar,
and inner ply of mahogany. The shell is reinforced with two 10 ply, all
maple reinforcing rings that are 1.5" high. The finish was done with
six coats of shellac, for a natural, real wood look. Precision cut bearing
edges and snare bed allow the drum shell to speak clearly, with a classic,
warm vintage sound. Brass plated tube lugs boost the vintage look, but
the Nickel throw off gives it modern high tech functionality. Brass plated
die cast rims, tension rods, and snare wires complete the drum. Precision
Drum.
Size: 5 X 14
This drum was serial #11 of the 1997 Lang/Gladstone commemorative snare
drums. The drum has a Keller shell and was finished in gold lacquer in
the same manner that Billy used for the very few drums that he built with
gold lacquer shells. (One of Billy's personal drums was finished in gold
lacquer with gold hardware). The hardware on this drum is gold plated.
This drum was originally owned by the late Liam Mulholland, noted vintage
drum authority and collector. Liam never had the name plate created for
this drum. The drum was bought from Liam by me in 1999 and it remained
in my collection until sold to you.
Craviotto Satine wood solid shell
A unique drum created from Satine wood. Very dark color, wonderful tone.
In my pursuit of vintage snare drums I did not limit myself to just
"True" vintage based on a specific year, but decided to explore
the custom, fabricated and production modern drum builders. Fortunately
many of these custom builders are looking for that vintage look and
capturing that vintage snare sound based on drums they played when they
were younger.
All things being equal a vintage drum that has poor heads and not tuned
correctly really does not sound that good, so there is more to the sound
then just the shell. I'm not saying that a Japanese Vintage snare will
sound excellent with proper tuning and good heads, but it will have
a unique sound.
A custom built snare drum in my opinion is a drum that is hand built
from the ground up using "proprietary" parts that were specifically
built and designed by the builder. That does not mean that all custom
builders do this for every drum. I only know of a few custom builders
that machine everything and prepare their own shells and finishes. This
process is very labor intensive and the drum would be very expensive.
Above you will see a wide range of drums styles and materials from
the top drum builders in the country. Each one is unique in its own
way and offers the player a chance to get a good idea what a "New
Vintage" drum sounds like. I enjoy them all and routinely play
them on different drum sets to see what they can do.
I do not have one favorite in the bunch unless I happen to be playing
it at the time! If you have any questions or would like more info on
any of these drums please contact me at the email above.