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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. Click the drum for more photos!

Steve Maxwell
You can visit the Maxwell web site here
Size: 6.5 X 14  
   
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Size 5 X 13  
   
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Traded
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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.

Thanks,

David

 



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