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Beautiful early 1962 pre-serial number Black Galaxy
kit. 20,13,16 in a left-hand configuration. Bass drum interior
is unpainted but the two toms have white painted interiors. Bass
drum has date stamp of Sept 15, 1962.
This picture was taken under fluorescent lighting with some colored
spotlights on the drums. |
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Here's another shot of the same drums. No colored
light in this shot. One of the strong points of this kit is the
chrome. It was really in excellent condition. The bass drum
and the mounted tom had some extra holes that had to be covered.
There was also a little wrap shrinkage at the seams that had to be
repaired.
Notice that the tom mount on the bass is not in the factory
position. It had been moved by a previous owner to the very top of
the drum and had the very rare U-shaped double tom mount on the rail. |
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Here we have an early 60's pre-serial number brass
Supraphonic. The most recorded snare drum ever (as if you didn't
know).
Most of the Supraphonics were made with an aluminum alloy shell called
'Ludaloy' |
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Here's a close-up of the badge. See...no serial
number!
How can you tell if you have a Brass Supraphonic. Well, if there
is a sticker inside of the shell that says it is 'Ludaloy' then you
don't. However, many of these stickers were removed and its
sometimes hard to tell. See the article
on this topic for more info. |
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This is a 1969 6.5X14" snare in red lacquer.
Actually I think the drum was originally a white lacquer and a previous
owner painted it. The drum looked pretty sad with paint chips and
gouges. I refinished it in green sparkle as you will see below. |
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Here's the date stamp from the red lacquer snare
above. As you can see, these are sometimes hard to decipher.
Maybe this one was made on a Friday. It almost looks like December
24, 1969. I think it is 1969 because of the serial number not
because I can read that smudge at the end. The only thing I'm sure
about is that it was December.
Nice wood though! |
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Fried green tomatoes!
This is the red snare after cosmetic surgery. An improvement in
my opinion. Some collectors refuse to rewrap drums because the drum
will never be factory perfect again. In my opinion, if the drum
finish is to the point that you no longer proudly display it and no one
wants to play it...then you're justified in refinishing it. |
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Late 60s 14x22" bass drum in BDP (Black Diamond
Pearl). The wrap on this one was in very good condition with minimal
fade. The chrome was another story. I replaced the majority of
the lugs and T-rods and claws with better ones. The hoops were
repainted and inlaid with silver sparkle.
Though most kits from the factory were shipped with inlay strips that
matched the wrap. Notice the beautiful contrast you get when using
silver sparkle.
Club date and combo kits were some of the few that were shipped with
silver sparkle inlays...oh yes...and silver sparkle covered kits also! |
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One more shot of that beautiful BDP.
This drum has white painted interior but a date stamp could not be
found. A previous owner probably cleaned the inside with some strong
cleaner and it washed away. |
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Very cute 1960 (Transition Badge) piccolo snare. Six
lugs with white painted interior and nickel hardware. There is a
date stamp of April 13, 1960 inside. This is a rewrap. The
original finish was black lacquer and in poor condition. |
