Pearl Jupiter Snare - 5 x 14 COB

This snare is a good (but not perfect) example of Pearl's "Jupiter" chrome on brass (COB) snares, produced in the late 70's to early 80's. "Jupiters" had a parallel strainer system ("0-16") installed on the heavy shell. Pearl also produced a model on the same shell with a Gladstone type strainer ("0-15"). This particular snare has triple flange hoops installed; I can't be sure if they are original or not (it appears that the snares could be purchased with either triple flange or diecast hoops). Also it appears the original muffler is long gone and was replaced with an aftermarket version, so I will soon be scouring eBay and elsewhere for a muffler of that vintage. And I'll be keeping my eyes open for the 6.5x14 version of this drum. There are two sets of 8 wire snares on this. Puresound produces a "vintage" set of wires for Jupiter snares that are one set of 16 wires.

I've also attached catalog pages from 1979 (which shows this snare) and from 1983 (by then the parallel strainer system was the "017" system, as on the other Pearl parallel strainer snares on this blog. The '79 catalog refers to the Jupiter snare as the "B4814", but I have also seen reference to it as the "B4514".  

Pearl Free Floating Snare - Generation 1

Pearl developed their "Free Floating" snare drums to remove all hardware from the shell, enabling players to change shells as easily as heads (almost), and to allow the shells to resonate freely without interference from the lugs, strainers, and other hardware attached to typical drums. The interchangeable shells drop into a "tub" to which a number (10 for this snare) of lugs are attached. Basically you drop a shell into the tub, place the heads on, and attach the hoops. This is, as far as I can determine, a "first generation" free floating snare, built in the 80's to early 90's. This "generation" had a quasi - parallel strainer system with a Gladstone type throw, adjustable butt plate, and extended snare wires  (I distinguish this from the parallel strainer systems seen on other Pearl snares of that era - a couple of examples of which are on my humble blog; the system on the Tama Kingbeat snares; and the Ludwig supersensitives, to name three, where the system had a lever that lifted and dropped the snare wires off and on the head). This generation also had hexagonal lugs; generations two and three have round lugs. (I've included a link to a webpage that summarizes the history of these drums very well).

This snare is in very good condition overall. It has a brass shell with a depth of 6". The "effective" (i.e. head to head) dept is 6.5". It has Pearl's diecast rims and, as mentioned above, a Gladstone type strainer (Pearl made very good Gladstone type strainers in the 80's; a maple snare I have noted on this blog has another example). I will be replacing the old extended snare wires with Pearl's S-025 snare wires that are still being made for their free floating snares. Puresound also makes a "vintage" snare wire for these drums.

http://www.pearldrummersforum.com/showthread.php?253488-Free-Floating-Snares

Update: Sold December 14, 2011 (funding some new projects...)

Ayotte Professional Maple DS - Stainless Steel Snare

Acquired my first Ayotte snare (or drum, for that matter) a few weeks ago. This is a 5.5 x 14 stainless steel snare in the Professional Maple DS series. This snare is in excellent condition, and I've been quite happy with it. With the exception of some very minor pitting on some of the tension rod nuts, it's close to flawless. The lug/ tension rod/ nut (with integral nylon allen screw to hold the T-rods tight) is a key feature of Ayotte drums. It also has the simple and elegant (at least I think so) Ayotte or Taye type strainer. I've purchased a couple of this type of strainer recently for projects. From the research I've been able to do so far, I believe this snare was made in the early to mid-90's.

Go ahead, build your own Gretsch ...

Finished this beauty up today. It's built up on an unused 5.5 x 14 Gretsch shell I purchased for a great price on EBay (there's a seller "himonwry" who seems to have an inexhaustible supply of Gretsch shells and components). I think this shell dates from the 80's but that's purely based on the badge and just a guess on my part. The shell came with a gorgeous red sparkle wrap that is as bright as the day it went on, as well as Gretsch's "secret" silver paint on the interior. The edges and snare beds hadn't been cut so I asked Tom Wells of Wells Custom Drums if he could do so - he gave it 45 degree edges with roundover, for the "vintage" sound, and drilled the shell for me. Finished with lugs from Drum Foundry and Dunnett's new R4 strainer.

UPDATE - sold October 10, 2011