Ash Stave Shell Snare - 5 x 14

Finished this one up today. This was a 5/8 " thick ash stave shell I picked up in a trade with some other shells and equipment. It had been untouched (apart from a urethane finish on the outside) as it was being used in a free floating snare. I took off the urethane and gave it a few coats of tung oil, inside and out. Installed aluminum single point lugs from Champagne Drums and a Pearl style Gladstone throwoff (from drumfactorydirect.com - they're an excellent source of parts), and "S" hoops (I quite like these hoops - they have some heft and firmness to them, almost like a die cast rim, compared to triple flange hoops, but are available for a really reasonable price, only a little more than the cost of triple flanges). I was a little concerned when I started this build as the shell diameter was slightly undersized, but the drum turned out great.

Update - sold and off to a good home July 23, 2011. 

I also reassembled a Pearl Export snare today that I picked up from someone's garage recently. Bought a new throwoff, heads, and snare wire for it, and it's as good as new ...

I have a number of other projects on the go that I hope to be finishing over the next month, as time (and funds) permits. I'll have a couple of Keller shell snares that I've wrapped with a gorgeous turquoise satin flame, and another Keller with a mint ripple wrap. Also I may start a solid shell maple from Vaughncraft soon - I have a nice peacock abalone wrap set aside for that.

7 x 14 Carbon Fibre Snare

I recently purchased this shell, with hardware installed, from Tim McKenzie in the U.S, added heads, die cast rims (for now), and some high quality Pearl snare wires, and have been playing it quite a bit. Really like the sound - woody without the weight (the drum is incredibly light). It's a 7 x 14 carbon fibre snare with "micro Beavertail" lugs and  a repro 3 point strainer from drumsandsome.com.

www.mckenziedrums.com

www.drumsandsome.com

1983 Tama ImperialStar Steel Snare

My most recent acquisition - a 1983 Tama Imperialstar snare, 6.5x14. Over 12.5 pounds of steel. The key (really, the only) difference between this snare and the KingBeats I have is this has a conventional snare throwoff, as opposed to the parallel strainer system on the KB's. This snare is in excellent condition, I'd say 9/10 overall, and appears to be original with the exception of the batter head.

Another List?? How About A Less Recognized/ Less is More ... List

Trying to come up with any "best of" lists can be a mug's game, and there are more than enough rankings of "greatest" or "best" rock/ metal/ jazz/ session drummers out there, with many comments for and against those on each list,  that I wonder about even doing another one. I started thinking about this again this morning, though, since it is Charlie Watts' birthday. I wanted to try to identify those drummers that fit into the "less is more", "in the pocket", or less recognized categories that I've always enjoyed listening to. Most are still drumming away. Here goes (in no particular order):

(1) Charlie Watts (it's his 70th birthday so I will put him at the top)
(2) Stan Lynch - Tom Petty's drummer for years
(3) Larry Mullen Jr. (U2)
(4) Jimmy Chamberlin
(5) Ringo (can't leave him off)
(6) Matt Cameron
(7) Jerry Mercer (April Wine)
(8) Steve Gorman (Black Crowes)
(9) Phil Selway (Radiohead)
(10) Garry Peterson (The Guess Who)
(11) Phil Rudd (though he does seem to be recognized more and more given AC/DC's enduring success)
(12) Frank Beard (ZZ Top)
(13) Steve Jansen (Japan)
(14) Paul Thompson (Roxy Music)
(15) Micky Waller (Jeff Beck, Rod Stewart)

Well that's a start. Thoughts?

(PS yes I'm also a big fan of Peart, Paice, Chad Smith, ...)

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".