Vintage corner: the best leg rest ever made

When I marched in my high school band in the fall of 1977, I was first introduced to this leg rest when I was assigned to carry a single tenor drum. The drum came outfitted with a pair of hard felt beaters, a cotton webbed sling, and a leg rest which allowed you to carry the drum more comfortably. The best part of the design was that included a heavy elstic band so you could strap the leg rest to your thigh for a more stable connection while you marched with the drum.

I learned to quickly love this leg rest. When the section leader tried to take it off my tenor so he could have it on his snare drum, I quickly moved to put the drum on so he couldn't take it. He had to settle for the narrower -- and less comfortable -- bolt-on leg rest that didn't come with a strap.
Fearing that he might try and swap them between rehearsals, I took to removing the leg rest and hiding it in my locker, reattaching it before each rehearsal. He stopped paying attention to me and "my" leg rest when the cymbal player began flirting with him.

I kept that leg rest in my locker for three years, until I was promoted to tritoms my senior ywear and didn't need it anymore.

Since then I've tried to find another like it. They've very occasionally turned up on eBay for more money than I could afford -- until last week I came into a couple of them through a drum corps alum network on Facebook. I need to find a heavy elastic band and some rectangular rings to complete it, but between the two I purchased I was able to build up a very fine, usable leg rest for my new-to-me 15-inch snare drum.

I found the original patent from 1961 online. Curiously, the original patent expired around the time I began high school. Likely because the first mass-produced rigid harnesses ("vests") were just coming into use by then, the patent was not renewed. But it's still a great design, and remains the most comfortable leg rest ever.

As I said, these are harder to find, perhaps because their years of production were more limited than the standard bolt-on design that can still be bought new today.

But the designer knew what he wanted, and he figure out how to make it more comfortable by expanding the platform that sat against the thigh, and using spring steel to allow for easy attachment and removal.

One note: if you find one of these today, you may discover (as I did) that the thigh cup is a little narrow. (I fit me perfect when I was fourteen!)
It's a simple fix to place one side wrapped in shop rags in a bench vise and gently pull the other side wider, a little at a time so you don't crack the metal. Keep trying it on until it fits. (If your legs are too wide for this one, get the other kind instead, as it tends to fit winder legs.)

As soon as I find the heavy elastic band I'm looking for, I'll set this up on my Ludwig and start walking around with it.
I can't wait. It' going to be basically perfect for the kind of drumming I want to do.

Vintage corner: In praise of flat pads

A number of practice pads have been made over the decades that were designed to lay on top of a snare drum. Playing the pad this way would bring out a little of the snare sound while reducing the overall volume, making them an ideal practice aid for home and travel use.

I currently own three of these "flat" pads:

1. Ludwig "Gladstone" style pad, circa 1950s. Stage and studio drummer Billy Gladstone originally designed this practice pad in the 1940s while working with Gretsch Drums as an endorsee. The rubber pad was molded in one piece of rubber with two different thicknesses, giving the player a thicker, solid rubber playing surface in the center and a much thinner, more flexible rubber surface around the outside that helped to dampen the drum.When the patent ran out on this design, many other companies copied it and sold it under their brand. The pad is still manufactured today, though modern versions don't seem to feel as flexible; my guess is that more nylon was added to the rubber mixture and that has altered the feel and sound.

2. Camco practice pad circa 1960s. Similar in design to the Gladstone pad, but with a solid rubber disc glued to the center of a thin, wooden fiber platform. This more rigid design blocked out much more of the snare drum sound and further dampened the drum.

3. A. Stubbs Percussion drum mute, circa 1980s (?). This was a product designed and made in small batches by Amy Stubbs, who is currently on faculty at the University of Pittsburgh and performs with orchestras and small ensembles around the country. Stubbs designed this pad for concert use, less as a practice tool and more as a snare drum mute. Due to the specialized nature of the pad and its marketing limited primarily to college and professional percussionists, my guess is that there are likely no more than a couple hundred of these out there now. This is of similar construction as the Camco pad, but the hard platform is made of a fiberglass/plastic composition and the underside is covered with a layer of fake lamb's wool.


Here's a little demonstration of each pad, beginning with the newest and progressing to the oldest.

The finished really big drum: a video

As promised, here's a short video of the finished drum.
This was quick and dirty, shot in a hurry and played at mezzo-forte so I wouldn't disturb the neighbors too much. Just for fun, I grabbed an old pair of 3S sticks from my high school days (re-taped many years later) to play this video. Not my best playing, but you get an idea of this drum's potential.

I hope to take it to the park later this week, so I can explore more volume levels playing into the huge Mylar head, the way we all used to play before the advent of Kevlar.