My CB700 Fetish.

I love vintage drums.

I’ve certainly played my fair share over the years. 

But I knew that as long as my life was small and my finances smaller, I could never collect vintage drums the way so many enthusiasts do. I know guys who have entires rooms in their houses devoted to the storage and cataloguing of their vintage snare drums and even drum kits.

So, while I lusted after many gorgeous drums and even managed to play a few in the studio, I didn’t buy them. 

Until more recently.

I went down the rabbit hold of CB700 drums, and found a spark of nostalgia kindled by the recognition that, properly set up and tuned up, these drums do not suck. So I started looking for them.

And now I’ve got three different models of CB snare drums, including a CB700. 

Each is different from the others and each has a distinct sound and feel.

And as long as I don’t entertain dreams of a great drumming career at this point in my life, they should provide me with all the sounds I’ll need going forward.

1. CB700 wood shell, 1980s. Eight lugs, the wood tone isn’t vintage but it’s plenty warm enough. I paid the least for this drum and it needed the most cleaning up, including new heads. It sounds really nice with brushes.

2. CB alumi-steel, early 1990s. A special drum. Ten lugs, aluminum powder coating over a steel shell. The aluminum coating gives it a sound that’s akin to a wet Ludwig Acrolite. It’s a cool sound and has a lot of depth.

3. CB brass, 13”, mid to late 1980s. Ten lugs, and a brass shell that cracks with a slightly deeper tone than most piccolo snares because of its 5” depth. I haven’t cleaned this one thoroughly yet, but it will get a new batter head and maybe some different snare wires.

I did a video demo of # 2 the other night, and LOVED the tone. I’ll try and get some video demos of the other two before too long.

And with this lovely trifecta, my collecting jones is likely complete enough.

(Yeah, yeah, right.)

Obviously, there are other CB700 items that would be fun to find, including sticks and, if I’m lucky, a drum key. But I’m in no rush. I’ll enjoy these drums for awhile to come, and probably prepare a couple other drums for resale. Stay tuned.