Probably my last marching snare drum

The CB700 snare drum was fun to set up and make playable, and it sounds nice. But the short lugs meant I couldn’t tune it as high as I’d have liked, and I didn’t want to risk breaking anything. So I’ve tuned it as high as I safely can and put it up for sale cheap.

Enter what will probably be my final marching snare drum purchase.

The truth is that I want to have a marching snare in my collection, and I want it to sound and feel decent. I also won’t be marching a whole lot in the future — Long Covid has made things more challenging and reduced my stamina — but it would be nice to have one on hand when I want to set it up in a park and chop. I found an older Pearl snare drum from around thirty years ago. It needed some parts and I got it very affordably. Best of all, it came with the throw-off hardware and original nylon snares intact. (The nylon snares alone retail for nearly $90 new, and I wasn’t up for paying that much. I could have swapped in wire snares but they would sound very different.)

After adding replacement heads and tuning it up, I’m pleased with the result.

I’ve been wondering about the state of marching percussion these days. Not the high-tension or the Kevlar heads, those things are what they are. But the idea that the top drum lines in DCI, WGI and BOA can march a brand new line of snares, tenors, basses and all the carriers and stands, and then turn around and sell them to another group for two thirds of their original and very high price. Meanwhile, the poorest schools go begging for scraps and are forced to use forty-year-old drums that are literally falling apart, because they cannot afford to repair or replace them. 

Modern marching snare drums can retail for between $400 and $2,000. Tenors and bass drums cost as much or more. Consider the average number of drums in a marching battery and the cost of outfitting an entire drumline can go into the tens of thousands of dollars. 

The average DCI drumline changes drums every single season. That’s $20k to $35k every single year. And while I can appreciate that marching drums get heavy use, I cannot imagine why any corps or band would need to replace an entire drumline every year. Heads, rims and bolts can be replaced. And while there’s often some scheme involved whereby a DCI drumline can buy drums partly on time and then sell them to pay off the remaining balance, it all still seems so wasteful. It runs along the lines of DCI corps and the top BOA bands ordering new uniforms every year, a trend that did not exist until roughly ten years ago and which is now standard practice.

(Keyboard percussions can also be changed and upgraded, though I can’t imagine it’s on a strict yearly basis. A new marimba can cost upwards of $10,000 and most DCI pits have at least five or seven.)

The degree of waste in the modern marching arts is appalling to me, and it should be appalling to anyone else with a pulse. With so many schools struggling to serve low-income communities, it seems patently unfair that things should be so out of balance and so wasteful. I think that’s part of why I’ve had a hard time relating to the modern marching arts, and why I probably won’t follow them so much anymore. I’m content to play for my own pleasure and let the whole scene move on without me. 

I was able to find most of the marching snares I’ve had over the years for anywhere from $0 (the Slingerland single-tension I got a few years ago) to $100 (this Pearl marching drum). Depending on condition, I’ve been able to get them all working again for anywhere from $10 to $40 in replacement parts and some elbow grease.

I’ll try to find some time and space to chop on it tomorrow during the day, and post a video later.

Video: Slingerland marching drum after restoration.

Sorry for the delay, but here's a demo video of the Slingerland drum I finished repairing so many months ago. 

It's a keeper!  I LOVE the tone and crispness. When my health and energy improve, I'm going to take it to the park and have some fun.

And if you’re new here, these are the posts that detail the refurbishment from start to finish, in order.

SLINGERLAND DRUM REDUX 

http://drumlove1.blogspot.com/2020/07/day-one-slingerland-redux.html

http://drumlove1.blogspot.com/2020/11/vintage-corner-slingerland-drum-update.html

http://drumlove1.blogspot.com/2021/02/vintage-corner-slingerland-drum-update.html

http://drumlove1.blogspot.com/2021/02/vintage-corner-slingerland-drum-update-3.html

Purpose-driven developments in practice pad design

I've been cleaning out the dark corners of my practice pad collection, selling off doubles and making some space in my studio. Along the way, I've been trying out different pads and deepening my knowledge of pad design in the process.

Tonight I did a little comparison.
Using an excerpt from one of the NARD solos ("Benevolent Bill"), I played the first section on each of four different pads in my collection (disclaimer: all keepers, so don't ask if I'm selling them).

In order of trial and approximate age, here are my videos.

1. 1948-50 Slingerland Radio King pad, 2B sticks. The pad itself is actually no big deal, because it's the same design dozens of companies were selling in the back of their respective drum catalogs. Slingerland's Radio King pad was perhaps a little bit bigger than a lot of what else was out there at the time, but really the only thing that makes it special is the iconic "Radio King" badge. Still, it's fun to play on something so historic and older than I am.
The black rubber surface is still in good shape, and hasn't hardened yet. But it's also not quite as bouncy as gum rubber would be, and I have to pull the strokes out of the pad. This would also be the case with the bigger, deeper drums of this era (marching snare drums measured 15" or 16" in diameter back then), with Mylar heads tuned lower. Drummers of this era had to do some of the work involved in double bounce rolls and paradiddle rudiments, which is why so many worked out on pillows as part of their training.

2. 1972 Patterson design Pad. Another wood box, this one horizontal, with a more pure gum rubber playing surface that's lively and offers a bit more rebound. Still using the 2B sticks out of consideration for the design and the pad's age, I can get a very nice bounce. This is more in line with the marching drums of my youth, which usually measured 14" in diameter and had more lugs, so they could be tuned tighter and higher than the older 15" drums. Combined with a Remo "Pinstripe" head, these drums produced a fat but crisp sound that was tremendous to hear when eight or ten drummers played in perfect unison.

3. Vater Chop Builder pad, black (hard) side, with marching sticks. Switching to marching sticks for this heavier, denser pad made sense; the 2B sticks don't really work as well with the modern marching pads. I chose to utilize the harder black side of this pad to see if there was a real difference between it and the final pad in the comparison. There definitely is a difference.
Several companies produce two-sided pads with a soft and hard side, and in most cases the hard side on these pads is SO hard that you might as well be playing on a Formica countertop. The Vater version pulls back a little from that, with a thick "hard" side that still has a little rebound in it and makes for a more pleasant playing experience.

4. Vic Firth Heavy Hitter Slimpad. One of the most popular marching pads on the market since its introduction in the early 2000's. This predates the Vater pad by a few years but I saved it for last because it comes closest to the feel and rebound of a modern Kevlar marching head. It's 1/8' thick gum rubber on a wood base. Nothing fancy, but they dialed in the feel so it gives modern marching drummers exactly what they need in a practice situation. The gum rubber is lively and offers rebound, but the thin playing surface means there's a lot of hardness coming from the wood underneath. As opposed to "pulling" the strokes out of the drum, as I'd do on a Mylar head, all of the bounce comes from the tightness and hardness of the Kevlar surface. If I tried to "pull" the strokes from as Kevlar head I might end up pulling a wrist muscle and actually hurting myself.

The heavier marching sticks are really the best way to go on this pad, as the heft of the bigger stick balances against the hardness of the pad.

Practice pads from the early days up through the 1970's and very early 80's were not quite as purpose-driven, not as specialized as they are today.
They didn't have to be because concert, jazz and marching drums all utilized Mylar heads, which can only be tightened so far before either the head breaks, or the hardware pulls out from the side of the drum.

With the advent of stronger materials, drum heads could be made from carbon-fiber and Kevlar, and later on, hybrids of the two materials. These heads, capable of being cranked high and tight, became the standard for marching bands and drum corps -- and changed the way marching drummers approached technique. New drum pads specifically designed to meet the demands of marching drummers came onto the market. Some of the earliest models are no longer in production and are highly sought after by drummers of that generation, hoping to replace the pad from their younger marching days that got worn out or lost.

But practice pads for Mylar drummers have also evolved. Very few drummers today would willingly choowe to practice on that Slingerland Radio King, when other, more responsive pads now exist on the market.

That said, how much have technical advances in drum and pad design affected drumming technique? Or vice versa? Or does it have that much of an effect outside of modern marching ensembles? These are questions with complex answers, and I'm just trying out practice pads.

Feel free to respond with your questions and insights here in the comments.

And Happy drumming!

Vintage Corner: Slingerland drum UPDATE 3

Yesterday and today, I hurled some love at the rims and the shell.

The drum came to me last summer in pretty bad shape. After careful cleaning, the rims shows fatigue in several spots and the shell had been gouged pretty badly in a couple of spots. I had to decide how much time and effort I wanted to invest, and wheter of not it was worth it.

In the end, I chose a compromise.

Since the shell and rims were still pretty nicely round, I decided to honor the "beausage" (literally, "beauty through usage") the drum had acquired over the decades. After repairing the worst of the cracks (which I did with R's help), I decided I would lightly sand some of the roughest spots, leave the old varnish on everything else, and cover the sanded spots with some clear nail polish. It's not what a real woddworker would do, but I'm not a woodworker and decided that the drum looked more beautiful with its war wounds. (I certainly didn't want to cover the beautiful wood with colored paint! And I couldn't justify the cost of NOS wood hoops for a drum so beat up.)

The rim repair that Ron had helped me with has held nicely, supported by the pieces of bicycle spoke I inserted. All that remained was selective sanding and varnishing with clear nail polish.

The batter rim was marked with spots where the hooks had gathered rust underneath, which had soaked into the wood. Sanding would remove more wood before it removed the rust stains, so I sanded lightly and then varnished with nail polish.

 

The shell posed another aesthetic challenge because a previous owner had gouged it, maybe with a belt buckle while marching.
The gouging had worn through multiple layers of the ply, and while there's still plenty of wood there, filling the depression with wood putty would have been more of a headache than I was prepared for. (I just have a little Tuff-Shed where I fix bikes. Not roomy or fancy.) So I sanded the area lightly to smooth it out a little, cleaned it, and then applied more nail polish.

The nice thing about nail polish is that it fills the grain nicely, and dries quickly between coats

The other thing about mahogany is how it shines when the light catches the grain, even when it's been banged up.

The shell just glows, in a way it didn't when I first got this drum.

That's why I chose to let the drum keep its patina, earned through a hundred performances and a thousand rehearsals, played by any number of hands.

This one's a keeper, and I can't wait until tomorrow to sling it up and try it out.

Video coming soon.
Below: Before, and after.

Vintage Corner: Slingerland Drum UPDATE 2: Rims and shell

Since I was gifted with this drum last summer, here's the progress:

1. I took it all apart so I could begin to clean the hardware and repair the cracks in the snare-side maple hoop.

2.  I gave the bottom hoop to my brother-in-law, a woodworker, so he could soak it and bring the cracked section back into round with the rest of the hoop. This process took a couple of weeks.

3. While I waited for that piece to get finished (in between Ron's professional woodworking jobs), I cleaned the rods and hooks using a Rust Remover stick and finishing with some Nevr-Dull.

4. I got the hoop back from Ron, and finished the repair by adding sections of bicycle spoke to strengthen the repaired crack. I also began removing the tape residue from the rims and shell.

First, the snare hoop. The repair looked pretty good, nice and solid; but Ron advised me that without adding some internal supports it would eventually weaken and break again from tension and repeated playing. So I found a drill bit the right size and carefully drilled two tiny holes through the center of the rim, across the repaired crack. Because the other side of the hoop was showing the beginning of the same fatigue, I drilled holes there too.

The holes were run directly crosswise through the crack and the glue used to repair it.




Then, I took an old bicycle spoke and measured off sections long enough to run through the hoop, with perhaps a couple millimeters counter-sunk on either end.
I checked my work by running a spoke through the hole. It fit perfectly.

Then I measured sections of the spoke and cut off four pieces.

I squirted super-glue into each hole, chased it through with a section of metal spoke, and made sure each end was slightly counter-sunk when finished. Then I set the hoop sideways to allow everything to dry overnight. (By using a thicker gel instead of liquid glue, I was assured that glue would not drip out all over the place.)

The next morning, everything looked fine. I'll need to decide whether or not I want to try and fill in the ends with some wood putty, or just let it be.

Then I turned my attention to removing tape residue from the shell. A friend in Seattle had given me a bottle of an environmentally-friendly solvent called "Best Cleaner Ever," and I tried it.
Following the instructions, I sprayer a little on, let it soak in for a few minutes and then tried to wipe it off. It did nothing to remove the residue; and in fact the solvent itself had to wiped down thoroughly with warm water to remove its own residue. In the end, it may have loosened the tape residue, but that masking tape had been there for fifty or more years, so it's hard to know. I had to carefully scrape it away with a pocket knife, applied gently enough to remove the tape without gouging the wood underneath.

When I was done, I was left with a shell that still show signs of use and abuse, but the luster of the mahogany also showed up nicely. So I've chosen to leave the shell alone, not removing the original clear paint. I will apply some clear coat to the spots or bare wood that need it, and let the "beausage" be a part of the drum's look. The mahogany itself is gorgeous enough, even with the damage.

I still have some residue to remove from the batter hoop tonight. After that, I'll probably sand both hoops lightly, apply something to seal the bare wood spots, and let it all dry for a few days.
Then I'll begin reassembling the drum.
I don't plan to use a leg rest with this drum, but will instead just let it hang against my leg at a tilt. It will be a fair-weather drum only, or if I use it indoors it will be on a stand.
This was an unexpected gift and I'm glad I've had time to learn from repairing and rebuilding it.
Next: video of the finished drum. Coming soon!

Vintage Corner: Slingerland Deluxe Practice Pad #958, circa 1960's

Here's a really nice vintage pad from the early 1960's or so, from Slingerland. The Deluxed Pad # 958 could be used on a tabletop, or fitted with screws for attachment to a dedicated stand (very much like my older Radio Kind model from the late 40's which I acquired with a stand).

  This pad came to me without a stand, but with the little rubber "feet" intact.

The playing surface is lively and has plenty of rebound.
And the solid oak plank construction has a pretty nice finish, too.

It's just slightly smaller in size than my Radio King, but sounds terrific and, with thicker and livelier rubber, feels better.

Note: When demonstrating older pads, I try to use a stick size more appropriate to the pad's period. While I practice daily with my Jeff Queens (my go-to rudimental/marching stick), I don't want to destroy an old pad! Here, I opt for a smaller stick and get a great feel and sound. On a vintage pad that's sturdy enough for more regular use, I might go as large as a 1S stick if the pad warrants it; but most of the time I'm content with a 2B concert stick.
Happy drumming.

Vintage Corner: Slingerland drum UPDATE

 Last summer I was gifted with an old Slingerland marching snare drum that was in need of a lot of love in order to make playable again.
Because of the gouging and scartches in the wood, I decided to make it a player instead of attempting a museum-quality restoration.

Wth my eye surgeries, the High Holy Days and other details delaying the process, my brother-in-love showed me his progress on repairing the big crack in the snare-side hoop. I took pictures last night at his place. The hoop will need a few more days to dry and set up, and then he'll drill tiny holes and make dowels using bits of bicycle spoke I gave him.

Here's the plan: after the wood has thoroughly dried, Ron will leave the clamp in place and set it very carefully in his drill press, where he will drill 2 to 3 holes lengthwise, top to bottom of the hoop edges. Then he'll cut down some "dowels" made of bits of bicycle spoke (stainless steel), insert them in the holes, and perhaps add some kind of epoxy as he inserts them. (Since they're not wood, they won't expand so some kind of glue will be needed to hold them in place.)
When they're dry, the edges of the spoke bits can be carefully filed flush with the top and bottom of the hoop; or he can choose to cut them a little short so the ends will be counter-sunk and then he can fill with wood putty.
Either way, the idea is that these tiny dowels, stronger than the wood, will help keep the hoop in place and prevent further cracking. The hoops are maple, a very dense and brittle hardwood.
The tuning of this drum will NOT be super high-tension, so the hoop should be able to withstand the forces of tuning and maintain its shape for a long time to come.

Here's a couple of pictures of where things stand at present.

This weekend, I'll begin cleaning up the chrome hardware rods and hooks.
I hope to have this ready to play again before the New Year

Day one: Slingerland redux

After fixing up the four concert snare drums for my friend, I turned to the drum he gave me.

I'm offering a photo dump of each step of the process.

The badge, and the lack of date-stamnping on the inside of the shell -- helped me determine that this drum was likely made in the early 1970's. I will spend some time trying to date it more accurately using the serial number, but drum companies often used new serial numbers on older drums during transitional periods of manufacture. I'll see what I can find out.

After removing the lugs and taking off the wood hoops, you can see that there was a LOT of dust, which looked and felt like fine, dried mud -- my friend said this drum might have been to Burning Man.
I wiped down everything with a damp cloth to get the worst of the dirt off, and to get a closer look.

Underneath the dirt, the Mahoghany ply shell shows some gouges and scuffs, enough that I'll elect to clean and sand lightly, rather than attempt a full restoration. I like the patina, anyway; and there's no need to remove it all.

The maple hoops are another story. They get the brunt of the abuse on a drum this old, and show compression from the lug clamps and some cracking on the lower hoop at the snare cutouts. Maple is a more brittle wood, and can easily crack under strain. I am hoping that because the cracks are partial, I can figure out how to repair them. I'm envisioning gently and carefully clamping the cracked pieces back into alignment, ideally in a bench vise, then drilling small holes, carefully installing wooden dowels and glue, clamping all that in place and letting dry. I'll talk to some woodworking friends to see what they suggest, as the cracks aren't all the way through and I'd like to save the original hoops if I can. (Plus, new wooden hoops are not cheap.)

This wood already glows a little after an initial wipe-off of dirt. Once it's cleaned more and then waxed, it will positively shimmer!

The worst of the gouging and scuffing appears at the part of the shell most likely to have been scuffed, by a belt buckle or jeans waistline button.

This right here is a big part of why I won't try for a restoration, but simply make this a player again.
Even sanded out, there will be a depression that can't be filled attractively with wood putty.

Attempting anything with wood inlay or parquetry is way above my abilities.
And as I said, I actually like that the drum shows signs of honest wear from use.

The metal hardware, chrome-plated and very simple, should clean up nicely with a good wipedown and an application of some Quik-Glo.

Stay tuned. I'll take photos at each step of the rebuild and share them here.

Happy drumming!

Vintage drum: Slingerland parade drum, 14 x 10

My friend dropped off a stack of drums today.
The four concert drums with metal shells I'm going to clean up for him to use with his radical drum corps. The fifth drum, a wooden parade drum, he said was mine to keep.

It's filthy and needs a lot of cleaning, along with replacement heads.
I'm guessing from the hardware and badge that it's probably from the 1960s.

Here are photos of the drum as I received it today. As I take it apart and clean it up over the next few weeks, I'll post periodic updates.

  

The hardware appears to be all original, which hints at a 1960s vintage.

I love the old-school drum key slot (below).
If this comes back I'll want to look for a period-correct key. It's filthy and looks either paint- or mud-splattered.
But I think it should clean up nicely, especially with some replacement heads (Ambassador top and bottom).

Not sure what I'll do about the finish. One friend has suggested I simply clean off the dirt and apply some wax. There are a few places where the stain has worn away but I think it's honest wear, and I may just sand it lightly and let it be. I'll ask the guys at Revival Drum Shoip what they recommend.

I think this will be a nice project to distract me from the pandemic over the next few weeks.

Shuffling along with LIDO (vintage sticks)

 

A recent find, these Lido 2B drumsticks date from probably the early 1960s.
                                             
       

Lido was a brand used on drums and sticks made in Japan during the late 1950s/early 1960s. But the catch -- and what makes it harder to research -- is the fact that one Japanese plant manufactured sticks and drums for Lido and a host of other budget-level brands, simply stamping the product with whatever brand was ordered.

For a model 2B the sticks feel rather lightweight, but the grain still suggests some kind of hickory.
There's a lovely patina to them, and only a tiny bit of wood has been worn away from one of the tips. They're decently balanced as a pair, and they play nicely on my vintage Slingerland pad.
They feel more like a large-tipped orchestral stick than a concert band stick.
Eventually, Lido and a few other budget brands from this Japanese plant would be subsumed into the Pearl Drum Company.