This has become my go to drum for general orchestral playing. Built from a black nickel plated brass shell, it is an all metal drum with individually adjustable cable and wire snare units.

This is a crisp, powerful instrument with a sound that only brass can provide - not too dark and 'woofy' but not too bright or thin. It is sensitive at soft dynamics but still articulate at loud dynamics making it the closest thing I have found to an ideal general drum.

This drum was built for me by Joe MacSweeney at Eames Drum Shells in the Fall of 2008. Joe builds great drums in the tradition of the George B. Stone & Son Drum Company going all the way back to 1890.

Of the three Eames drums I own, this is by far my favorite. With an 18 ply, 3/4" thick Birch shell there is no lack of projection. A second air vent gives this drum a bit more 'bark' than usual. And with a depth of 5.75" it walks the line beautifully between bright and crisp, and deep and powerful.

Built in the late 1920s, this drum has a two-piece nickel plated brass shell which overlaps at the bead and is soldered together. Where the shell flanges inward to form the bearing edges, it is flanged a second time back towards the shell and is soldered onto itself again. The resulting heavy brass shell is extremely sturdy and exceptionally sensitive.

Simply equipped with thin plastic heads and Puresound 12 strand concert snare wires, this drum is my favorite for soft playing.

This Eames Mastertone snare drum was built for me by Joe MacSweeney in 2003. The 5.5" x 14" shell is 12 ply Birch with an overall thickness of 1/2 inch.

With a slightly more open sound than the 15 ply Master-Model, this drum is a nice combination of crisp and 'woody'. This instrument works well for me at a higher tunings and sees action occasionally in multiple percussion set-ups.

This is another late 1920s Ludwig, again with a two-piece heavy brass shell. An inch deeper than the above 4" x 14" model, this drum has a bit more power and a slightly lower fundamental pitch.

Set up with thin plastic heads and natural gut snares, this drum has a fantastically rich and cutting character.

This was my general snare drum for concert playing for many years after buying it new in 1999. I used this drum for the majority of the snare drum repertoire on both my Navy Band and BSO auditions. The shell is 1/8" thick solid brass and the drum weighs 20 pounds.

Though it can sound box-like in some rooms, it is impossible to overplay this instrument. It has a surprisingly dark sound for a metal shell and is amazingly sensitive for a 6 inch deep drum.

This is the second of three Eames drums I had built. I recently traded it to a friend for another Eames drum however. Pictures of the new/old Eames Master Model are forthcoming!

This drum dates from the early 1930s during which time Conn owned the Ludwig company. The earlier two piece shells gave way to a very similar one piece shell as is the case on this example. The original wire snares are intact on this drum and can be tensioned individually with a screw driver.

This is a powerful brass drum with a brighter than usual sound due to the wire snares. Equipped with a thin plastic heads, this a tasteful concert sound for certain occasions.

This drum dates from 1923 - 1934 and has a one piece heavy brass shell. The hardware is plated in what Ludwig called "Art Gold" which was supposed to imitate gold plating. The engraving pattern on this instrument is much more understated than the earlier Black Beauties and is typical of the engraved Ludwigs from the early to mid 1930s.

This drum has a special place in my collection because it belongs to my Dad who was a drummer and percussionist before going on to a long career as a college band director. He purchased it new at a local music store in 1959 or 1960.

This snare drum has the typical Slingerland three ply mahogany / poplar/ mahogany shell with maple reinforcing rings and is covered in black diamond pearl wrap.

Dating from the 1960s, this was one of Gretsch's student model drums and was distinguished by the use of only 6 lugs and the 'renown' throw-off. It is also equipped with diecast hoops which were a feature unique to Gretsch at the time. Gretsch's top of the line models during the same era utilized 8 lugs and the microsensitive strainer.

I originally bought this drum because it was green but it quickly became my favorite for jazz drumset.

This drum by Charles A. Stromberg and Son of Boston, MA dates roughly from the late 1920s. The Stromberg name, furthered by son Elmer, would go on to be associated more famously with stringed instruments including their banjos and acoustic arch top guitars. Charles Stromberg, a Swedish immigrant, worked for the Boston based Thompson and Odell company in the 1890s making drums and other instruments before going out on his own in 1905.

This drum represents in many ways the pinnacle of drum building in Boston in the early 20th Century. With its separate tension lugs, aluminum hoops, and securely functioning throw-off, this instrument rivaled those offered by the drum building titans of the age - Leedy, Ludwig, and Slingerland. Stromberg drums fizzled out around the same time as did the George Stone Company by the late 1930s or 1940s leaving Boston with no remaining drum manufacturers.

For more information about Charles A. Stromberg and his company, read excerpts from The Stromberg Story by Jim Speros.

Description coming soon!

For more information about Charles A. Stromberg and his company, read excerpts from The Stromberg Story by Jim Speros.

Founded in 1890, George B. Stone & Son was probably the largest and most prominent Boston drum builder of the early 20th century. From the very beginning the Stone business involved both a school and a factory. George Burt Stone's son George Lawrence Stone would go on to be best known as a teacher and author.

First introduced sometime in 1922, the Master-Model Drum was the Stone Company's premier snare drum offering. The Master-Models were built from 5" x 14" three ply all maple shells, not single ply maple as is sometimes reported. While the Fred Gretsch Company is commonly credited with first staggering plies in their three ply shells of the 1950s, the Stone Company was doing this with their Master-Model shells decades earlier.

This particular example features the commonly seen "Black De Luxe Finish" with "Nickel Trimmings".

A slightly earlier example than the one above, this drum is very similar with a few exceptions. Because of the restoration work done on this instrument however, it is difficult to tell which discrepancies are evidence of evolution or variation in production and which differences are after market changes made in the process of refinishing the shell and hoops.

This drum maintains its Master-Model badge but unfortunately lacks its original strainer and butt.

This is the earliest of my four Master-Model drums dating from December of 1923. It differs in several ways from the later examples including the use of round tensioning nuts instead of hexagonal shaped ones, and a rosewood grommet rather than the threaded plastic version which would become standard on most Stone drums just a few years later. The badge is also rather unique in that it is made from a silver colored metal and makes no mention of the Master-Model name.

A previous owner did a complete restoration on this Master-Model refinishing the shell and hoops in an authentic black lacquer. Also, the hardware has been replated in brass which makes for a striking appearance. "Nobby gold" hardware, but not actual gold plating, was an option on Stone drums so this could have been the factory original configuration for this drum.

First produced in the late 1910s, the Stone Separate Tension Orchestra Drum predated the Master-Model as the company's top of the line snare drum. Both the Separate Tension model and Master-Model appear in Stone's Catalog "K" published in 1925.

Like the Master-Models, this Separate Tension model has a thick three ply maple shell with no reinforcing rings, and one ply maple hoops. Where the Separate Tension Orchestra model differs is in its smaller snare throw-off which is attached to the bottom hoop, and in its hoop-side tensioning as opposed to the Master-Model's method of adjusting each rod from the side of the drum.

This particular example dates from the mid-late 1920s by which time it would have been relegated to secondary status behind the company's flagship Master-Model.

Dating roughly from the early 1920s, this model represents the Stone Company's top of the line offering for field drums. This particular instrument measures 8" x 15" and has fourteen separate tension tube lugs. The slotted tension rods connect to the hoops using die cast metal hooks.

This particular example predates the previous drum. Note the omission of the word "INC." on the badge. Also unlike the previous drum, this instrument employs double post tube lugs and has a one ply maple shell with four maple reinforcing rings inside.

Upon arrival this drum was in rough shape. It had a nasty crack which wrapped half way around the shell, was missing the strainer as well as one tension rod and clip, and had been crudely repainted at some point in its life. Although normally a purest, I decided to have this drum refinished due to its poor condition and relative scarcity. The end result is striking in appearance and is as true to the original as could be achieved.

Nokes & Nicolai was a Boston based drum builder from 1912 through 1926. The Separate Tension Orchestra Drum was their premier wooden shelled snare drum offering. Bird's-eye maple, seen here, was an available option at an added cost.

This particular model employs a unique tensioning method allowing each head to be tuned separately by adjusting the tension rods with a wrench near the center posts. Stamped metal hooks attach over the wooden rims and house swivel nuts into which the tension rods feed. The posts are formed from milled brass and allow the rods to turn freely. Tight fitting stamped metal caps cover the posts giving a more complete appearance while keeping the tension rods in place when not under tension.

For more information about Nokes & Nicolai, read Lee's article Nokes & Nicolai: Boston, MA Drum Builders, 1912 - 1926.

The 'All Metal Drum' is to my knowledge the only metal shell drum offered by Nokes & Nicolai. While this drum does not match identically the artwork from Catalog No. 6 published in 1922, the shell, hoops, and strainer are all stamped Nokes & Nicolai.

This drum is a particular curiosity in that the aluminum shell is finished in black enamel with the hardware bearing a gold-colored lacquer or plating. This was either Nokes & Nicolai's answer to the black engraved drums of the day such as Ludwig's 'Black Beauty', or a previous owner's way of changing the drum's appearance to suit his personal taste.

For more information about Nokes & Nicolai, read Lee's article Nokes & Nicolai: Boston, MA Drum Builders, 1912 - 1926.

This instrument appears to have undergone some major modifications over the course of its life. Gone are the original separate tension lugs which tightened from the posts at the middle of the drum and in their place are more traditional single post tube lugs. The original strainer has also been replaced though the distinctive semicircular snare gates and even the mounting screws from the old throw-off remain. The claws used to attach the hoops are not a perfect fit and are also assumed to be unoriginal.

For more information about Nokes & Nicolai, read Lee's article Nokes & Nicolai: Boston, MA Drum Builders, 1912 - 1926.

This drum has a very shallow 3" x 14" one ply maple shell and would have been at home in a vaudeville orchestra pit with its matching 26" single headed bass drum.

Since the original heads were missing, this project required new oversized 14" flesh hoops and heads tucked specially to fit the shell. The result however is a drum that is literally just as it would have left the factory circa 1920!

For more information about Nokes & Nicolai, read Lee's article Nokes & Nicolai: Boston, MA Drum Builders, 1912 - 1926.

The 1907 Dodge Drum catalog lists the Orchestra Drum in two sizes including the 4" x 15" model represented here. Originally this drum had twelve tension rods instead of the eight which now remain. The shell is one ply maple with maple reinforcement rings and has a beautiful rosewood grommet.

The strainer, stamped "PAT APL'D FOR", places this drum between 1908 when the patent application was filed, and 1912 when the company was eventually succeeded by Nokes and Nicolai. Note the strong likeness between this instrument and the Nokes and Nicolai model shown above!

While the Oliver Ditson Company dates back as far as the 1830s as a music publisher, this drum likely dates from the 1910s or 20s. And although the Ditson Company had great success as a publisher and musical instrument distributor, they did not in fact manufacture most of the instruments they sold by this time. For more, see the History of Oliver Ditson Company from The Musical Courier, (February 1915) courtesy of peterhadams.com

This drum was most likely produced for Ditson by Boston's Nokes & Nicolai or their predecessors F. E. Dodge. The similarities between this Ditson drum and instruments built by Nokes & Nicolai are striking. The snare strainer, shell construction, and hardware are all virtually identical. The bottom hoop also shares Nokes & Nicolai's distinctive semicircular snare gates.

Of special interest here is the extremely shallow shell depth which measures only two inches. The rosewood grommet is cleverly recessed into the shell to prevent it from obstructing the flesh hoops should the heads be tensioned down tightly enough. An early version of the McIntosh strainer is stamped with the inventor's name rather than the Stone brand as appears commonly on later examples. The makers label inside is dated MAR 1912 making it the earliest Stone drum in my collection.

The Stone Company undoubtedly did a great deal of business in the drum and bugle corps market. Single tension drums such as this one would have been ideally suited for this kind of work, especially with those organizations purchasing instruments on a budget.

Dating roughly from the mid to late 1920s, this drum has a beautifully preserved, red lacquered, one-ply maple shell. While this model lacks a true snare throw-off, it is equipped with a functioning strainer and the original wire wound silk snares.