Legend Bronze Snare... what's the scoop?

Dirtysticks

Senior Member
There isn't much info about these drums online as far as specs and whatnot, so I want to know if any of you guys know anything about this discontinued line of drums. From what I've found, they were a custom high end company making drums using keller shells and high end bronze shells. They were owned by Kaman and Joe Montineri ( I hope I spelled that right lol) was the maker. The drums were made in the USA. They seem to be rare birds on the market and people speak really highly of them.

I ask because I have found a 4x14 Legend phosphor bronze snare that sounds superb and the price is nice and low ( $150 with a hard snare case). It has such a warm and complex tone and it's got loads of crack and projection. It also has a way bigger tuning range than one would expect from a 4x14. It has a lot of qualities from my 4x14 copper Marvin "Smitty" Smith snare but it doesn't sound as woody and had more bite. The fit, finish and quality of the drum is really nice. It is a heavy snare with a seemingly thick shell and I couldn't find a seam on it at all. Were they seamless drums? How rare are they? Any additional info is greatly appreciated!
 
I played one a while back and the guy who owned it asked me if I wanted to buy it for $125 I was broke and in college so I had to say no. It was a 6.5x14 and to this day I still wish I would have worked out some kind of deal with him.
 
Buy it! IMO the phosphor bronze shells are the crown jewels of the Legend line. The late Tommy Wells raved about the Legend bronze shells. I recently purchased a 4 X 14" Legend phosphor bronze shell and it's a keeper. These are nice drums.

Yes, the phosphor bronze shells are seamless. Being manufactured in the mid 90's they are not what I would deem "rare" but they are becoming somewhat more difficult to locate. There is a small group of Legend devotees out there. They know what they're buying and tend to not let their Legends go. As far as collectibility goes due to rarity, Bermuda sums it up best when he states "how desirable is this drum?". Many drummers don't know about Legend. The ones who do, and understand the history of these drums likely find them more desirable.

Joe Montineri and his brother started hand assembling the Legend drums at the beginning of Legend. The shells went through three "badging" phases. The red dot badges are the earliest drums. There is more of a chance that Joe and his brother handled these early drums, and for some buyers, these drums may have more inherent value. Joe left Kaman shortly after the start up. At some point Legend went to the black dot badge. Then the corporate division of KAMANN decided they weren't making enough return on the Legend drums. Their reasoning was that the drum market was saturated. They decided to focus their funding in manufacturing Ovation guitars (I believe all Legend drums were being assembled in the Ovation guitar factory) and the newly formed Gibraltar hardware line. After pulling the proverbial plug, Legend staff continued to assemble and sell a number of the phosphor bronze shells to the public. These drums have no badge, but are still authentic Legend drums. When the Legend factory closed I believe Gretsch purchased the remainder of the phosphor bronze shells. The maple shell Legends are reported to be all Keller shells.
 
All I can offer is that I had a 7X12 free floater maple bought new around 1998. I used it as a main snare for many years and many bands (rock and funk/R&B).

It performed flawlessly for any style, although I added a Yamaha Wedge for a better cross-stick.

I foolishly sold it with my DW kit. Gretsch reissued the same basic drum with their badge later but I wasn't interested at that point (going brass in the mid 2000's).

I've been watching Legend on ebay and usually the seller wants way too much. For the right price, I would gladly pick up any model and cherish it.
 
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