does this vid make anyone else cry?

Wow...just ....amazing.Steve gets the most amazing drum sets,and that one was just a time capsule.When Steve says its in NOS condition,you can take it to the bank.I would have loved to hear the back story on that kit.

Yeah,I just love the vintage stuff.New drums just don't do it for me like a 50's 60s Ludwig,Slingerland,Rogers,or a Gretsch 3 ply,in cadillac green.

I think dispite the fact that they were played by Krupa,and Rich for a time(he also played Rogers and Ludwig),Slingerland was truly underated by drummers.

Steve B

I wish we got a little sound file on that kit

would love to hear it
 
+1 on that.Especially that RK snare,and the 18" floor tom....oh oh......I think I just had an accident.:)

Steve B
 
i'm gonna say that last floor tom is a 20" and NOT 24"....just a wild guess on my part.
 
Cry? No.. Definitely got goosebumps though. I always do when I walk into that store. It's almost a high. An unexplainable feeling whilst being around some of those drums. The Krupa snare, the Sammy Davis Jr. Rogers kit, the Elvin and Erskine kits... I go in there and refuse to touch them... lol

On a slightly unrelated note, Gretsch just posted this on their Facebook:​

525943_457449720940753_1690523283_n.jpg


Several years ago, our marketing director discovered that he lived only a couple of blocks away (just outside of Nashville) from legendary Elvis Presley drummer, D.J. Fontana. He arranged a visit with him at his home and said that it was like walking into a rock and roll museum. It was full of fascinating photos and artifacts, but none as striking as D.J.'s original 1953 Gretsch drum set that he purchased from Herb Brochstein Music in Houston, TX.

The kit features a 20-inch bass drum with a front head made from unborn calf skin, a 12-inch hanging tom, a 14-inch floor tom and a matching snare. The set was finished in a beautiful copper-colored lacquer and is still in amazing condition.

D.J. tells the story behind the kit and it goes like this:
Back in 1955, Elvis and the band was on tour at and DJ's kit had simply fallen apart during the previous night's gig and he was desperate for a new drum set. D.J. particularly liked this set because is was small and could easily fit either inside or on top of the car as they toured the country.

But this was drum shop owner Herb Brochstein's personal kit, so he was reluctant to sell it. The band negotiated with him for what seemed like hours and finally Herb agreed to sell them the set for $400. D.J. recalled that at that time, $400 was a lot of money for a drum set and there was no way way he could afford it.

That's when the King stepped in. He knew how badly D.J. needed the drums and he told Herb to pack them up and he would pay for them. Elvis laid the cash down on the counter and made one of most legendary drum set purchases of all time.

D.J. used that Gretsch drum set for the next 14 years on the road and in the studio with Elvis and recorded over 450 songs with it. He also appeared with the set in countless movie and television appearances.

More evidence that Gretsch truly is The Great American Drum Set.
 
Cry? No.. Definitely got goosebumps though. I always do when I walk into that store. It's almost a high. An unexplainable feeling whilst being around some of those drums. The Krupa snare, the Sammy Davis Jr. Rogers kit, the Elvin and Erskine kits... I go in there and refuse to touch them... lol

On a slightly unrelated note, Gretsch just posted this on their Facebook:​

I stood behind the Elvin kit for like 20 minutes on monday afternoon just getting vibes...hahah

his heads are still on it and his kick pedal ...I love how you can see that he just turned the kick head when the beater would wear too much on the head.

I took a pic
elvinskick.jpg
 
Gva,

What is Mawells like inside, is it uber jazz, or more like a general drum store? I work about 10 blocks away, keep thinking about visiting, but as a non jazzer am not sure, I tend to go to Sam Ash, just around the corner.

Thx
 
Gva,

What is Mawells like inside, is it uber jazz, or more like a general drum store? I work about 10 blocks away, keep thinking about visiting, but as a non jazzer am not sure, I tend to go to Sam Ash, just around the corner.

Thx

I guess it is slightly geared toward the jazz player because thats what Steve is...but it is a drum shop that puts heavy attention on vintage drums

the main floor...which is the 3rd floor is a mix of vintage and new ...a wall full of snare drums...two cymbal rooms .....and two rooms full of kits

the 4th floor has a Craviotto room with amazing custom Craviotto kits ...including one huge Hal Blaine type Craviotto kit that is amazing and a bunch of others....
that floor also has 2 amazing Gretsch caddy green vintage kits...Elvins kit was moving up there when I was there monday....and there is a great Louie Bellson kit up there as well along with some other kits

its a great drum shop

If you are that close I highly recommend visiting no matter what type of music you play

drums are drums right?

and Steves are second to none
 
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I stood behind the Elvin kit for like 20 minutes on monday afternoon just getting vibes...hahah

his heads are still on it and his kick pedal ...I love how you can see that he just turned the kick head when the beater would wear too much on the head.

I took a pic
elvinskick.jpg

Yeah, I don't think Elvin was real concernd with reso-side heads either. LOL.

And here's a bit of trivia -- Elvin was one of the first guys to use a chain pedal. I never even saw on before I saw his (circa 1970) and he said it was made by a bicycle maker!
 
Yeah, I don't think Elvin was real concernd with reso-side heads either. LOL.

And here's a bit of trivia -- Elvin was one of the first guys to use a chain pedal. I never even saw on before I saw his (circa 1970) and he said it was made by a bicycle maker!

wow....didn't know that

by the time I was working with him he was with Yamaha and using shiny new gear..(a brown sparkle kit at the time )...he did always use one 22" ride cymbal that he told me he got at a music store in Manhattan in the 1950s that I cannot recall the name of at the moment

I believe Steve Maxwell has that cymbal right now as a matter of fact

I would kill to have that

Elvin told me a story once when we were talking about small bass drums of Bellson and Buddy Rich coming to see him play at a place called Ronnie Scotts in London I believe?.(that name always stuck in my mind because my neighbor was named Ronnie Scott).....and Buddy approached him after the gig and said...how the hell do you make that tiny bass drum sound like a damn 24" ?

always loved that story

after the telling the story I remember him saying..."Buddy had a way with 4 letter words....... you know "
gesturing as if I knew Buddy Rich ...hahahahaha

I miss Elvin everyday
 
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Yeah, I don't think Elvin was real concernd with reso-side heads either. LOL.

And here's a bit of trivia -- Elvin was one of the first guys to use a chain pedal. I never even saw on before I saw his (circa 1970) and he said it was made by a bicycle maker!

Elvin was one of the first guys to use the Camco chain drive pedal.Its basicly the same pedal as the Gretsch which was strap drive.Camco made the Gretsch strap drive,for Gretsch.I'm pretty sure Joe Morello told me(insert shameless name drop)that one of Elvins' pedals was a Gretsch,modified with a bicycle chain......which would have made it the exact same thing as the Camco chain drive.

Whatever the case,Elvin was an innovator in many ways.

Steve B
 
Elvin was one of the first guys to use the Camco chain drive pedal.Its basicly the same pedal as the Gretsch which was strap drive.Camco made the Gretsch strap drive,for Gretsch.I'm pretty sure Joe Morello told me(insert shameless name drop)that one of Elvins' pedals was a Gretsch,modified with a bicycle chain......which would have made it the exact same thing as the Camco chain drive.

Whatever the case,Elvin was an innovator in many ways.

Steve B


this is all very interesting to me

I never knew any if this

so Elvin was basically the innovator of the chain drive pedal as we know it today .......very cool

the man was never one to toot his own horn at all.....so he would never take credit for that....ever

but that is some very cool info

thanks
 
wow....didn't know that

by the time I was working with him he was with Yamaha and using shiny new gear..(a brown sparkle kit at the time )...he did always use one 22" ride cymbal that he told me he got at a music store in Manhattan in the 1950s that I cannot recall the name of at the moment

.............................

Probably Frank Ippolito's Drum Shop on 10th ave. An institution. (And where I studied with him). They're be times when you'd have a dozen drummers just hanging out in this small shop and Billy Cobham would walk in, or Jo JOnes would stop by. Tony even worked there for a while. We thought nothing of it. Now I realize it was a paradise. Those days will never return. Damn, I'm old.


............

I believe Steve Maxwell has that cymbal right now as a matter of fact

I would kill to have that

Elvin told me a story once when we were talking about small bass drums of Bellson and Buddy Rich coming to see him play at a place called Ronnie Scotts in London I believe?.(that name always stuck in my mind because my neighbor was named Ronnie Scott).....and Buddy approached him after the gig and said...how the hell do you make that tiny bass drum sound like a damn 24" ?

always loved that story

after the telling the story I remember him saying..."Buddy had a way with 4 letter words....... you know "
gesturing as if I knew Buddy Rich ...hahahahaha

I miss Elvin everyday

...................

When asked by a Downbeat interviewer what the sonic/artistic reasoning was for the smaller bass drum, Elvin said "It was easier to fit in the back seat of the car,"


..............................
 
I've heard Billy Ward tell similar stories about Frank Ippolitos shop

I would have loved to have been able to experience that place
 
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