Bo Eder
Platinum Member
So, as some of you know, I found a nice deal on some Rogers Big R drums, and between the guy who had them and our own John Ploughman, they could be from that 1973-75 era. It is interesting that the badges have neither a serial number or "made in the USA" on them - I'm gonna go with the John Ploughman theory and hope they were a one-off made by a factory worker for himself or a company gift.
However, they are nice. Thin shells with reinforcing rings - I hate to say it, but they sound beefier than my Slingerlands (which are five-ply without reinforcing rings) - probably because of the thinness of the shells. But when I got them, they didn't have bottom heads or rims. Fortunately, I had extra 12/13/16 hoops in my garage, and went to the local music store to pick up some replacement tension rods for the floor tom (I had extras for the small toms). The batter side bass drum hoop had a few spots that were splitting - good thing I'm handy with a bottle of Gorilla Glue, a razor blade, and little C clamps - so those are fixed. One thing I wasn't aware of, and apparently the seller didn't see them either, was the cracks in the faux koa finish (its a wrap). I'm not too bummed about it as you can't really see them, and I may give it a go at re-gluing those down. The seam on the floor tom is already lifting (which I knew about), but like everyone else, that'll be covered by a stick bag usually.
The seller says he'll contact me about those cracks, he was getting on a plane. So it'll be nice if he gives me a break on it. But otherwise the kit is solid. I put coated ambassadors top and bottom, and a coated PS3 and smooth white ambassador on the bass drum. I'm awaiting a Rogers vinyl logo sticker to put on the smooth white ambassador from a guy in Canada, then the kit will be complete.
Incredibly, Rogers stuff is designed really well. That Memriloc tom mount doesn't budge after 40 years. And it was a genius idea to make the floor tom legs hexagonal rather than round. They don't spin at all! It's like none of the metal bits suffered any fatigue in 40 years, it's all easily adjustable with a drum key, and once set, it stays that way! I am impressed. This kit will probably outlast me the way its built. And it sounds great! I'm happy with it. Makes me wonder why I didn't have one of these as a kid (oh yeah, we were blinded by the Japanese in the late 70s, remember that?). I do feel a little grief that Rogers really went down because other companies literally stole alot of their designs, and then they just couldn't keep up, or maybe they didn't want to. But I think everyone should remember that this is where alot of the modern ideas in hardware came from, eh?
Enjoy the pictures!
However, they are nice. Thin shells with reinforcing rings - I hate to say it, but they sound beefier than my Slingerlands (which are five-ply without reinforcing rings) - probably because of the thinness of the shells. But when I got them, they didn't have bottom heads or rims. Fortunately, I had extra 12/13/16 hoops in my garage, and went to the local music store to pick up some replacement tension rods for the floor tom (I had extras for the small toms). The batter side bass drum hoop had a few spots that were splitting - good thing I'm handy with a bottle of Gorilla Glue, a razor blade, and little C clamps - so those are fixed. One thing I wasn't aware of, and apparently the seller didn't see them either, was the cracks in the faux koa finish (its a wrap). I'm not too bummed about it as you can't really see them, and I may give it a go at re-gluing those down. The seam on the floor tom is already lifting (which I knew about), but like everyone else, that'll be covered by a stick bag usually.
The seller says he'll contact me about those cracks, he was getting on a plane. So it'll be nice if he gives me a break on it. But otherwise the kit is solid. I put coated ambassadors top and bottom, and a coated PS3 and smooth white ambassador on the bass drum. I'm awaiting a Rogers vinyl logo sticker to put on the smooth white ambassador from a guy in Canada, then the kit will be complete.
Incredibly, Rogers stuff is designed really well. That Memriloc tom mount doesn't budge after 40 years. And it was a genius idea to make the floor tom legs hexagonal rather than round. They don't spin at all! It's like none of the metal bits suffered any fatigue in 40 years, it's all easily adjustable with a drum key, and once set, it stays that way! I am impressed. This kit will probably outlast me the way its built. And it sounds great! I'm happy with it. Makes me wonder why I didn't have one of these as a kid (oh yeah, we were blinded by the Japanese in the late 70s, remember that?). I do feel a little grief that Rogers really went down because other companies literally stole alot of their designs, and then they just couldn't keep up, or maybe they didn't want to. But I think everyone should remember that this is where alot of the modern ideas in hardware came from, eh?
Enjoy the pictures!