Hello All, New member here.

[Xstr8edgtnrdrmrX]

Thank you, The gold Ludwigs is a Downbeat kit that I first saw at my dad's friend's house when I was 10 years old. 33 years later they became mine. It was a 64 kit with the supraphonic, flat base stands, A cymbals, cases, trap case, cowbell and woodblock for $450! His son played it for 6 months and put in the cases for 33 years. When I pulled a lug, the wrap had zero fade! I was able to buy new gold sparkle from Precision Drum and recover a period 4" downbeat snare, a 5" pioneer snare and a 16" FT. In the end I just didn't like the gold sparkle because it was actually orange. I wish I had them now. The Slingy's were orphan pieces I bought and recovered in Blue Diamond Pearl. The FT was a 60's 15" parade snare that I cut down and recovered. It was a really pretty kit. The green and black Rogers were very neglected Dayton kits that I restored. Loved those Rogers Drums.

I luckily inherited my dads 1955 Ludwig kit, and still use it to this day. Other than the heads, it is pretty much all original.. I don't gig with the original stands, but still have them. I even still have the original heads frrom the 50's. That is where I got my affinity for Ludwigs.

Slingerlands catch my interest b/c I am a huge Krupa fan

 

[Tiges]

G'day Tom welcome from Melbourne Australia your got some nice looking kits there what's your fav?

 

[Tom E]

G'day Tom welcome from Melbourne Australia your got some nice looking kits there what's your fav?

Hello Tiges,
I've had so many sets come through the house that I couldn't choose a favorite. But, I guess those gold sparkle Ludwig's are the ones I wish I didn't sell. I once acquired a Gretsch stopsign badge 13,16,22 kit in Emerald Green Diamond Pearl that was super classy. But, I never was a fan of that configuration. I have always favored the 12, 14, 20 config. My snares are a 63 Slingerland 3-ply and my mid 70's Supraphonic.
How are things in Australia? Everyone I've known who has been there says they wanted to stay forever!!

 

[Tiges]

G'day Tom it's all good here Lovely part of the world wouldn't live any where else Cheers.

 

[madjack956]

Welcome Tom!
Born and raised in Lincoln, R.I.. I still have family there. I still miss Dels Lemonade and walking the trestle at the Blackstone River.

 

[Jeremy Bender]

Welcome Tom.
Spent a couple 4th of July's playing concerts in Bristol RI many years ago. My folks had friends that retired in N. Kingstown on Narragansett Bay. Wonderful place-great memories.
Would love to hear more about your Rogers and Slingerlands and any tips/tricks on restorations!

 

[Tom E]

Welcome Tom.
Spent a couple 4th of July's playing concerts in Bristol RI many years ago. My folks had friends that retired in N. Kingstown on Narragansett Bay. Wonderful place-great memories.
Would love to hear more about your Rogers and Slingerlands and any tips/tricks on restorations!

Hi Jeremy,
I have no vintage gear anymore but am happy to answer any questions you may have. I have quite a bit of experience but am no expert by any means. I sure had a lot of fun though!!

 

[Tom E]

Welcome Tom!
Born and raised in Lincoln, R.I.. I still have family there. I still miss Dels Lemonade and walking the trestle at the Blackstone River.

Hi Madjack,
I actually grew up in Milford Ma and lived in Bellingham for 30 years. I downsized to Cumberland almost 8 years ago. I have to say this is the friendliest town I've ever seen. I love it here.

 

[Tom E]

I luckily inherited my dads 1955 Ludwig kit, and still use it to this day. Other than the heads, it is pretty much all original.. I don't gig with the original stands, but still have them. I even still have the original heads frrom the 50's. That is where I got my affinity for Ludwigs.

Slingerlands catch my interest b/c I am a huge Krupa fan

Love to see a pic of those 55's

 

[Tom E]

I like this angle better

View attachment 115361

Wow......those are beautiful. They must sound sweet and mellow. Nice job.

 

[ToneT]

Welcome, Tom E!

 

[Sonar Dave]

I love the Aged Wood Kit.

 

[harryconway]

Wow......those are beautiful. They must sound sweet and mellow. Nice job.

Those are Old Dog New Cans ...... I just rotated his photo 90 degrees, si the kit wasn't hanging off the wall But yeah, their beautiful.

 

[Xstr8edgtnrdrmrX]

Love to see a pic of those 55's

man....searching through all of my pics, I realized I don't have realy great pics of them...they are all in lower light gig situations

here are the 2 best



also with the 40's/50's era Zildjians. These were my dads. He was a jazz drummer about town in the 60's.


the snare is possibly a 62 Supra, or even before. He had the snare before 1960. It looks like a Supraphonic, but the badge is from what I think is an earlier date

 

[Hellwyck]

Hi Everyone,
Just introducing myself. I'm Tom E. from Cumberland RI. I'm 67 (drummer for the last 55) and recently retired. I used to restore a lot of vintage kits back 20 years ago. I was able to save a bunch of neglected Rogers and Slingerland kits and recovered them with the reissued Crushed Glass Glitters from Precison Drum. Recently I sold off all my expensive gear and decided to go more economical. Also, a friend asked me to help her sell off her (literally houseful of stuff) so I'll be plenty busy.
As far as gigs, these days I'm doing my assisted living duo with a gtr player which is a blast. I retired from that world and saw up close what magic the music is for the residents, especially the memory care folks. I'm also in the process of putting together a lounge trio to play lower volume music on my sweet little kit with a 16" bass. I'm just not interested in playing loud music anymore (said the old guy!!). It's great to be here and I look forward to absorbing all the knowledge that is available here.
Tom E.

Welcome to the forums!

 

[pocket player]

Welcome Tom .E , I am 67 also,playing better now than i ever have , learning something new everyday. good luck !!

Tom .F. LI, NY

 

[JimmyM]

Until recently (pre-covid) I was doing classic rock and was in a funky band called Mondo Soul. Mondo being the band leaders 225lb Great Dane! Unfortunately, my friend has some health challenges, so Mondo Soul is over.
For that gig I played a 4-5 pc Pearl Session Custom Maple with a Sabian AA 21" dry ride, 15"K dark thin crash on the left and a Sabian HH 16" Manhattan crash on the right and a 10" K splash in the middle. Hats were and still are my old Zildjian 15" new beats and 14" new beats. That 15" KDT is the best crash I've ever owned. For my assisted living gigs I play (believe it or not) a Ludwig Questlove Breakbeat kit with the 16" bass drum. I bought it new, just on a lark, for $399 and I have to say it's pretty awesome. The snare was useless even after I cut the snare beds in the shell but the bass is killer with an E-mad, the 13" FT got an evens hydraulic and the 10" tom has an ambassador. For a snare I use my favorite 63 Slingerland 3-ply in WMP. It just gets better sounding the older it gets. I recently changed all my hardware over to the new DW ultralight stands. I love that stuff. Here's some pics of a few of the kits that I restored back in the day. Of course, I wish I still had them all.

Breakbeat shells are somewhat underrated if you ask me. The snare...pfft but I've worked with a couple drummers who use the 3-drum shell kits and they've always delivered quality tones.