Rogers "Dynasonic?"

JLoveDrums94

Senior Member
So, one day I told my dad that the drummer of the (currently) greatest band in Mexico uses a Rogers Big R Dynasonic Snare Drum. Today he bought me a Dyna… something. He got it used from Guitar Center. It was from New Jersey for about $180. The Dynasonic that the drummer uses is a 14x6.5 and this one is a 14x5, that’s cool with me, but there’s just a few things wrong… I’ll leave it to you guys to find Waldo (look for what’s missing from this “Dynasonic”) Because of this, should I return this piece of history?

My pictures should be the first three big pictures, and the last two to the bottom are "my idea" of a Dynasonic. Compare them and you should see what I mean.
 
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The bottom 2 pictures are from a orig. Dynasonic you'll probably have to spend another $100-$150 to get yours original with a snare & bridge and a bridge protector & don't. forget the knurled tuning knob for the throwoff.

IMO it's worth it because they are collectable & they have a great snare sound very sensitive also.

will guitar center give you $400 for it?.. probably not... but you could get that on e-bay.

My dad has a 69 Dyna same specs as yours & it sounds killer.

good luck,
Bonzolead
 
Those part are available, just watch eBay. Might check into "Not So Modern Drummer", also. Vintage cats always selling stuff. And, you might wanna check out Bobby Chiasson .... at Jollity Drum Farm. http://www.drumfarm.com/ Bobby's a great guy. I've done business with him, a few times. The man "knows" Rogers stuff, big time. He probably has all kinds of spare parts.​
 
D26xxx Dynasonic is from early 1976. The knurled knob is of course missing. This should be a solid top knob, that can be obtained by 1) replacing the throwoff, or 2) using the knob and shaft from a dampener. Purchasing a Rogers dampener and using that part may be the cheaper of the two options. Later dampeners and throwoff knobs have a more knurled knob and a rivet on top. Yours is the earlier style in use throughout the Fullerton CA Rogers era up to aprox 1979. The rivet top knob was in use from 1980-84 end of production.

Once you get the frame, and correct DYNASONIC wires, proper set up is essential to a good sounding drum. The frame should be centered on the bottom head, tension on the wires is accomplished by the tensioning screw on the end of the frame. This should be finger tightened to make the wires sing. Do not use a screw driver. Snare adjustment with the thow off should never require force to engage the thowoff to the snare on position. Loosen the throw off knob, engage the throwoff, then tighten the thowoff knob untill the snare frame kisses the bottom head, bring it up slightly more, and STOP. Over tensioning the snare frame against the bottom head will result in damage to your shell where the throw off mounts. You will dent the shell by over tensioning. Properly set up, you drum will be very open, very sensitive right out to the edge. And, it will never choke.
 
D26xxx Dynasonic is from early 1976. The knurled knob is of course missing. This should be a solid top knob, that can be obtained by 1) replacing the throwoff, or 2) using the knob and shaft from a dampener. Purchasing a Rogers dampener and using that part may be the cheaper of the two options. Later dampeners and throwoff knobs have a more knurled knob and a rivet on top. Yours is the earlier style in use throughout the Fullerton CA Rogers era up to aprox 1979. The rivet top knob was in use from 1980-84 end of production.

@harryconway & JohnPloughman
I very much appreciate your useful information. I would also like to thank you for finding out what year the snare was made in. Though I couldn’t quite understand when you said:

“This should be a solid top knob, that can be obtained by 1) replacing the throwoff, or 2) using the knob and shaft from a dampener. Purchasing a Rogers dampener and using that part may be the cheaper of the two options. Later dampeners and throwoff knobs have a more knurled knob and a rivet on top.”

Could you explain this more? It’s because out of all the things that are missing, I think the knob on the throwoff is probably what’s bothering me most.

Also, I’m not sure if you guys mentioned this or not, but the other thing that seems to be missing is this fluffy looking thing on the inside of the shell. I hope you can view the picture below. (different format)
 
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That "fluffy thing" is the dampener, also called a "Tone Control."

First Transition Big R Dynasonic Shells numbering D 00001 up to aprox. D 15000 were Oval Badge era shell stock with the new Big R badge mounted in the first panel to the right of the throw off. These drums were manufactured from aprox late 1975 through early 1976, and had dampeners.
Your drum is a Second Transition era Big R snare drum (early-late mid 1976). Your drum has the Big R badge in the new location, two panels to the left of the throw off, and snare drum shells from aprox. 15000 through D 42000 were ordered without dampener prep.
Drums commencing with aprox serial number D 600xxx (later 1976) were drilled for a dampener, and the dampener was part of the COB Dynasonic, with certain exceptions, to the end of production in 1984.

A drum with your serial number should have never had one. There should be no holes drilled in the shell for it.


First.... differences in manufacturing era.
This pic shows a late Big R period, 1980-84 Throw Off, note the rivet top tensioning knob on the throw off. The one you show closeup in the second series of pics is the correct one for your snare drum .
2509368360028342110S600x600Q85.jpg


As to the dampener shaft........ This shaft and knob are identical to the shaft and knob on the throw off, and they are interchangeable.

Since a knob on its own is going to be impossible to find, the only source for a replacement is a complete or partial throw off, or a complete or partial dampener. First, remove the throw off from the drum. To disassemble the throw off, you simply unscrew it until the throw off face plate comes off. You will see a very small locking nut just below the U shape of the face plate as you unscrew the knob shaft. Once the face plate is removerd, the knob shaft will still be attached to the throw off body. Carefully grip the locking nut with a pliers or wrench and unscrew the knob shaft from this locking nut, then remove the shaft. Replace and reassemble.

If you are using a knob shaft from a dampener, simply disassemble the dampener, remove the end nut from the knob shaft, swing the arm out of the way, remove the spring, and pull the shaft out of the mounting bracket. Some dampeners used a locking nut on the end of the shaft, others used some sort of method to distort the threads on the shaft end so that the knob shaft would not come apart inside the drum. You may have to file this peened part of the shaft or use a correct size die to recut the threads prior to removing the shaft from the bracket. If you are buying a dampener by itself, this step should already have been done if it was necessary.

This pic shows the inside of the drum at the dampener. The dampener arm and felt were removed by the original owner, The shaft knob and mounting bracket were kept on the drum.
1983 Gina Schock Superten interior dampener shaft and bracket.
2316199200028342110S600x600Q85.jpg


1977 COB Dynasonic showing dampener knob
As you can see, the knob on the dampener, and the knob on the throw, are identical.
2567875110028342110S600x600Q85.jpg


Hope this helps. I wrote the dating guides for the Big R era Rogers.

http://www.wix.com/theploughman/theploughmansrogers#!resources-and-dating-guides
 
Re: "76" Rogers "Dynasonic?"

I just got a Ludwig Black Beauty (14"x5"),i also own a 1975 14"x6.5" Rogers Dynasonic,which i had from new,I love the BB,i can get the Crispness that i loved from when i owned a Ludwig Supraphonic that came with my first Ludwig Kit,but the metal work is crap,why can't they for the money paid put descent Throw offs on them and they use crap metals (What Engineers call "Monkey Metal"),i wonder how much it costs them to produce a Ludwig BB,The 70's Rogers has descent metal work,it just shows how the standards have gone down so they can make a little more money.
The only problem with the Dynasonic is that i have always had a problemto get what i throught a descent sound,but it did follow the 14"x5" Ludwig Supraphonic,and maybe i was expecting to get an equal sound from a drum of different dimensions,I did regret selling the Ludwig.
 
Funny this thread comes up now. I am in the process of getting my Dynasonic back into fighting shape. Scored it on Ebay and it was missing the snare gate. Scored some new wires online and I found a shop that sells a reproduction on the snare gate part, just need to order it.
 
Funny this thread comes up now. I am in the process of getting my Dynasonic back into fighting shape. Scored it on Ebay and it was missing the snare gate. Scored some new wires online and I found a shop that sells a reproduction on the snare gate part, just need to order it.

Where's the shop? I just picked up a Dyna and would like to see if I could find the snare bed but haven't had any luck so far.
 
Where's the shop? I just picked up a Dyna and would like to see if I could find the snare bed but haven't had any luck so far.

Maxwell drums is supposed to get new ones including snares in Aug September.
I hear the going price is $75 bucks.

FYI ,I've had very good luck with FatCat pitched snares as replacements for a Dyna I picked up a month ago from CL.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2NgnalJ38Y
 
David Drew, Drews Music, Woonsocket RI. They have OEM reproductions of the last Rogers Snare Frame. Fat Cat makes a set of Dyna-Sonic wires. You can get both for under 100.

Without what it should have, it just isn't the same. I don't care what anyone says. It isn't.
 
David Drew, Drews Music, Woonsocket RI. They have OEM reproductions of the last Rogers Snare Frame. Fat Cat makes a set of Dyna-Sonic wires. You can get both for under 100.

Without what it should have, it just isn't the same. I don't care what anyone says. It isn't.

Just came from Dubs drum shop in Dublin Ca and he had a Rogers big R Dyna with cradle and no matter how much we fiddled with it ,the sound was just meh.

When you got a good snare sound,the edges were pretty much weak in terms of sensitivity for things like press rolls.
 
Just came from Dubs drum shop in Dublin Ca and he had a Rogers big R Dyna with cradle and no matter how much we fiddled with it ,the sound was just meh.

When you got a good snare sound,the edges were pretty much weak in terms of sensitivity for things like press rolls.[/QUOTE


And I have 17 of them that would make you cry for not buying that one. A lot of people don't quite understand what makes the drum work. Seriously, the issue wasn't the drum. Set up, frame location. Using the throw off to set tension. Not understanding how it works. .... but not the drum.
 
And I have 17 of them that would make you cry for not buying that one. A lot of people don't quite understand what makes the drum work. Seriously, the issue wasn't the drum. Set up, frame location. Using the throw off to set tension. Not understanding how it works. .... but not the drum.

This reasoning bothers me a bit. I am excited to get my Dyna up and running but I don't think it's going to be some kind end-all holy grail of a drum. No snare sounds THAT good. This mentality that the Dyna doesn't sound good because you're not trying hard enough to get it dialed in strikes me as a bit elitist. Can we concede that the popularity of the Dyna was impacted a bit by how difficult it was to set up?
 
It isn't that difficult. Seriously. The instructions that came with are quite good..... If followed.

The thing that made it most difficult.............. well, two things.

One... A good percentage of drummers cannot change a bottom head and get the snares back on the drum correctly.
Two...Using the throw off to tension the snares. On a Dyna-Sonic, it doesn't work that way.

Those two things are primarily what made it difficult.

A very high percentage of missing frames.... I believe, happened at first snare side head change.
 
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