About Vintage Drums
Vintage drums are a popular choice for drummers who prefer the woody tones of yesteryear to today's modern-sounding drums. A large market has sprung up around high-quality playable vintage drums and collectible drums that connect current drum enthusiasts to musical history and the great musicians of the past.
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Types
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Vintage drums can be bought in sets or as separate pieces. Old sets typically included fewer pieces than modern sets, usually consisting of only 3 or 4 drums, though there are some vintage 5-piece sets. Individual snare drums, bass drums and toms will be easier to find in the vintage drum market, and many sellers will include accessories such as ride cymbals, hi-hat cymbals, crash cymbals, cymbal stands, drum stands, drum mounts, drum rims, drum pedals and drum thrones. There is also a separate market for vintage drum gear and repair parts.
Features
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Drums from earlier periods are often talked about in terms of finish and shell material. Vintage drums can be made of metal, stained wood, wrapped wood, painted wood and acrylic. The earlier drum shells are usually done in a 3-ply fashion, while later drum shells are 6-ply. Finishes come in onyx or agate, satin or satin flame, sparkle and pearl. Many vintage drums are brightly colored in unique shades, such as champagne sparkle or black oyster.
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Identification
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Aside from decade, finish and material, vintage drum sets are identified by the companies that made them. Some of the most popular brands today are from Slingerland, GP, Rogers, Sonor, Camco, Leedy and Gretsch. The company name can be found on the badge attached to the drum. Often, collectors need to have a drum identified by a specialist or expert enthusiast either because the badge is missing or because the company information gives very little clue as to the particular drum model. Some models will be worth much more than others.
History
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The start of the vintage drum era in America is usually considered to be the early 20th century, when many of the now-famous brand name companies began production. Friedrich Gretsch, W.G. Leedy and James Cooley started their work in the late Victorian era and made names for themselves at the turn of the century along with William and Theobald Ludwig. In the 1920s, H.H. Slingerland hit the scene as a banjo-maker turned drum manufacturer. Many of these companies started out as family-owned, and some were passed down to sons or grandsons until the 1940s, when mergers and company trading occurred with Leedy, Ludwig and Rogers and Son. The rest of the vintage drum era is characterized by this sort of merger or sale, and Japanese drum sets appeared as Hoshino bought the Camco name. Today, many of these classic companies are renamed or owned by other corporations.
Considerations
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Vintage drums must be cleaned and maintained very carefully, and must sometimes be repaired or sent out for repair. When cleaning a vintage drum, the drum must be disassembled so that the different cleaning materials used on each part do not come into contact with parts of the drum they may damage. Even the washers, screws and lug casings should be cleaned, and all screws and tension rods should be lubricated. Vintage drums can be easily damaged by the use of the wrong products, so a vintage drum owner should consult multiple sources to determine the best course of action for his particular drum.
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