By "piccolo" , do you mean specifically a 3 X 13 drum -because that's what designates a piccolo snare drum.

Ludwig also made a Downbeat snare which was a 4 X 14 that many people consider as a piccolo even though it's officially not a piccolo.

I do know that Rogers made a very thin snare drum at one time -forget the name of it.

Also, there is the Sonor "Pancake" snare.

What you could try is to go to the top of this page and click on the "Visit our partner websites" and then go into the Vintage Drum Guide and peruse the old catalogs and look around at the various brands. I honestly don't know who all made "thin" shell snare drums.

Rogers' "Skinny" drum....

[IMG]http://www.vintagedrumguide.com/images/rogers_snare_drums/1970_rogers_snaredrums3.jpg[/IMG]

Two more....

[IMG]http://www.vintagedrumguide.com/images/ludwig_sets/1948_wfl_drumsets2.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://www.vintagedrumguide.com/images/ludwig_snaredrums/1959_LUDWIG_SNARES4.jpg[/IMG]

Thanks O-Lugs, really appreciate it...

I was going to be looking for a 13 x 3, but I'd be happy to investigate other sizes. Any of these would interest me, especially the WFL's. Do you think that any of these would be within my price range? I'm conscious that they aren't as popular as 14 x 5, 14 x 6.5 etc. and possibly wouldn't appear for sale so often.

BTW - I'll make sure that I research other pages within the site in future as well!

Well, depending on the condition, year, color and size, some of these drums can be quite pricey. The Downbeat is by far the most valuable and collectible of the "thin" vintage drums, in general. I've seen them go for over $600 several years ago. However, the economy being what it is, I can't really say what they might be going for now.

The sound these drums make is often very "crisp" and the response is somewhat "hard". I have a Downbeat and it's one of those "love/hate" relationships. It looks really cool, but....

Thanks again O-Lugs.

This has popped up on e-bay in the UK. It looks to my untrained eyes most like the WFL Compacto.

Could be a bargain? What do you think?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VINTAGE-LUDWIG-14-3-SNARE-DRUM-/250926161418?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Drums_Percussions_MJ&hash=item3a6c5d5e0a

That looks like a Bebop to me. I think he may have measured it wrong because the "beer tap" throwoff looks like it would be right at the top of the rim in the "up" position. It doesn't look deep enough to be a Compacto. Nice drum for 22 British pounds!

You do know that drum has been re-wrapped, though, right?