This is not the first time Tacton designs have been referred to as "copies". It is as though, Sonor ,Ludwig ,Premier etc. have some god given right to own drum designs. In what way is this Tacton metal snare a copy?
Parallel drop snare throwoffs go back to at least the 30's, when Leedy, Boosey&Hawkes,possibly Carlton and Premier used them.At one time or another almost every drum maker aiming at a quality product has used this system but the concept seems to have been most accepted in Europe.
Tacton is an outshoot of a brand called Trowa. I believe they were made in the same factory and had ties to Dresdner Apparatebau; the makers of probably the most reknowned concert snare drums of all time. This is probably where the concept of tunable snares came from ,an idea that eventually became common on all concert snare drums of quality. Trowa, which became the name of the Sonor factory after 1950, were making parallel drop snare drums at least as early as the time the Sonor expatriates were walking out the door but not all of Sonors employees left, otherwise Trowa wouldn't have been able to make world class snare drums at the drop of a hat. Sonor may have taken the name but they didn't necessarily take all of the expertise. Trowa drums (and later Tacton) built a quality product and from what I can see(i have 9 examples) the designs are unique and were likely created in house. The mufflers are unique and are the best muffler design in the history of drums, they used cast aluminum lugs, with felt packed brass receiver nuts in the early drums, the shells were 3 ply European beech, cold rolled, using a clever nibbling technique on the inner ply,hoops were more closely allied to the early Trixon style with a pronounced flattened gentle curve in over the head ,throwoff,pushed down to engage-----the ****her you pushed, the tighter, the snares got and up to lift off. plating was nickel . at some time the snare attachment became by way of a throughstud out of the end of the wirecarriers, tightened and loosened against the symmetrical hangers by a knurled nut. exactly, what are these designs ,copies of? Sonor,nor Ludwig,nor Premier never made anything even remotely resembling this.
the Tacton snare in question here is probably dates from aropund 1970. it is a fairly standard metal snare of the period, chrome on steel, with a rolled and tacked seam. wires for this are exceptionally hard to find, but can be made quite easily. these are very good sounding drums and with a proper set of wires have a high degree of snare sensitivity. this drum came from probably the area of the world with the highest concentration of musical instrument craftsmen anywhere and up until the designers were slapped with severe materials and energy shortages,they contributed quite a few fine specimens to the menagerie of schlagzeuge and given the conditions under which they toiled, quite a few afterwards as well.
