Very nice.The bass drum double tom mount,and the tom mounting brackets are Tama.

Steve B

Beautiful Snare Drum! Yes the shell is the same Keller 6/6ply maple with the classic dw bearing edges. I have one just like it 6x14", 1981 or 82 with the 100624 serial number. I believe they started at 100001 in 1981.

Unfortunately I no longer have these drums, and no record of the numbers. When I sold them I was a little tortured over whether they would someday become collectors items as they were very early, before the rims mounts etc.

Before I sold them I inquired with DW as to the serial numbers and whoever responded said they had no records and also that they were not making drums at the time I remembered buying them. (I think I was not connected with the right person at DW.)

At the time I purchased the drums I was studying with a guy named Freddie Gruber, who knew the founders of DW. One day I went for a lesson and he had an identical kit set up in his living room. I asked about them and he told me that DW was starting production of drums (I was familiar with the pedal); that they had purchased the Camco tooling with the goal of building quality drums in the USA (no offense to fans of Ludwig, Rogers etc who were building drums here at the time). I believe the set he had at his house was going out on tour with Burleigh Drummond of Ambrosia.

A few months after that, I saw the set that I eventually purchased at the original Guitar Center store in Hollywood. I used to go there every few weeks and figured they wouldn't last long there. They were still there several months later and I was in a position to purchase so I did; I got the impression that the store was happy to see the "back side" of the drums and have them off the floor. It's funny now, but I caught a lot of flak from friends about buying a No-name drum set for a relatively high price. Also the natural wood finish was not a very popular item at the time.

Camco experts in the house might know but I suspect these were basically Camco shells with a DW logo.

I probably shouldn't have sold them.

Every early DW set I've seen is that same finish.

BTW I think those people at the factory may have been right, I haven't followed DW closely but I don't recall ever seeing a DW set before around '85. Are you sure your years are straight?

My best recollection is that is was around 1981, which is consistent with what Slingalud says. As I recall the numbers were in the range of what Slingalud mentions i.e. 100xxx. One of my thoughts is that they didn't actually start at 100001, but something like 100600. A lot of companies, designers etc are reluctant to give things low serial or design numbers when they are just getting started. The idea being that higher numbers inspire confidence.

I purchased the pictured set below from the original owner who ordered them in the summer of 1982 and received them that fall. Set consisted of 16x22/17x16/11x13/10x12 drums. All serial numbers began with the 200 prefix.

The pictured 6x14 maple snare was purchased from it's original owner who bought it new in 1981. It carriers a 100 prefix serial number.

All shells on these drums are 6 ply with 6 ply re-rings by Keller.

I have read a few articles in MD about DW, It is possible they could have been old Camco shells,or the same recipe/specs made by Keller.

As I remember before they debuted at NAM they said they personally knew everyone that owned a kit,after Nam(1983?) they had orders that took them a year and a half to fill,and Tommy Lee became an endorser and they just took off.

The left over LA Camco shells, if there were any, are believed by most to have ended up in the first generationTAMA Camco sets. As for DW using the Camco shell specs, they admitted to it being an influence (maple plys with re-rings) but pointed out that theirs were purposely undersized and the bearing edge cut was different. Having owned both early DWs and Camcos, I'd have to say the DWs have more in common with Rogers in terms of tone and resonance.

baby crawl2

I'm reviving this thread to ask you guys if you know what year this DW serial number corresponds to: 005598

I just bought an 18" DW floor tom in excellent condition with this 005598 number. Just curious how old it is? Anybody have a clue?

[IMG]http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n632/PurdieShuffle/dwbadge_zpsd32998af.jpg[/IMG]

John

Yes, it's a 2nd gen. badge dating it to 1990 or the early 90s. In case anyone is interested. The 1st dw drums were Keller shelled maple finish 6/6ply snare drums(1981) (6x14") only, that had the same diameter as the L.A. era Camco snare drums at 13 13/16" for a 14" SD. When dw began making sets/kits(1982) they were all 6/6ply Keller maple, (Like L.A. era Camcos) with a no choice natural maple finish. Although the early 6x14" snare drums had undersized shells, the toms and bass drums could not have standard sized depths AND have undersized shells, otherwise it would have been a violation of design and ownership rights Tama had to the Camco shells. The early toms and bass drums all had extended length, 10x12" 16x22" 17x16" etc. Left over shells at the Camco factory all went to Tama, along with the rights to the design of the shells and the blue prints. The early dw drum kits were possibly Camco designated shells that had been made in advance and on hand and in stock, at Keller. By 1990 (2nd generation badges), dw had returned to offering standard size depth toms along with the introduction of F.A.S.T. Toms with multiple finish choices.