It occured to me while editing my Lefima snare drum thread-----adding a bit more info. that having originated as a family owned business in 1861 and continueing in that vein today; Lefima ,may be the oldest existing drum mfg. ------not including the possibility of some specialized maker of some regional drum, somewhere. I would be talking about a company that makes bass drums and snare drums etc.
Does anyone know of any other?
Besson goes back a little further but not just a drum company
I think I saw a Sonor drum on this forum once that was from 1880 something...
I think I saw a Sonor drum on this forum once that was from 1880 something...
Sonor started in 1875. Leedy in 1898 (Leedy counts because Gretsch owns them still and still occasionally produces drums) and then there's the George B Stone drum company from Boston, from 1890. It survives today as the Eames Drum company in Saugus, Mass.
So, yes, I'd say Lefima is the oldest operating drum company.
Loaded question Calf, ....BD snare, ect. = Set to me !!
A drum set wich includes tom-tom`s, BD, Snare, HH or cymbals (we`ll exclude FT`s cuz I consider them as Bass percussion drums) is all a set that`s not incorporated with each other.
A drum kit wich included the above as well, but are attached by way of mountings around a centerpiece is different from set-up.
A drum made by the Shawsheen Native Americans (still made today), is a drum made by tribe and could be considered a Manufacturer.
Lefima is prolly right in there as what you describe as ...BD, snare,ect. !!
Defineing that question gets complicated and has been here on the boards before.
Yup, forgot about N&C...I'd say that trumps it :p
That is the case, unless there are some little ones floating around( I would really doubt that , given the current economic pressures). I for some reason completely forgot about N&C , a company whose modern products , I am extremely enamoured by.( I meant the misspelling).
Yes Noble & Cooley started in 1854. They made drums for the Union Army during the Civil War. I got a personal tour of the factory back in 1998 when I had to rectify some shipping issues. They still use the the same steam bending machine that survived the fire of 1889. It's beautifully set in the Berkshires of Western Ma. in an old wooden mill building that precedes brick mills. However, for some time before 1980 they mainly made toy drumsets like Muppets and Mickey Mouse . But hey, those are drum sets too. I just saw a N/C toy Bee Gees set on Ebay last night. Kinda cracked me up.
