This drum came from Germany but it is anyone's guess, where it was made.
I have been around European drums a lot and this one stumps me---in more ways than one----even the snare head stumps me. Firstly, the shift from the use of non-standardized metric sizing , took place on an individual company basis ----Trixon was the last to convert ( 1963-4) but some companies, surprisingly the East Germans were as early as 1955/56. This drum is, a now conventional 14" x 5 1/2" drum with a snare head , branded Buffalo, which was what the seller advertised it as. I have never seen a Buffalo head but the style of the heads is of the older , integrated mud mix version( in order to look like calf), rather than coated. The early German heads--RKB(Tromsa) were like this but the aluminum hoop ,of this head is not Tromsa like. It seems to have been made by another company. Perhaps these are not German heads.
The shell is 3 ply European Beech, with the interior and exterior plys vertical. The re-rings and bearing edges are machined aluminum mounted into the shell with 11 studs or rivets. They aren't going anywhere. The muffler is a double scissors type, similar to an older Slingerland with a 4 1/2" x 2 12" gigantic foam pad shaped like a B, in other words, two pads joined at the hip.
The wrap is a typical ,high quality , thick ,nitro cellulose champagne sparkle.
Hoops are nickel on cast aluminum( very similar to early Trixon, Deri, Tromsa and Lefima 50's hoops, in shape, height and construction). The lugs are also nickel on cast aluminum ,mounted U style , as though in a different incarnation they were meant to straddle a hump. T- rod heads are 9mm---similar to Sonor and Rimmel, chromed and the threads are fine, metric. Most of the threads on German drums were coarse( Trixon , Tromsa were exceptions). The parallel throwoff is immaculate and exceptionally precise. The wires are very thin and responsive 16 strand, carbon steel.
This drum is out of the loop for me. The only similarities to German drums I am familiar with are Sonor( a couple of features), Rimmel( a couple of features) and Trixon( a couple of features). I know Trixon too well, to think it is one. Aside from it being a fantastic snaredrum ; any thoughts on this one?
