[COLOR="DarkRed"]...eh, collectors item...I dunno....it is likely pre-20's.

It would have been one of the first sorta stands which eventually evolved into the 'hat stand. They started with these (actually most of them have the cymbals mounted vertically), then went to 'Low-boys" (which looked like very short hi-hat stands, maybe 12" off the floor but with the rod thru the center of both cymbals mounted horizontally)...then, ultimately, around 1928 or so...morphed into the 'sock cymbal' stand we have come to know today, with the cymbals mounted above snare height and therefore...hittable with sticks as opposed to just foot-operated.

I mean, I LUV that crazy old sorta stuff....and it looks like some mfr. has actaully recreated 'em based upon your first link...but...other than a conversation piece, what would be the use of 'em, really ?

But they are kinda cool....[/COLOR]

Thanks Jaye - full of cool info as always. (cool history lesson Clapping Happy2)

You've probably seen this page before - the source for the first link I posted:

http://www.vintagedrumguide.com/pedals.html -

Is someone actually making new versions of this old pedal?

My interest - aside from the novelty of the unit was wondering what the cymbals on it were like - they looked kinda thick in the auction pic - thicker like hi hat types - more so than some old small cymbals I've had and seen. - - I thought if it stayed cheap, they might be some usable bell effect cymbals (if the unit was in unusable condition).

Or as mini hi hats - I love mini hi hats. Those were 9" cymbals - I use 10"

Turns out that it sold for around $80+ including shipping - too rich of a novelty for me.

I did win an old Jenco lyre glockenspiel on that site once - my 1st time on - I saw it in the last 5 minutes and no one bid on it - I won it for less than 10 bucks :D - After winning I found the reason no one bid - $37.00 shipping from Tacoma WA. Still not a bad price over all. They're funky aluminum bars, but it has a vibe-like quality on the low notes - Cool1

Hey there, Newdecade -

I think that was the same guy (Goodwill) who'd originally had that snowshoe pedal on eBay several months ago. He had no idea what it was, other than some sort of obvious antique cymbal device - the photo he posted was sideways.

I wrote to inform him so he'd know what he had, and even referred him to visit the PAS site for further information.

New York City drummer/percussionist Victor Berton invented the sock cymbal pedal in 1923. He filed for a U.S. patent on april 24, 1925. His patent was issued in January of 1927.

Originally, Berton's hinged wood board device used cheap, heavy 10" brass cymbals. He'd made several improvements to his pedal by the time he applied for his patent.

By that time, only a handful of drummers found the pedal interesting enough to put much thought into, because eventually, a few even better versions began to appear, including an all-metal version in the 1930s by Boosley & Hawkes in England.

The major complaint with the "snowshoe" pedal (or "Charleston" pedal, as some called it, and which France still uses in reference to the modern hi-hat), was that it tended to creep away during use.

Berton's earlier hinged wood versions acutally lifted the player's heel up uncomfortably high, imbalancing him from his bass drum pedal. I know this because there's a local drummer/historian/shop-owner who has actually gigged out with one added to his very, very vintage trap set.

When I sat and messed with the thing, I felt the same way Baby Dodds did back in the late '20s - "Nah...!" It would certainly take some getting used to, for sure.

As an historical conversation piece, it'd be nice to have something like that on display, but to buy one for eighty-some-odd clams...? Nah.

Grab a pair of cheap 10" or 12" heavy cymbals and build your own. Once you tire of it, you'll be glad you didn't spend anything more on it - moneywise and timewise.

Glad to see you've got such a keen eye for detail and a healthy interest in the history of antique/vintage drum gear, friend. That's the stuff that needed to come along to get us to the great things we have today.

P.S. - If you think the remote hat was new when it came out in the '80s, think again - look up the 1939-41 Gretsch catalog. Bill Gladstone invented a hi-sock set-up with a cable-operated "remote" foot pedal. The riser tube clamped onto the bass drum hoop, and the flexible cable allowed the drummer to position the pedal wherever it suited him. But think about it - the double bass drum set-up wasn't pioneered until Louie Bellson began using two bass drums in 1942, so, in clamping this Gladstone cable hi-sock to you bass drum hoop, it would place the sock cymbals right where you'd normally clamp your tom-tom holder....

Dig it !