JR!

Having two Trixon snare drums in my BR snare drum collection .. ( he briefly endorsed Trixon/Vox in 1967 ) .. I had the same issue when it came time to restore and/or change heads/tune. Until I could locate an actual Trixon key.. ( as you are correct! SONOR nor Premier keys will fit, even though they are both slotted ) .. what I did was:

I hopped on out to our local SEARS store and went into the hardware department. I brought a Trixon tension rod with me so I could match up a short/stubby screw driver to the slot in the tension rod regarding depth/width of the screw driver blade. EASY! I bought the one that fit best and was able to use that to service the drums until I found an actual Trixon drum key, which I eventually did. Because I went with a short/stubby screw driver, I was able to keep that in my stickbag as well. Goes without saying, this is a "stop gap" measure!, but will more than get you by until you can locate a Trixon key. If you want to do this, remember... match up the blade to the tension rod!, and you will have no issues with "slip" when you are working on the drums.

Tommyp

Thanks Tommyp, I actually did use a flat head screw driver, but it has a longer handle. I'll take your advice and find a shorter one until I can find a proper key.

Those snares look amazing, how do they sound? I'm loving this Trixon kit I picked up. I would love to find a Telstar kit, those look so cool.

JR!

Glad you liked! Goes without saying, for these to take a spot in the BR snare drum collection, I had to find near MINT specimens... which I eventually did! Interestingly, I DO enjoy the playing of ALL these different snare drums too, although I do have my favorites of course. That said...

... for as "lousy" as Trixon/VOX drums get labeled... they're actually nice playing/sounding drums as you have discovered. The problem lies within the build/hardware. Not so great quality, and copious use of PLASTIC!, which over time/age, well... you know. So... how do they sound?

The wood 1/440 with parallel system is Trixon/VOX's standard 6 ply Beechwood, no rings snare drum. Because of the 6 plies and no rings, the fundamental note of the drum is naturally LOW .. thus .. this one has to be tensioned UP to get it to come alive... which it does at that tuning. Buddy did the same with his! If you listen to any recording where he's playing the Trixon/VOX drums you will be amazed at how HIGH his snare drums is tensioned... but that's why! 6 plies, no rings. Nice drum in that it has excellent sensitivity and response with better than expected projection.

The steel shelled Trixon/VOX Buddy Rich Metal Concert is a very nice sounding drum given the steel shell. I honestly think THAT is what gives this drum it's "warmth"... as the steel doesn't have the oft found "harshness" that COB can deliver from time to time. Because it is steel, this drum is capable of excellent projection, but still retains sensitivity. Of note is the Trixon/VOX "Simple Strainer" on this one which is more of a snare RELAX than a strainer. It DOES afford fully extended wires across the entire reso head though, and that helps give this drum the articulation that Buddy demanded out of a snare drum!

Here's a few more pics showing the 1/440 Beech shell and the BR Metal Concert snare "release" system.

Tommyp

I've heard that about the plastic casings and such, but my Trixon kit is 40 plus years old and everything seems to of held up pretty well. Maybe it didn't get used much, but everything works fine.

What recordings did Buddy use his Trixon kit on? I know there was a video, but I can't find it.

JR!

Truth be told, a lot of it doesn't involve "use"... it's the plastic parts themselves. Over time/age, and especially so with UV, the plastic starts to break down. As one plays/tensions the drums, those plastic gaskets under each lug WILL begin to crack, as well as all the plastic parts used in other areas. The WMP 1/440 in my BR collection was such a specimen. It took TWO drums to get enough good parts for the one, and again... mostly the plastic parts, nothing else. I will also add that you must be very GENTLE if/when removing anything from the drum as the metal Trixon/VOX used was extremely SOFT. Even knowing that, I had a few lugs strip out on me where they attached to the shell. Just incredibly SOFT metal!

To hear a full set of Trixon/VOX Luxus model drums as played by BR, search out anything from the "Away We Go" show on YouTube. You will be amazed at how HIGHLY tensioned he has these drums, and again... that's due to the 6 ply no rings Beech shell. Here's the thing though, due to copyright laws most ALL those vids have been removed .. but .. here's a link to an album cut which was the theme song for that show. This is an alternate take, and I choose this one as the drums are unaltered, so you can really HEAR how highly tensioned the snare drum and toms are! ENJOY!!!

Tommyp

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTXy4ayw1Ak&spfreload=10"]Away We Go (Alternative Version) (Remix) - YouTube[/ame]

Once again, thanks Tommyp! My Gosh, that man could play.

I totally understand what you're saying about the Trixon hardware, but like I said, my kit is 40 plus years old and none of what you've described has happened yet.

Buddy has his snare and toms tuned way up on this video as well with his Ludwig kit.

[ame]http://youtu.be/1QXdi25469U[/ame]

Check this out, I've never seen Buddy drop a stick. Is that the Truxon kit?

[ame]http://youtu.be/4rUHDv3LLgs[/ame]

JR!

Okay... ready? Those are NOT Buddy's main set of drums... that's why that Supraphonic 400 is tensioned that high. It's backline. Already set up for him and most probably supplied by Hollywood Professional Drum Shop. Rarely ... did BR use his actual drums when he did the Tonight Show. There are exceptions of course!, but not this time. Here are the tell tale signs: ALL cymbals are immaculate and right out of the bag new ... Ludwig Modular tom mount angle/height is not even CLOSE to where BR put his... splash cymbal "L" arm is standard Ludwig issue with a tilter. Buddy did not use tilters on either his ride or splash cymbals... and of course, the ridiculously HIGH tension/tuning on the metal Ludwig Supraphonic 400. The fact that he could play/execute on ANY set of drums irrespective of set-up or tuning/tension continues to blow me away to this day! But that was Buddy!

Tommyp

JR!

Those are indeed the Trixon/VOX Luxus drums! Note that ALL hardware save the tom mount are from his Rogers drums... because the Trixon/VOX hardware was nowhere near good enough to take what Buddy put out. Regarding the dropped stick:

YUP! I have only seen it happen THREE times in his entire career!... course there "could" be other instances that were not captured on film, but... extremely RARE for that to happen... but it did here and there. When you factor in that his career was some odd 65 years playing professionally, well... the number of dropped sticks is completely insignificant! Still, it gave the rest of us HOPE that he WAS human after all!

Tommyp