Great pics and great story, TommyP! Thanks for sharing. Oh, I almost forgot -- great looking drummer and great looking kit, too! I must say though that I believe it's the first time that I've actually seen you behind a non-WMP kit.
Gary!
Indeed!, not WMP, but that's because Fibes never offered WMP. Their standard wraps were all metal during this era, and they offered: Chrome over Fiberglass (COF) ... Antique Brass ... and Antique Copper. When Buddy played his full Fibes set in 1967, they were finished in COF. He only played them for about 6 months in the back part of 1967, then hooked on with Slingerland in 1968. So, these are an authentic era/build Fibes Buddy Rich set! I've been gigging these for about a year now. I finished the restoration last April actually. These are RARE in this build/year, as they are 1st generation Bob Grauso built Fibes, and in Buddy's sizes and configuration. Buddy's Fibes, as are these, were built 3 years prior to CFMartin taking over the company/production in 1970. THANKS for the kind words and comments Gary! :)
Tommyp