I've mentioned this set on several occasions but I don't recall if I posted an image once we had it all cleaned up and ready for gigging. My son Dan and I bought it together almost 3 years ago, but its mostly his since he gigs and I don't play much anymore.
It's circa 1962. There are no dates in the shells. All four shells have pre-serial number badges. The bass drum and toms were purchased from Steve Maxwell in NYC. The snare, which is a Jazz Festival model, but with a 5.5 inch shell, was purchased from BEC a year or so ago. The approximate dating was based on the pre-serial badges on all 4 drums, with the two toms painted white inside with baseball bat mufflers, and the snare and bass with the inside unpainted mahogany.
The shells are in very good condition. Some of the hardware is pitted/rusted and/or difficult to use so it was replaced with more modern versions that would stand up to the rigors of gigging. The replaced original hardware is safely stored and will be included with the drums if Dan ever decides to sell them
The biggest problem with the hardware was the gull wing spurs which were in good shape but were not mounted symmetrically on the shell which made using them difficult. Don't know whether the factory screwed up or whether they were added by the owner. I didn't want to drill other holes so instead we added the Ludwig Atlas spurs. The bass drum mounted cymbal bracket thumb screw was too corroded and worn for it to tighten properly and the same was true for one of the floor tom leg brackets and the mounted tom bracket They were stored and all brackets were replaced with modern versions. A modern bass drum mounted cymbal arm was purchased since the kit did not come with one. The original rail consolette was in visually good condition but was very difficult to tighten securely and it moved on its own when playing, so it was replaced with a new one from Steve Maxwell which looks almost identical.
The batter heads on the snare and toms are Evans Calftones. Really love the sound of those heads. The bass drum pedal (not shown) is a Speed King in very good condition with no squeaks. It hard to know when it was made, but we've owned it for 15 years.
The cymbal is a 22" Type II trans stamp from 1949 weighing in at a very light 1900 grams. Dan picked that one up from Steve Maxwell a few months back. With an 18' trans stamp (not shown) on the left, he's good to go.
[img]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48610372381_9046794a2f_b.jpg[/img]20190823_234534_DXO 08-23-2019 by mwsilver, on Flickr
