I recently acquired a 1970s Big R 5x14" Roger's Superten snare drum.
My question is about the strainer that's on it.
I have attached a picture of it...is it an original?
I have an early 70s Dyna-sonic snare but that strainer is very different. It has the Roger's name emblazoned on it like a banner. I think they call it the clock-face strainer.
Any info is appreciated.
Thanks!
Hi Donovan Drums! Glad you were able to login to VDF! Many members are still having difficulty accessing the forum!
As to your strainer; the main body, with throw arm and mechanism attached to the shell, yes it is correct. However, the slider piece is not original! It's actually the least expensive one Rogers made, called the Bantam.
Rogers offered three different strainers from the mid-60's until the move to Fullerton; Swivomatic, Sta-Tite and Bantam. All used the same mechanism, but with different sliders. Top-end drums, such as Dynasonic, Powertone, and in the Fullerton years, all used the Swivomatic strainer. The Clock-face has a rounded slider looking like a round clock face! The lower priced Sta-Tite and Bantam strainers were used on the Tower and Luxor snare drums built in Ohio. Both of these strainers were NOT used in the Fullerton years.
My guess is that the owner might have needed the Swivo slider on your drum and swapped it out for the Bantam slider that he had.
All three strainers work the same, but just have different sliders!
There you have it...more info than you were looking for!
-Mark
Wow!
Thanks Mark!
The attached pictures should help...
Powertone with Clock-Face
Powertone with Swivomatic
Tower with Sta-Tite
Luxor with Bantam
Dynasonic snare drums also used both the Clock-Face and Swivomatic strainers, depending on year.
-Mark
Well done!
The attached pictures should help...Powertone with Clock-Face Powertone with SwivomaticTower with Sta-TiteLuxor with BantamDynasonic snare drums also used both the Clock-Face and Swivomatic strainers, depending on year.-Mark
Very cool visual comparison! Are any of the srainers considered more reliable or better than another in any way, or is it just aesthetic?
Very cool visual comparison! Are any of the srainers considered more reliable or better than another in any way, or is it just aesthetic?
Hi JS!
The Clock Face strainer works a bit differently from the other three and is in a class by itself! The other three strainers, as I mentioned above, all use the same mechanics, with only different sliders. Still, there is a MINOR difference in how far up the string has to go to get to the clamping bar of the slider. As you can see, the Swivo slider is much closer to the snare gate and doesn't have to pull the string so far up. In fact, it really pulls the string outward and upward. Based on that alone, some would argue that there is a difference in sound.
A good experiment would be to take a Rogers Powertone, either wood shell or COB and swap out strainers to see if there is any difference in sound!
-Mark
