Greetings VDF friends
Wanted to share my latest addition to my collection and a kit I've been hunting a long time for. This set is without a doubt the cleanest and nicest "duco" kit I've ever seen.
We all know that the hands of time are not kind to these 2 tone paint finishes and every set I've encountered has had numerous paint chipping, flaking, spider webbing etc.
Finally a kit has come along that has so few minimal issues with this I had to pull the trigger. While it's not completely "perfect" it's as nice as it's gonna get with this type of finish.
BIG THANK YOU to Chris Hawthorne at Hawthorne Drum Shop out of Pittsburgh PA for answering my million questions & sending ALL those pics! You ROCK man!
This was one less kit that went to Chicago!
https://www.hawthornedrumshop.com
This set has a 14x22 bass drum dated June 20 1962, a 9x13 tom dated June 18 1962, and a 14x14 floor tom that is a perfect match and possibly came with kit as with an early serial number of 41015 puts 63/64.
The bass drum interior has the mahogany finish while the floor tom & tom interiors are resacote white & pristine with red felt mufflers.
The only real flaking on these drums is minor and is also below the head line. There are just a few small spots on the tom and a small area on back side of floor tom. Other than that, this real deal duco kit is as nice as it's gonna get for me. All the hardware is nickel and has the most beautiful patina to it now.
All the heads are original on the drums. The 6 lug snare drum is dated Nov 17 1956 and was mine previously before the rest of the kit & matches great and sound fantastic!
My question is what model snare drum is this?
I see no Pioneer listed yet in the 50's catalogs so someone please feel free to chime in.
I played the kit as is all original Friday night at a pretty big show and these drums just blew my mind.
I had to change out the original calfs on the snare with vintage Ambassadors as the snares first time ever did not disappoint and the drums really sang with the old heads on.
Truly amazing as I really laid into them!
Friday evenings performance marked my 9 year anniversary of my divorce from alcohol.
It wasn't fun anymore ya know?
This kit is a celebration of that achievement.
And I'm already looking forward to hitting my big 10 year mark with a very special drum at the Chicago show next May.

Congrats on all fronts! Is that a Slingy White Tiger Pearl in the background?

Originally Posted by slingerfan

Congrats on all fronts! Is that a Slingy White Tiger Pearl in the background?

Thank you!
& Yes!
Chris still has as his shop.
It's a Jet outfit too..
Here's a link:
https://www.hawthornedrumshop.com/sh...pearl-drum-kit

Mark!

A really great looking Blue/Silver Duco kit! It's rare that I see this finish without lots of chipping paint!

Not sure why Chris refers to that other kit as a "Jet". All Jet outfits had COB hoops on the bass drum, along with a Snap-On 940 Tempo King.

-Mark

Originally Posted by idrum4fun

Mark!

A really great looking Blue/Silver Duco kit! It's rare that I see this finish without lots of chipping paint!

Not sure why Chris refers to that other kit as a "Jet". All Jet outfits had COB hoops on the bass drum, along with a Snap-On 940 Tempo King.

-Mark

Thanks Mark! It took a LONG time to find a kit that was not trashed by the hands of time. Funny thing is I found another one that's REALLY incredible.
Now let's see if it's for sale..

Congrats on the sobriety. Congrats for acquiring a beautiful Duco drum set. I think that the 13 and 14 toms can work very well together. All of the drum sets I kept after thinning out my collection are of the one up / one down configuration. This 1963 Walberg & Auge drum set has a 14x22 bass drum, 9x13 mounted tom, and the floor tom measures 14" in diameter by 16" in depth. It is my favorite floor tom over any of my 14x14 or 16x16 floor toms.

Originally Posted by leedybdp

Congrats on the sobriety. Congrats for acquiring a beautiful Duco drum set. I think that the 13 and 14 toms can work very well together. All of the drum sets i kept after thinning out my collection are of the one up / one down configuration. This 1963 Walberg & Auge drum set has a 14x22 bass drum, 9x13 mounted tom, and the floor tom measures 14" in diameter by 16" in depth. It is my favorite floor tom over any of my 14x14 or 16x16 floor toms.

Thank you! Love your kits and I have one of those too!
I absolutely LOVE W&A!!
all same sizes as yours with a 10x14 as well.
hell I might play that this weekend..

Congrats on your sobriety and on this amazing acquisition! Hawthorne has some great stuff and is very knowledgeable.

Originally Posted by thejohnlec

Congrats on your sobriety and on this amazing acquisition! Hawthorne has some great stuff and is very knowledgeable.

Thank you sir & yes he does.

Mark,
Super Duco Kit. Why did duco stuff get so abused? Every one I've seen was beat up. Glad you found a good one, and are playing them!
AL