Hi,
Just back from the 2012 Chicago Vintage Drum Show where I scored four very rare snare drums (photos and articles soon). I was so anxious to get this drum up and running that I brought it home on the plane with me. This drum came from a collector who prefers to be more on the private side of things so I'll keep it that way. It is very possible that this drum was a special order/one-off model. The "Special Finishes and Extra Equipment" page of C. G. Conn Catalog "E" states: "For those whose work requires, or whose taste demands, something out of the ordinary in the way of special finishes or equipment, we are prepared to furnish any of the instruments or accessories listed in this catalog in any plating or with other decorations as may be desired, and our facilities are at the disposal of those who are in need of special equipment..." So here we go, right out of the 1925 C. G. Conn Catalog "E", factory No. 32-S-17, code name sahib...
1925 4x14 C. G. CONN GOLD PLATED/FANCY ENGRAVED SUPERIOR MODEL
The Shell:
Joe Luoma thought the shell was brass, not gold so I consulted Mark Hadnagy (founder of Avenue Plating), this man has over 50 yrs. of experience in the plating business; his first words were: "Nice gold plated shell...", then, as he pointed to the snare beds he said: "Would you like me to take out those dents?". I've been around a lot of gold plated drums and I thought that this drum was gold plated right from the beginning but it's always smart to check. The 18-gauge gold plated and engraved solid brass shell is in very good condition and needed only a light lemon oil cleaning. I decided on a very light clear lacquer coating to preserve the gold, Brian Hadnagy of Avenue Plating did a great job. There were a few small dents but they came out easily. The shell is pretty light weight compared to a Leedy or L&L of the same era and the "crimped" snare beds are very crude looking as if they were just banged out in a haphazardly way at the factory. The fancy engraving pattern adds an elegance to the shell and is a totally different pattern from the other 6 Conn gold plated/engraved snare drums that I own. I wonder if there are some manufacturing records in the C. G. Conn archives as it would be fun to see how many of these one-off/special order snare drums were made.
The Hardware:
The gold plated hardware is in good shape but shows its age so I clear-coated the hardware to add a little more protection. Notice how the base of the C. G. Conn tube lug differs from that of an L&L tube lug of the same era. A few hours before I bought this drum I purchased a Leedy 4-screw strainer (same as what is on this drum) to add to my parts stash back home. The only missing part to this drum was the thumbscrew part of the 4-screw strainer, the exact part that I had previously purchased. Abe at Weld Tec was able to separate the thumbscrew from the main section, Les at Avenue Plating matched up the gold plating perfectly then Abe re-attached the thumbscrew to the original strainer and also created a new rivet that was needed...sometimes the "god of vintage snare drum collecting" is watching.
Top and bottom calf heads and Snappi-Wires rounded out this easy cleaning. I'm a sucker for gold plated and engraved snare drums!
Enjoy!
Mike Curotto
