Tommy I need new glasses!! Been seeing this pic at the top but just noticed it was you and the Fibes!! cool YT clip BTW. Great action shot. I have to ask...... is that a wee bit of moonshine in the jar on the black stool? :D Kidding at bit. Thanks for posting!

Thanks for the detailed response Tommy. A little sad to hear that the Slingerlands and Ludwigs moved on, but great that you've settled in to the Fibes and saved the Rogers. Love that video with the brushes. The best part is how much fun you are having playing. Sheer joy there. The snare sounds really good and clear using the brushes. The set really is beautiful. I note all the surrounding Swiv-o-matic hardware too. :D

FFR428/Glenn!

THANKS for viewing Glenn ... and for noticing 'tis indeed me! The clear liquid could certainly be moonshine, but I'll have to ask John/Frank! That's his refreshment actually! :)

Dan Boucher/Dan!

I hear ya!, but ... I had to cut down what I had by a bit. I figured the BR snare drum collection is a lot easier to keep/store, whereas I can really only PLAY/GIG two of these BR sets given the nature of what happens to vintage WMP when exposed to UV. Because of that, I couldn't really play/gig the WFL's, and I was pleased to move them on to a MAJOR national level drummer/collector! I am sworn to silence on who he is, but suffice to say he is a MAJOR well known national level player/collector. The WFL's went to a good home! I sold the Slingerland's to a friend of mine down in FL as he was interested in them for a long time. They were indeed, beautiful drums, but I was constantly playing/gigging the Rogers, and then the Fibes, so ... was time to move 'em out. Regarding the Rogers Swivo-Matic hardware on the Fibes:

Yes indeed! Outside of what Bob Grauso/Fibes supplied on BR's set, the rest of the hardware he used with his Fibes came from his Rogers set. I did the same! I play all Rogers hardware anyway, plus it's what Buddy used, so was easy to do! :) THANKS for the comments Dan!

Tommyp

Tommy,

Like Glenn, I just noticed this thread (I gotta' look at the Drum Image Gallery more often!). Thanks for posting and keeping us updated with your gigs and equipment. You know I'm a Rogers guy, but that COF Fibes is amazing. It has a completely different tonal color than your Rogers, Slingerland, or WFL sets. Not that you need my opinion, but I think you made a wise decision picking up that rare Fibes set, even at the expense of parting with the Slingerland and WFL sets (but never sell that Rogers WMP 18" bass unless it's to me! ;)) So what's next?.. a BR Vox set?

And thanks for posting that brush solo. For those of us who don't make a living playing drums professionally, it's always a pleasure watching the techniques of those of you who do.

Mike

Mike!

Nice to see you Mike!, and ... THANK YOU kindly for the very nice comments! Grabbing those Fibes was your typical "no brainer" for me Mike! As you know, I play/collect all BR snare drums/sets, and his Fibes "experiment" as I like to call it, was super quick, a mere 6 months in the back part of 1967. But, because of that, and given the fact that there are NOT many in his era/build/configuration, I HAD to have these. Factor in that I'm a Fibes player/fan going back to 1973, and it was an easy decision! Truth be told, I SOLD my 1997 Ludwig Buddy Rich's to buy the Fibes. The WFL's and the Slingerland's went as I was looking to lighten the collection a bit ... especially full sets. The Sinatra Show is crankin' right along Mike. We just played a showcase last week for all the entertainment buyer's in CT, and that went very well. Looks like another busy summer! You know, should I ever cut those 1965 Rogers Jazz/Be-Bop's loose, I will call you first! I play those quite a bit though, as I still do a better than good amount of trio's and quartet's. Those are the PERFECT drums/sizes for that stuff. I've even done a few full Sinatra Shows with them. They deliver! :)

I did a very short little demo of the 1973 Fibes SFT690/Black FiVel snare drum when I did the brushes demo, and I'll attach that one here. It's only about a minute long, but you can get an excellent sense of how much body these fiberglass snare drums actually have when they are set up correctly with regard to heads, wires, and tension. I'm really enjoying this snare drum! I'll attach a pic of the drum after a did the restoration so you can have a look. THANKS again Mike, and hope you might ENJOY!

Tommyp

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZCGbEWyp2A"]1967/68 Fibes COF Buddy Rich - YouTube[/ame]

Nice Playing Tommy....

Always enjoy your pics... Classic angles of the beautiful kits... Pure Class.

Cheers

John

Hello John!

THANK YOU very much for the very kind words/comments! Funny you make mention of the "classic angles" of the pics. That is so true! I always try to grab an angle that will feature the complete look of the drums, and also grab just enough background to keep it interesting. I will admit that it helps greatly being able to play all these really nice theaters and concert halls too. The stage and lighting is always so nice! THANKS John!

Tommyp

Tommy, I scanned through the comments but I dont think anyone talked about it.

Whats the deal with your tom mount? Is that a ludwig plate on the bass drum and a W/A clip mount on the tom? If so, What the heck is the apparatus connecting the two? It almost looks like the two cylinder shaped adjusters on a dual camco mount.. but sideways.

If Mariosdrums is still around the forum, He might get a kick out of knowing that your Fivel snare has his old throwoff on it.

He kindly sent me his old corder snare which was missing parts. Thats the snare that became my green sparkle snare, and eventually I made a trade with Tommy, sending him my SFT throw and him sending me an inde throw.

Hey Bryan!

Actually, I have discussed that tom mount ... but not on the VDF! A few guys took note of it on FB and were curious as to it's origins. It's a piece that was ORIGINAL to the set when they were built in 1967/68 ... but modified for better position and adjust by me. I actually fabricated that mount using vintage Gretsch, Rogers, and Ludwig parts. I will explain... but first:

Yeah!, and after you were so nice as to offer your SFT in trade, I found an NOS Fibes SFT handle, which is the part that was broken on my release, and grabbed it. So now, the drum is back to OEM, and I have a spare! It all worked out very well, and for you too! So, regarding the tom mount on the Fibes COF's, and I shall attempt a go at some brevity! ...

... those drums came with Gretsch hardware .. spurs, T handles, claws, and a Gretsch double tom mount .. that was very common for Fibes back then as both companies were in NY. Bob Grauso used a LOT of Gretsch hardware on his earlier sets, in addition to what he had left from Meazzi. Anyway, the diamond plate on the bass drum was of course Gretsch, but I switched it out for a Ludwig plate as they were the SAME bolt pattern, and I already had that big hole in the shell from the Gretsch mount. I used Ludwig because the Ludwig plate has a receiver for a memory lock, whereas the Gretsch did not. The post you see with the top portion is the Gretsch that came with the set originally, but from there I fabricated a NEW/OLD mount as I had no need for a double tom set up. I'll attach a pic of the finished mount after I designed and then built it as it will all make sense when you see it! I will also add that the rack tom had a Gretsch diamond plate mount with "tongue" slot, so again ... with that already on the drum I couldn't see making MORE holes to change the mount, but had to come up with a single tom mount that would be sturdy, adjustable to a degree, and still vintage! So, the parts used were: Gretsch .. Rogers .. and Ludwig. The mount came out great and functions PERFECTLY! I'll put the pics in order so you can see the progression from concept ... to completion.

Tommyp

Cool! neat idea with the mount!