More pics of the bass drum. A six-luger with an off-center tom mount hole, that means pre-1965. Indeed, the stamp reads 304, so I'm guessing it was made in April 1963?? The heads look original. There are 4 small holes right next to the original cymbal mount - someone probably fitted another mount there (there's a faint imprint on the wrap) - I'm planning to seal those pronto. The drum is missing part of the batter-head muffler as well as its entire reso-head muffler mechanism, I'll need to find those.

The seam needs re-glueing, as you can see. The same goes for the seams on the front hoop (the wrap is in two pieces, each covering half of the hoop), someone has used tape on them to keep them in place. The air hole looks intact. There's a bit of rust on the inside of the spur mounts and the muffler screw (no problem there, I think), and there's also this black stuff on the inside of the shell - I don't really know what that is or how to clean it, any ideas will be greatly appreciated.

And here comes the snare - the piece I originally went for. Now this one looks almost mint, everything works great and looks original (heads included). There's a wire missing and the dampener (is that how the 'soft' part of the muffler is called??), but I think I'll be able to get those. I'm already in love with this fellow, I can't wait to get my hands on him and see how he sings :)

Is there a date stamp in that snare? I ask because it has the often overlooked badge with the mallet shafts reaching the edge of the badge.

This is the fifth known badge on teardrops. I`ve been try`n to date it.

What a cool finish! That snare is really sweet too

Those felts were held on a with a small screw and nut usually. I've seen them riveted on but usually sonor used the screw/nut. Shouldn't be too hard to locate.

Nice score, Gary.

Finally, a tom I got my hands on, in Pearl wrap, no hardware. It measures 32 cm by 21cm (so 12,6 x 8 in inches). The stamp is faint, but I think it reads 506. No marks on it, the seam is tight, the edges are great. There are a couple of small cracks on the wrap (about 3-5 cm each), but no other problems I can see. Below the badge there's a sticker that reads 'Musikhaus Weynand, Wolklingen B.Leback (??)' or something like that - the music shop where it was originally sold??

No, there's no stamp visible on that snare. I think it came together with the bass drum, but I can't be sure really.

Alex

That`s OK, I was hoping to have two drums marked but your BD has the same badge. Notice the shaft on the mallets goes to the edge. On your twelve, it don`t.

1963 is a proven year for this badge now for me. How long it ran is still a mystery !i

Will there ever be an answer to that? I don't know - if I had to guess, I'd say 'no', not with the quality control they had back then. On the other hand, we're talking Germans here :) so perhaps it's not as haphazard as in other companies (e.g. Ludwigs or Slingies).

The quest for TD drums and parts is now officially on :) - pity they won't let me in the Sonormuseum, my hotmail address not good enough :( ....

Alex