Hi,

This is the second of the two snare drums that I purchased from the East Coast seller and part two of a not-so-fun-drum-deal as mentioned in my previous article.

1920s GEORGE B. STONE & SON, INC. 5 x 14 BLONDE (MAPLE) MASTER-MODEL

A few thoughts:

This drum was sold to me and documented to be in Near Mint Condition, I’d call it Excellent-Plus condition, no big deal either way. I’m told that the Blonde, solid maple shell is pretty rare as most of the Master Models are Black Lacquer. Noted collector, Bill Wanser told me that he has never seen a Blonde MM. I’m told that Stone Master Models are highly sought after by symphony and orchestral percussionists. As a collectable, I have also been told that this snare drum should be in one’s collection so that was my reason for purchasing this drum, it will go nicely with my Stone Orchestral Model. Not much more to talk about so I’ll let the photos do the talking. One final note, check out the “custom” combination gut and wire snares. The original gut piece/butt plate is there but has been used in a different way. I have only seen this wire set up twice, the most recent on a Gretsch Gladstone 3-Way snare. The wires look cool but the drum still sounds like a 1920s Master Model which is fine with me as that is the authentic sound and the condition that I like to keep these drums in.

There was one issue though; notice the 3 equidistant holes/3 screws on the bottom hoop. This was a point of contention between me and the seller as these were not disclosed to me. The 3 holes/3 screws were in a few of the photos that the seller sent me but I missed this and when I pointed this out to the seller after I received the drum he basically said (I am paraphrasing) “you missed it, it’s on you, it’s your responsibility to have seen that before you bought the drum from me” etc. The fact that I missed it doesn’t negate the fact that the 3 holes/3 screws were still there in the first place. The seller did say, and I quote: ”You know, Mike, there comes a time when you have to throw in the towel and cut your losses—“... Can you feel the love on this drum deal? I did ask the seller if his 4-5 other Master Models had anything like the 3 holes/3 screws that were on the drum that he sold to me. I never received an answer. Moving on, my guess is that the 3 equidistant holes/3 screws were an after-market attempt to keep those flimsy 1920s snare stand baskets away from the bottom head and wires but this is only a guess. Feel free to weigh-in if you have seen, heard of, or have any ideas about this.

Enjoy!

Mike Curotto