I can't argue that, IN RETROSPECT, the look of the Big R stuff is pretty bad. However, the function of them, at the time, was what drummers had been asking for from their hardware -rock solid stability. Arguably, previous-era drummers had a bit more technique and didn't approach the drums like a jackhammer, so the lighter and "bouncier" hardware was fine. But, when hard rock drumming was the thing, those old "jazz era" designs just couldn't hold up. All those old sliding tubes that were held in place by a single wing screw were getting torqued on with pliers and every other thing to keep from slipping under heavy playing. Rogers Big R stuff, was really stable and relatively lightweight....So working drummers loved them...for a minute....until they realized that those big tubes were sapping resonance and sustain from the drums. And a couple decades later, resonance and sustain were what everyone was after. So, stick around because it's likely that the Big R stuff will come into interest again for the same reasons we all don't like them now -looks. Actually, I don't think they will make a big comeback....but people who have detailed collections will want to have a good representation of the designs. *shrugs*

Hard bangers like Krupa and Rich worked with what was available. Buddy seemed to be OK with the Set-o-Matic tom mount from Slingerland. As I recall reading...Buddy's tom mount or cymbal rod mount had a memory lock fashioned from vise-grip pliers.

Yeah they hit hard, but with technique. When everyone started becoming drummers in the 70's, many of them just hit the drums hard without a lot of technique and the old stuff started getting broken by strong kids, basically. I remember seeing roadies running out and resetting cymbal stands that slipped and tilters that flopped, many times at concerts.

So when the Big R Memriloc stuff showed up, it SEEMED like a great solution. Setting up became easy due to the Memrilocs and the drums never slipped. Fortunately for the drummers of that same era, the desired sound was thud, thud, thud, so the fact that the big tubes zapped the resonance and sustain, didn't really matter. What mattered more was the hardware design. And Rogers was always at the forefront of hardware design.