prestonprince...
It's going to be a lot easier to locate a BR/TDR Buddy Rich Model snare w/10 lugs in WMP than the TDR Deluxe Concert King... but then again, it's only semantics, as it is the same drum! And yes, there is MORE to that entire story having to do with Buddy and Slingerland's timeline of snare drums during Buddy's Slingerland endorsement period... and in this case, BR's SECOND Slingerland endorsement period as he was with them originally starting in 1932 and ending in 1945... and then BR went over to WFL/Ludwig in 1946 until 1959... and then Buddy went over to... and already I digress! Anyway,
You gotta love Slingerland! Cataloging a Solid Shell "Artist"... ( also called the Buddy Rich Model then ) ... but in reality the drum is a plied model? Wow. Hence the "Uni-Mold" nomenclature? Very interesting! And as always, DrCJW sheds some light on yet another slight discrepancy! Yes... shame on you Slingerland! :-) Now,
DrCJW: We should compare thoughts sometime on the Buddy Rich snare drum timeline as I think it would be most interesting! I have researched all the snare drums Buddy endorsed/played, regardless of his endosrement contract!, from 1949 to when he left Slingerland in 1976... the Fall of 1976 to be exact. I have rare film, pics, candids, etc. which show Buddy playing a LOT of these drums. One of the most interesting is the performance I have on film of Buddy playing his NEW Slingerland kit... ( September 1968! ) ... with the Artist model snare drum... which I would imagine was the Solid Shell variant, but seeing how Slingerland cataloged their drums at the time, may very well be the plied model. Regardless, Buddy and those Slingerland's sound GREAT!! You know,
My personal arena of knowledge is Rogers... and those are the drums that I hold closest to my heart too... for the simple reason that Rogers was building the best drums of the time during their run to the top in the 60's. The fact that Buddy was out there with them is what drew me to Rogers back in 1966... and I have never stopped... much as your connection/affection to Slingerland. I started researching/collecting specific Slingerland drums BECAUSE of the BR connection, although I hold them in high regard as a very important American Drum Company of the time, just like Rogers... and sadly, both gone... but not forgotten!! ( although the continued/attempted "resurrection" of both companies from time to time is interesting )
prestonprince: I did an entire article on removing the yellowing from a WMP wrapped drum for "Classic Drummer Magazine" a few years ago. The drum was a 1949 WFL Buddy Rich Be-Bop 3X13 snare drum. Here is the link to a brief description of that process on the VSD main site: http://www.vintagesnaredrums.com/other_stuff/tommy_p/wfl.html This will show you that it can be done... but it is very time consuming and tricky. In most cases, it's best to leave the drum as it is... and most collectors will agree with that policy as well. This particular drum came out FABULOUS... and for the record: The "lightening process" returned the wrap to a much younger shade of itself, but NOT completely white. The drum really looks nice as the pics bear out I think! I also found that not every wrap lightens the same! For whatever reason, the Rogers WMP would hardly budge, but the WFL/Ludwig wrap was a dream. I have never tried a Slingerland drum... yet! :-)
Tommyp
