And that extra effort and time is probably why you don't see that kind of edge these days. Or again, maybe you do see that kind of time and effort put into the high end drum kits, but the market has changed. Regardless, this has been an informative thread. Makes me want to build a kit.

This thread has genuinely piqued my interest in Camco drums. I knew of them ... just never paid a lot of attention to them beyond the historical notes and the occassional artist back in the day. Now, I would like to saddle up a Camco kit in my drum room. Thank you for a truely informative thread.

Dennis played on the bulk of their recordings. Hal Blaine and the Wrecking Crew wasn't brought in til their All Summer Long album, their 6th album. Dennis came back to play on Wild Honey, and in the mid 70s after his hand healed from an accident in 71 he played on a few more albums.

I gigged and recorded with an L.A. Camco kit for 8 years. It was my primary kit during that time; the configuration: 24/13/14/16/18 w/matching 6 1/4 x 14 maple snare. I consider Camco among the most beautiful kits ever made. However, troublesome and sub-par functionality resulted from a host of inherent design flaws. I realize that at this moment several forum members are already busy writing angst-filled replies inferring that somehow my Camcos were a fluke; as opposed to their Camcos which of course are perfect, amazing, and blessed with sonic qualities far superior to all other drums. So be it.

Here's my take, starting with the positives:

Shells were of high quality, undersized, with a distinctly sharper angled bearing edge. Tuned up well, and sounded very good. I would describe their sound as "clean", "fresh", "mellow", "bright", "resonant". Curious to know how they compared to top of the line DW's, I once performed a side by side blindfold test with the result being I was unable to detect any differences in sound and response. The Camco lugs and mounts were fastened using highest quality 10-24" thread screws -- excellent choice. Bass drum T's and claws, tension rods, all beautifully profiled and of high quality. Chrome plating excellent w/exception of plating on BD Ts, these also having handles prone to separate from the shafts. Beautifully flared floor tom legs with superb stability. Leg & rod holder castings worked well. Lacquer finish beautiful though tended to fade when exposed to high intensity stage lights.

Now the negatives:

The Camco curved spur mounts were mounted too high on the bass drum shell to allow proper stability. Really cool design "cable driven" internal tone controls had chromed knurled knobs directly attached to thin woven metal cables which turned circular felt pads mounted atop "screws" to thread upwards and make perfect perpendicular contact with the batter heads. These felt pads rattled badly, but worse was the fact that over time the cables would deteriorate and tear away from their connections on both ends. Rare indeed to find Camco cable drive tone controls intact and functional, and repairing them is not easy. Camco spring loaded turret lugs were stunningly beautiful, attached with great hardware, and contained the highest quality components. So it boggles the mind that the lug castings were thinnest and weakest at the exit holes for the threaded inserts - the points of greatest stress. Result? Rarely is found a vintage Camco drum without several or more lugs either badly cracked or completely broken through on the ends! Then there's the Aristocrat snare throwoff. Guaranteed to break under normal use as a result of complexity and weak construction. Most in existence are broken or missing parts. But the absolute worst of the exclusive Camco features were the Camco "modern swivel" ball and socket single/dble tom holders. Nightmarish functionality, completely unstable, incapable of holding any settings of height, angle, or tom tom position! Toms would immediately slip horizontally out of position and/or fall down even before the first downbeat was hit. When it comes to "looks good on paper but doesn't work" these holders run a close second only to "stop sign era" Gretsch "Monster" hex rod/ball socket tom holders.

A mythos surrounds Camco. While their aesthetic beauty has withstood the test of time, the same can not be said for the durability and functionality of the drum kit components most important to a working drummer - the castings and holders on which we rely in order to work. A brilliant engineer created exquisite, innovative, and 'cutting edge' designs which looked great on paper, but failed substantially after manufacture when put to the test.

Don't get me wrong:I really do miss my Camcos and often regret having parted with them. Truly beautiful drums. Yet they sounded and played no better than any other fine vintage drums. And now I must go find my kevlar shield to fend off the "praise" sure to come my way! Ta-ta! Help2

Actually, I think BUCKIE_B's appraisal is quite honest. As for sound, general quality, etc. seems accurate to me.

However, I toured for 8 or 9 years in the 70's and 80's with my current oval badge Camco kit. I bought the kit used, but ordered new Camco stands to complete it. I never had any of the issues with tom mounts or other hardware articles......except for strainers. (never broke one and there's an easy fix for keeping them from disengaging).

Except for a tone control on my current floor tom being located in a position that prevented retraction of one leg (what was the assembler thinking about on that day?), I've never seen quality issues on any Camco drums I've owned.

Back to the sound; I've owned 3 or 4 LA kits, 2 Chanute kits, 3 or 4 Oaklawn kits and a dozen or so snares. Of all, I have only the oval badge kit now. I prefer the darker tone and "growl" these provide over all others-----even early Oaklawn drums. I found the earlier Camcos to have a brighter, punchier tone better suited for the light jazz, standards gigs I played occasionally. I'm sure the taller heavier hoops were a factor in that.

I tend to agree on most of BUCKIE_B's negatives.

Although my LA set probably never saw a stage and wasn't played a lot, all 4 mufflers had the issue described above. I fixed them by using two component metal glue paste to fix the woven metal cables on both ends. Still the rattling annoyed me so I removed the mufflers. I also installed a piece of felt in every lug casing to prevent the springs from buzzing.

In stead of the Camco "modern swivel" ball and socket single/dble tom holder, I use tom-rims. Fortunately, the casings on my set are not cracked.

The past 2 years, I had the privilege to try out most vintage brands: 3-ply 1966 Ludwig, 3-ply 1970 Slingerland, 6-ply 1961 RB Gretsch, 5-ply 1970 Rogers Fullerton, Premier birch shells, etc...

From my experience, none of them had camco's ease of tuning and definitely were more limited in tuning range. (Rogers came close)

I also find my Camco's tuning/sound very predictable and consistent.

Where often a Ludwig or Slingerland tom took 15 minutes to find that one sweet spot, the Camco's take literarily 2 minutes with tons of sweet spots to choose from.

I realize that taste and beauty are subjective elements but to my ears, the LA

Camco's are the ones that did it for me.

BUCKIE_B's description is actually very accurate.

"clean", "fresh", "mellow", "bright", "resonant".

I would add:

"articulate", "warm"

Buckie-B is absolutely correct. Now just go ahead and hand those weak fragile Camco drums over to me and I'll take care of them for you Cool Dude

Now I know why their are not many Camco's around, BECAUSE YOU GUYS OWN EM ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mind Blowi

Anyone know both WHAT model/series&sizes both Jim Gordon&Jim Keltner used with Joe Cockers's "Mad Dogs&Englishman" tour?.

Just looked at a couple of clips from Mad Dogs....not a lot of great shots of the drummers (Chuck Blackwell's in there's as well, I think). Jim Gordon appears to be playing his usual walnut finish Camco Oaklawn which I think was 13, 14, 16, 24 though I'm sure someone will correct me. Couldn't make out Keltner's kit at all though he was running two racks.