If it has the Aristocrat (round) lugs with the round Aristocrat snare strainer you're looking at 600USD plus based on recent ebay sales.

With the Tuxedo (bullet) lugs and Aristocrat strainer, slightly less and with the economy "beer tap" style strainer slightly less again (though not that much less).

If it's the former, these are not wildly common (and I'd be interested in taking it off your hands, if you feel it's not right for you).

Cheers,

David

It definitely has the round lugs but the drum wasn't easily accessible to view, so I couldn't see the throwoff. The owner of the shop wasn't there, so I'm going back Tuesday.

Good luck with it. They are brass and sound very dry. I like 'em.

For sure it's brass? They didn't make any steel or aluminum? Should I take a magnet? Thanks for theHelp2

I saw a picture of an aluminium shell Camco snare once recently on ebay - it went for over 2000USD. I've been playing and acquiring Camco since the early 80s and, prior to that I'd only seen a picture of a Camco aluminium shell snare in a book. They're that rare.

So, unless you are the world's luckiest man (and, if this was the case, I would be forced to hate you) then it's COB.

You'll know the second you pick it up - they're comparatively heavy.

Cheers,

David

Well, I went today, still didn't get to talk to the owner, but it's a Los Angeles badge after all. The strainer is a cheap looking one with made in Taiwan stamped on it. Any idea what it may be worth? BTW, it was a COB model.

If it's been drilled to put on the cheapo strainer then price drops off markedly, obviously. If it's still only the original two holes without the original strainer I'd say it's still good for a couple of hundred dollars on ebay (they are nice sounding COBs - I've got an LA and an Oaklawn and they sound identical because the shell manufacture seems to be identical though the LA's have the standard issue generic Japanese rims).

Beware cracked lugs - not a huge problem but can occur on drums that were frequently over-tightened.

Is it 8 or 10 lug? The 10 lugs are pretty rare and go for appreciably bigger money.

Although I shouldn't say this as a die-hard Camco enthusiast, the original Aristocrat Camco strainers were actually a pain in the butt and would throw off the second you did a solid rim shot, which is why a lot of people replaced them (and why the complete drums are comparatively rare and prized - life's funny right?).

The Rogers Swivo strainers from the period were a pretty much exact fit for the two holes (for playing I've got Swivos on both of my Aristocrat snares with the original strainer stored neatly away should I ever actually need to sell).

And if you want to get an original Aristocrat strainer, be warned - they go for big bucks (in one famed example for over 400USD) - there's actually a slightly damaged one one just come up on Ebay right now so follow it's progress and you'll get an idea.

I actually heard from the fine Dutch vintage drum dealer and Camco enthusiast Jan Groenink (aka The Drum Doctor) that slightly filing the slot for the Aristocrat strainer arm to make its arc a bit wider solves the unwanted automatic throw-off described above - but then you've altered the original state of the drum and therefore the value. Discuss.......

Cheers,

David

There's no extra holes drilled for the strainer. I'm not sure if it's 8 or 10 lug. Do you know if there is an additional vent, besides the one on the badge? There is one on this drum and the vent has loosened and is rolling around inside the drum. I did see a small dent on the shell, with a few scratches also. I currently don't own any brass snares, so if I can talk the owner down a bit, I might just make this a player's snare since it's not perfect.

The extra vent is a drum key holder - and if you've got a Camco key (again, silly money to get) or even one of the modest DW ones, they do actually work (kinda, sorta).

From what you describe with the current strainer 150 - 200 USD would sound near the mark or maybe a bit more. Good luck with it.

Cheers,

David