Generally, they were an attempt by Ivor Arbiter to produce a somewhat updated English drum that played louder than his previous Dallas and Carltons or Autocrat, Ajax, Premier or Beverley. The idea was that triple flange hoops and coated interiors would open the drums up and produce a louder sound, necessary because it was still common for drums to be un-miked and generally speaking, the American drums played louder than English drums.

Arbiter was the importer of Ludwig and they were expensive in England but the sound and primarily image were important . George Hayman drums , however only paid homage to Ludwig by way of a few features, flip on muffler,non-telescopic spurs and triple flange hoops, while the round lugs were very Camco. One of the most important factors in the concept however, was simply that they carried Remo heads. At the time, most BRIT companies were using Everplay Extra and SoundMaster( B&H) and HeadMaster(John Grey). As much as I love all those old heads, Remo offered a much better product for many drummers and the fairly flashy and louderHaymans were a brief success.

thanks for the reply. how would you describe the Hayman sound?

Go on youtube,and listen to the band called Free .....

songs on the Fire and Water CD....are all Hayman...AFAIK..

Drums sound GREAT!

Didn't they have a heavy urethane lining also?

I was in a rehearsal studio in Toronto in the early 70's. I was using my mid-sixties Ludwigs. A band moved in next door--if asked, they ate our lunch--they had a British drummer with a nice set of Haymans. Silver finish, I think. Factoring that he was a better drummer than I, the Haymans were big and loud. Not as warm as the Ludwigs, brighter. They were made for stagework at a time sound support was just catching up with the rising sound levels.

I have an old Hayman snare and records like a dream.

To my ears they sound as advertised, big but a little boomy. As an aside; after the brand declined and went out of production, they were briefly re- introduced around 1980 based on Taiwanese shells. These are considered inferior to the original British made drums.