OK, I'll try to make a long story short; roughly 6 months ago, another drummer from a band we were playing with noticed my vintage Rogers and asked what I knew about a "Mystery snare" he had. After some probing, I guessed it was an L & S (based mostly on hex-shaped tension rods.) So after some tap-dancing (figuratively speaking) I finally managed to go to his house and see it; pretty much confirmed what I thought- L & S. There is NO BADGE on the drum, it was re-assembled by someone upside down (snare-bed is now on the batter head!), overall mediocre condition NOB 5x14" shell (as I recall), missing 1-2 tension rods, and I think the snare throw-off was wrong... Anyway, after telling him about L & S and that it was kinda rare and potentially valuable (hey, I'm an honest guy...) he decided to keep it. Flash forward to tonight, and I get an email asking for the story again so he can put it on Craigslist asking for a trade on a low-level set for friend of his. So, my dilemma is this: do I want to try to work up some kind of deal (i.e. is this snare worth my trouble?), or just give him the info and move on??? No, I didn't get any photos of it at the time, and I'm on my way out of town for a week tomorrow at 5am so I'd have to stall him via email. Just looking for opinions. Thanks.
Leedy and Strupe (sons) L & S snare
L and S drums are sort of rare, but they don't sell for a lot. If the drum has mods, I'd move on...
I think there are a couple exceptions to the general rule that L&S don't sell for much (which I've observed is indeed true). A lot of the L&S snares that are seen are six lugs, and these don't get much love.
But they also made the first Strupe-designed knob-adjust top and bottom heads (i.e. using a knob to tighten all lugs instead of needing to tighten them individually). They also made a nice looking 8 lug wood snare that Harry had a picture of in his book that would probably get decent interest.
I'de be curious whether Mike Curroto has any L&S drums in his collection? If he does (I have no idea, but I'de be interested in knowing), my guess would be it would be some of the above.
I have a 6-1/2x14 L&S Dictator wood snare I've been trying to sell for about 9 months for as low as $275. No takers...
Thanks for the feedback. Sorta confirms what I thought. I had thrown out a $125 offer back then, so I'll probably let it go.
Yes, the internally tuned Master Tension drums from the 1930's are EXTREMELY rare and quite collectible. The drums are tuned with two key shaped handles (similar to a Tympani) that are mounted on the side.
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