I am lucky enough to own a 1930’s era 14x6.5" Brass shell Leedy Broadway Dual which has had the top set of wires removed. The original set of wire wound silk snares does not give the drum enough snap or definition in a modern application so some months ago I started a quest to find wires that would fit the drum.

You can order them from AK Drums in Switzerland but after some hunting around I found Puresound make a 14" 12 strand wire for Ludwig super sensitive drums from the 20’s/30’s that looked like it might work – but when measured it, it was too short. I tried to find out the length of the 15" 12 strand wires but there was incorrect info or no info on every website I looked at. After contacting Puresound direct I got the correct specs and was confident a set of PS1512's could be modified to fit the drum.

First step is to remove the extension tabs on the wires (which are too long for the broadway) by drilling out the existing rivets. Next lay the wires on the drum and measure how much you will need to cut the extension tabs down by to fit your drum. Also measure where the new holes will need to be drilled. I drilled the new holes first then used a fine tooth hacksaw to cut the tabs to the correct length.

I used a fine file to clean up any burrs and lastly used a hand rivet tool to re-rivet the extension tabs back onto the wires. The wires were a prefect fit and no adjustment apart from snare tension was required which is testament to how well these Leedy drums are built. I’m posting this in the hope it may help someone who has one of these drums get their drum up and running quickly and cheaply. The drum now sounds excellent, a keeper for sure!. Special thanks to Steve @ Puresound for his help in this quest.