scovit...

Those COF Fibes of yours are in SPECTACULAR condition! Very nice!... as most COF Fibes kits from this era are TRASHED. Now,

You are correct with regard to the rectangular vs. square Fibes badge. The rectangular... ( Farmingdale ) ... badge is the earlier one and is the exact badge on Buddy's Fibes snare most often seen/photographed. Buddy actually owned a few of those drums with the very earliest being a "protoype" of sorts. The throwoff/strainer on BR's first Fibes COF is actually different than what was eventually used and supplied with the available for purchase snare drums. We all know the final design as the SFT strainer/throw. Anyway,

The rectangular badged Fibes SFT 690 COF snare drums don't come up all that often... and when they do, they're usually in pretty rough shape and/or missing parts. Should you find a nice one, expect to lay out at least $600.00... possibly more if someone else has the hots for it at the same time.

Here's a pic of my 1973 Fibes SFT 690 COF. I only wish I had another one to sell to you!

Tommyp

That is a beautiful drum.It looks like a machine to me,capable of anything.There are only a handful of drums today that are in the Fibes league.

Yes, this is one of the few pictures I've seen of the drum with the Farmingdale Badge and EXACTLY what I am looking for.

With it I would have the complete look, and sound. I would have to say that my Farmingdale Drums are dynamic sounding drums, some characterize them as loud but having been the original owner and played on mine since the early 70's a much better characterization is "full ranged". That thick black resin, something about it and it hasn't been replicated......

Anyway, I sent a pic and the link of exactly how bad some people have kept these drums....

What a shame..... http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-EARLY-FIBES-CHROME-DRUM-SET-22-12-14-16_W0QQitemZ120054825144QQihZ002QQcategoryZ64440QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Notice no bids

Have any of you ever seen an early fibes set with the tom mounts that look like the Slingerland setomatics? I think they were made by Meazzi. I've seen the catalog photos of them, and Cobham had them, but in over 15 years of collecting vintage drums, all the fibes I've seen had the arm with ball like in the above sets.

scovit...

The eBay auction link you supplied is EXACTLY what I was talkin' about as well... TRASHED!!!!! This is the way the MAJORITY of the COF Fibes kits look... yours however, are gorgeous. I owned/played TWO Fibes kits back in the day, a COF like yours but with the 2nd 16x16 floor tom... ( Buddy! ) ... and a Cyrstalite set with three rack toms, two floors, and double bass. I was a HUGE Billy Cobham/Mahavishnu fan, and after seeing Cobham with The Mahavishnu Orchestra back in 1973, I was blown away with the sound of his Fibes Cyrstalite kit... so much so that I bought them... actually, my parents did as I was only 18 at the time. I played/gigged on those for years and kept them in perfect condition but ended up selling them to a student in 1983. And get this: He still has them!!!

Rich K: I know EXACTLY the tom mounts that you are talking about as I saw them on Cobham's kit. Everyone thought that they WERE Slingerland mounts back in the day... ( including me! ) ... so I had my drums shipped sans mounts and had the drum shop install the Slingerland mounts. Boy does this bring me back. Later on I discovered that they WERE actually Fibes mounts... (Meazzi ) ... and that was a revelation as I too had only seen the Fibes arm/ball up until that point.

BOTH my Fibes kits were great... never a complaint, although I must say that I preferred the COF drums over the plexi's. The COF kit covered many more bases/idioms... the plexi's were freaking LOUD!!!! Nice tone/pitch though! Cobham certainly made them speak! :-)

Tommyp

Tommy P:

Wow! Couldn't agree more. Billy was the best advertisement for Fibes!!!!! Up to then I was listening to Buddy Rich, Louie Bellson, and Joe Morello

The I saw The Mahavishnu Orchestra back then at Hoftra University and in Brooklyn. I never saw a drummer with the POWER of that guy. He looked like an athlete kicking the cr_p out of those Crystallites. The "Spectrum" came out after the band broke up.

The pic of the cover is attached. What a piece of advertisement and I was really hooked!

I believe quite a bit of Cobham's playing is exemplified by today's modern drummer!

Brings back the memories, yes? :)

Wow! I didnt know we had so many Cobham fans! He's one of my favorites also. I never knew that he used a Fibes kit. In fact I was thinking of posting a topic on this forum asking what Cobham used but I never got around to it...

Anyways very nice kit and I hope that you find that Fibes snare!

Thanks. I literally just got this one for the time being. It's in excellent condition but newer than my other drums. I am still on the lookout for the same drum, Farmingdale badge snare.

scovit!

A couple things you may find interesting:

I was attending the Berklee College Of Music back in '73 when I finally got my chance to see "The Mahavishnu Orchestra"... some dude on another floor had offered his tickets for sale. Anyway, that's when I saw/heard firsthand Billy Cobham and his Fibes. Up until then I was only able to listen to them on albums... anyway ... the night of that concert, when the introductions were made, Billy Cobham got a standing ovation... and rightly so ... what a monster! John Mclaughlin didn't get anywhere NEAR the applause although he certainly got his due! Well, I could feel the tension on stage from where I was sitting! I knew there were problems afoot... and then ... Billy Cobham releases "Spectrum" while he was STILL IN the Mahavishnu Orchestra... and that was the end right there. Billy left Mahavishnu very shortly after that album was released. Word was that John Mclaughlin fired him... the truth was Billy split, because there were problems/tension between him and John Mclaughlin. It would seem that John's ego couldn't handle the fact that Billy Cobham was getting most all the attention in that band... and again, rightly so! You made a comment:

"I believe quite a bit of Cobhams playing is exemplified by today's modern drummer!" So true!!! Cobham was IT during this period, and through the late 70's as well. Every drummer of age during this period was certainly influenced by BC. He brought a LOT of new ideas/approaches to the table, not the least of which would be the "open hand" style of playing and complete MASTERY of odd meters. I was able to see him with his own band a total of 6 times while I was in Boston. Spectrum, Crosswinds, Total Eclipse,... all of it. At one point I was sitting a mere 25 feet in front of him and his Fibes. Wow. That was a show at a place called "Paul's Mall" in Boston. Very intimate venue... as in not very large. I was completely blown away... visually as well as aurally!! The next time I saw him he had added the North Drums to his Fibes kit. These were protoypes and NO ONE had ever seen/heard them before. I go some great pics from that concert!! Anyway,

GREAT that you found a Fibes candidate to sit with your kit until you can locate that most illusive rectangular Farmingdale Fibes badge. Again, those drums are gorgeous!!! I will keep an eye out for you as well.

Tommyp