I may be wrong...usually am...but I think what you have there is a 3 ply (rare) Radio King. Stay tuned, one of the experts will come along and let you know for sure.

Hey,

Thanks for the input! I'm usually wrong too but I never heard of a 3 ply RK. Seems to me their reputation was built on one ply. I checked it over and there are no extra or filled holes from previous throws so who knows-I still couldn't find it in any catalogue.

thanks!

v

The drum you have is sparkling gold. Sparkling orange was offered for a brief period in the '70s and is ultra rare. I know of only two sets in that finish, and no snare drums...

Your snare is indeed a radio king. Although the catalog listed them with solid maple shells, many (well, some) were sold with the three ply mahogany shells. (I like these better actually...). They're still radio kings. You see those mahogany drums from around 1959 and '60. In the mid '60s and later, most, if not all, the radio kings were sent out with the 3 ply maple interior shells.

At some point, in the late '60s or so, the catalog changed the description on the radio king shells from solid maple to "uni-mold" (3 ply).

Hey thanks for the info! I've never seen a 3 ply RK before. The bearing edges at the snare bed are worn pretty good. Would it be worth getting them redone or am I better off to leave it alone? Would getting them done reduce the value of the snare a lot?

thx

V

How does it sound? If it sounds good leave it, if you decide to get the edges "redone" just get them trued up. You shouldn't have to have them totally recut.

You have a nice rare drum...the less touching the better. If it was mine, all it would get is a cleaning and go on the shelf, and god knows I like to redo them..LOL

The snare beds on that drum are usually pretty deep, so if that's what you mean by "worn", I'd certainly leave them alone.