Also the snare throw looks just like a Ludwig P-83 but is missing the Ludwig logo - any idea who might have made that? Were there readily available Asian P-83 copies in the 60's?

Is The Drummer Service still going. It was run by Big Reamer (I don't know these guys) who inherited stuff from Soistman's widow. Big is now deceased, but apparently his son (Andrew) took over the shop. If still in biz, they may have some insights.

http://drummersservice.com/

Andrew L is a alive and kicking and is principal per with the Pittsburgh Symph

https://www.pittsburghsymphony.org/pso_home/biographies/musicians/reamer-andrew

Nice kit,thanks for sharing.Looks like Imperial lugs on the kick,the later ones with inserts.

The reinforced sections I have seen more on Euro drums but I don't remember ever seeing the reinforced sections on /under re rings

I wouldn't sweat it or replace anything - my impression was that Buck chose the best of everything for this kit, I happen to feel Rogers rims are superior. That's just me......and maybe Buck. :)

Mitch

i don't intend to replace anything except put some fresh heads on them - the mismatched hardware doesn't bother me a bit. This may be the only time Soistman used actual metal lugs and hoops, I'm guessing he wasn't overly familiar with them or had strong preferences. Might even have been sourced by someone other than him, perhaps Mr Evans provided them. I would love to find someone out there with first-hand knowledge of this kits history and construction. I tend to doubt they saw much use with Pershing's Own, their music is mostly symphonic/orchestral but maybe they did some jazz or big band type stuff that this kit may have been used on. IDK, there are a lot of unknowns, which is why I posted here in the first place - hoping someone could fill in some blanks for me.

vtdrumdude!

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Tommyp

Very cool kit. Thanks for sharing it. :)

I played in Sam's drum corp in the early 1960s when we backed up the majorettes from the Fairfax American Legion. We played in the Singer Bowl at the NY Worlds Fair in 1964. This drum outfit eventually morphed into the NV Patriots. Sam was in the US Army Band with my father. I used to take drum lessons from him when he was 19 yrs old. He was a world class drummer, and got his lessons from Shirley Mann. I saw him hold is own at a drum clinic with Joe Morello back in the day when Joe was playing with Dave Brubeck and considered to be one of the world's best drummers. A little Trivia about Sam was the fact that at 16 yrs old he was the drummer on Bobby Rydell's recording of "Volare", which was #4 on the Billboard chart in 1960...Anyway, I remember when he got those drums. and they were unique and gorgeous back then. I took lessons at his house where they were set up and got to hear them played. It was over 50yrs ago, so I can't give much of a reliable critique on their tones, but can say that Sam was such a great player that he could make anything sound really good. Also, I seem to remember Sam telling me that cherry wood was involved in their construction, but that doesn't seem to be prevailing opinion. I don't think he used them much on gigs, he always had another set packed in his car. He had quite a collection of drums and traps back then. And I did just once get to try those Soitman's out during a lesson very early on in my learning from him. Because I was only 12 at the time, I remember being most impressed with those hairy bass drum heads, ha-ha. Most of the time, my lessons were conducted on drum pads.

Great story and really cool looking drums!

The US Army Band would provide the musicians with instruments to play during their stint, but always took them back upon retirement. The players, however, were not obligated to use the provided instrument and could use their own. I can say with certainty that Sam never used these drums in an official capacity. Also, there were other ensembles in Pershing's Own besides the symphony, orchestra, and marching units. The Army Blues, as an example, was a small jazz ensemble....As far as Sam providing parts for Soistmans, it probably didn't happen. I can remember Sam looking forward to getting these drums, and from what I understood was completely out of the loop in their actual construction.