Oh, Phil, it's indeed unreal... hard and long way to Canada... :)

It's one of the old line of soviet EPOIMI cheap snares --- pre-last version, about 1978-1990. The previous had a cast hoops similar as Premier copy made from ZAC (or 'zamac' more correct?), but very thin chrome coating was putted directly on alloy without pre-coat with Cu & Ni and that coat had worn off immediately during 3 month... :(

Pics of last version these snares I've already posted in soviet drums thread.

And what about your success in creating&printing with EPOIMI paper sticker?

George.

Don't know how to do the sticker , George. I guess , it could be scanned from the picture you sent in?

I pretty much knew it was an Epoimi. Why do you say , cheap? I don't think there is any doubt that there are features on this drum that seem out of touch with the time it was made. nickel plated hoops, wirewound individual cord snares, simple panhead screws for tension rods and a very simple galvanized steel shell but it also has features that many drums lack; cast alloy lugs attached at only one point for low resonance, cast alloy throwoff and butt, very heavy hoops( the nickle plating is very good quality), a very high quality muffler( that doesn't rattle), and a pretty cool wrap. As for the shell----why is zinc worse than chrome plate on a steel shell? It was wrapped anyway , so why waste money on internal chroming----- and the bearing edges and snare bed are very precise. As for the wires? They go right across the head and I've never felt that modern wires are the be all and end all of snare wires. Some of them are pretty crappy------even on supposedly good drums. These ones are extremely well made, probably will last a lifetime----a blast from the past possibly but this is anything but a cheap drum. odd by todays standards ,yes but cheap? no. the stand is to follow!

Are those lugs made from foam?

Yes. They are made from seafoam. It's a secret Russian process. In the waters around Murmansk, which I believe is the most northerly year round seaport, they are able to harvest a unique seafoam , which contains small amounts dissolved Wooly Mammoth cartilage. It dissolves from the numerous bodies bordering the arctic ocean, lodged in the permafrost. When the seafoam containing this cartilage is simmered in overproof Vodka at exactly the correct temperature and for a specific time, a very stable and industrially usefull hardened seafoam is the result. ------has a very low natural resonance , which makes it ideal for snare drum lugs.

Now if the finish was "SeaFoam Green" = wow !

ask and you shall receive http://www.vintagedrumforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=22333&d=1289312954

Here is the very nice stand that came with this drum. All the threads are Acme. For those of you who don't know----Acme threads are the heaviest and strongest industrial machined threads, designed for repeated threading applications,such as in presses,so called worm gears,etc.. They are designed for repeated use rather than single use or a few uses. Inadequate threads on the locking screws of stands are one of the most prevalent design flaws. The stand is super rigid with a very small footprint but enormous ribbed feet.The rubber outside of the leg is over 1/4"thick. It has stitched suede leather finger caps. Folds up super compactly to 16 1/2". All parts work accurately and the clamps lock and unlock with precision and the locking wingnuts have lots of leverage and work smoothly.

Made of heavy nickeled steel and alloy castings, riveted and peined with solid shank rivets( not hollow ones as is the norm).

I'm not a big fan of tripod stands but this one is so tight and compact that it is about as unobtrusive as a flat based stand.

I love those little stand mittens!I need some!Burger Kin

Yes Phil, you can do that as I described in old PM. But I'll try to find an original factory code&price directly for your snare ---total sticker's design was the same for all staff.

Save all your ZAC parts and threads from damages ---this alloy is softer because it have a low percent of Cu.

This is a strong stand--- Ludwig Hercules was taken as an analogue for design.

Try to care and save the stand against corrosion ---there is no Cu under the Ni-coating.

It's handmade leather caps by previous owner---an original were made from cutted pieces of ribbed medicine hose ---red, black, pink or pistachio-colored. I'll try to find a label pics and codes also for stand.

Which way did you manage to buy it? Really with Ebay?

Cheers,

George.