Stephen,

I believe Buddy had played a fiberglass snare from the 70s. Most (all?) the Austin drums are wood.

Thanks very much for the info. Does anyone know where they were made back when they were fiberglass, and what specific years to look for?

Thanks again.

Stephen

I believe the Fiberglass snares were there from the beginning (Fibes,Fiberglass)

and the model was called the SFT.

I think they were made in the Austin era also.

Thank you sir. The SFT is the model I'll look for.

Thanks again.

Stephen

They were made in Farmingdale, New York, Tommy Robertson bought the company in 1994 and then started making the drums in Austin. I had a 70's Fibes snare like Buddy used and it was very bright sounding. The newer Fibes drums are maple and acrylic and sound fantastic. I've owned a few Austin era Fibes kits and they all sounded great, especially the kick. The newer Fibes snares are are equally as good and if you can find one, buy it.

Thanks very much for all the info. I think I'd still like to have a '70s model, for provenance sake.

Thanks again for the reply.

Stephen

Stephen!

Interestingly, Buddy played all three badged versions of the Fibes 690/COF, including the incredibly rare and hard to find 8 lug prototype with the prototype throw/butt PRECEDING the actual production SFT. I have only seen three of this particular model with one being Buddy's.. ( now owned by Donn Bennett ) .. one mine, and the other owned by a guy I know in NY. Very RARE! The drum that Steve Maxwell is showing in that video was the LAST VERSION and the one BR played the least. There are very few pics showing him playing that particular badged model. As a matter of fact, I know of only ONE PIC showing Buddy playing that particular badged model SFT. The one you want would be the rectangular badged model with the 1973 being the one we see the most. However!... the build on all of them is approx. the same once the SFT throw was introduced. Still... the rectangular badged model is the one to find. I have BOTH the early/rare 1966/67 8 lug with the prototype throw/butt, and a 1973 10 lug with the rectangular badge in my Buddy Rich snare drum collection. Here are a couple pics for you. Note the 1st generation Fibes badge on the 66/67 with prototype throw, then the 2nd generation with the rectangular badge. These are the models Buddy played the most. ENJOY!

Tommyp

Tommy,

Thanks for sharing your vast amount of knowledge. Now I know exactly what to look for. Thing is, there doesn't seem to be a whole lot around, at least on ebay. Maybe I'll try Guitar Center.com. I've gotten some good drums from their vintage section.

Thanks again.

Stephen

Any era, so long as it's complete. The problem with the earlier Fibes drums (I looked for an original one for years before I bought a new one) is that they usually lose the one thing that makes them so good - the strainer. And the model that people want is the fiberglass shell, as has been pointed out. It's a unique sounding snare - very very little coloration in tone, very clean and articulate, truly able to play from the edges, from pianissimo to FFF without hesitation - thunderous if you want it to be. A very neutral, crisp, sound, which just might be why Buddy liked it. I'd stack a mint-quality Fibes COF snare up against virtually any other production snare drum, I think they are that good. They came from the Austin shop with Ambassador heads top and bottom, by the way.

I own one, an Austin-era drum (with a very low serial number, purchased from Harry Cangany). I compared my Fibes COF drum to a earlier model right after I bought mine years ago and was surprised - I found the quality of the Austin-era drum was better in virtually all respects. The tricky part is the adjustment of the butt, which is probably why so many get retrofitted with after-market strainers. It takes just a few minutes and a tool or two to get it right (And then you never need to touch it); in fact, Fibes (Austin) changed this part of the strainer twice. I prefer the open channel, but the ones built after mine had three holes on each side of the 'bridge' that connects to the lugs. I never thought it was an improvement other than to make it "idiot-proof". If memory serves, the last ones had the open channel again - but don't hold me to that.

They aren't easy to find. Call everywhere and make sure it's complete. They are bullet-proof, assuming they are original and not beat up or abused (and that should include the chromed spring steel wrap!). And beware that prices, even for later ones, are rising: I had a guy offer me $800 for mine not long ago. I thought he was nuts.

I would not hesitate, assuming you actually want to play it rather than collect it (and even that might not make any difference) in purchasing a late-model Austin-era Fibes snare. I'm putting mine away - that is, assuming I can find a snare I like as well. There is no question this is my favorite.