Crystal Ball Gazing
It won't be long before I will have been around drums for
40 years. I've owned every major brand made in the last 100 years.
When
I was a teenager there were 6 major brands- Gretsch, Leedy, Ludwig, Premier,
Rogers and Slingerland. Over the next 20 years, there were changes- Leedy
disappeared and other brand names came into prominence... Pearl and Tama most
notably.
Then, bam!
The 90s were special. For the first time
in history, the public could buy all the raw and fished materials necessary to
make drums. All that was needed was a little woodworking knowledge. Some
hobbyists became small scale manufacturers that we now call custom drum
builders.
I often ponder the questions of how many viable manufacturers
there are now and who will survive into the future. I wonder how many drum
companies can survive. I say that because it is such a small industry and so
crowed.
I am sure there will be surprises- so stay tuned.
If
you want to learn more about vintage drums, we invite you to order an
autographed copy of his Harry's book for Modern Drummer, the
"The Great American Drums". It's only $ 19.95
plus shipping. | |
