Solid Shell Snare Drums
At the turn of the 20th century, most professional quality
wood shell snare drums were made from a solid piece of wood that had been steam
bent. Drums were made of walnut, mahogany and maple. Lower cost drums had less
costly hardware, heads and shells. Those shells were mostly 3 plies of mahogany
or mahogany and a mix.
The problem with solid shells back then was that
the shells weren't round- except Leedy's- and the glue did not always hold.
About
1930 Gretsch introduced the first modern ply drum shells. The process was
quickly copied- staggered lamination seems to ensure shell strength.
Slowly
all of the major companies gave up on solid shell snares, except for
Slingerland, manufacturer of the mighty Radio King. That drum's shell design was
around for over 50 years.
In the 80s, the idea became popular again
with the snares from Noble & Cooley and the defunct Solid Drum Company,
co-owned by Johnny Craviatto of current DW fame.
People love the sound
of pure choice wood with no filler or glue.
If you'd like to learn more
about vintage solid shell drums like the Radio King and the Leedy Broadway, then
I urge you to order a copy of my book,
"The Great American Drums" published by
Modern Drummer. We'll be glad to send you an autographed copy. |
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