A Drummer's Lament
When I was a kid in the 50s and 60s, drums were made by a
handful of national, soon to be really international,
manufacturers--Slingerland, Ludwig, Camco Gretsch and Rogers. Once in awhile, I
would see Premier. The companies were strong regionally--with Gretsch being seen
a lot in the East--and Slingerland, Rogers and Ludwig in the Midwest. Little
Camco would show up from time to time.
Back then, drumshops would tend
to ally themselves with one brand. You went one place to see Ludwig and another
to see Slingerland, and then another to see Rogers. My city, like others, had a
dedicated repair store--Ray's Drum Service. Ray Poland was a 40+ year veteran of
Leedy and he sold some drums and repaired and customized others using a lot of
tricks of the trade in a small and incredibly neat shop in his garage in a
neighborhood that is gone. He could do anything--and do it right the first time.
That
doesn't sound anything like today, does it?
Today, it's superstore 1
versus online presence 2 versus local full line music store 3 battling it our
for the same or similar pieces of cheap imported firewood. In the US, there are
truly a few handfuls of REAL drums only stores.
I miss the days of rows
of drumsets that take your breath away.
Here's hoping you can see some
of those beautiful sets before they are all gone, one way or another.
If
you would like to read about the glory days of American drum building, I invite
you to order my book from Modern Drummer called
"The Great American Drums". It's only $19.95
plus shipping and I'll send you an autographed copy. |
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