Collector's Corner
Modern Drummer is the world’s most widely read drum magazine, is dedicated entirely to the art of drumming and caters to the needs of amateur, semi-pro, and professional drummers.
Tommy Lee’s Motley Crue Girls, Girls, Girls, Tour Pearl Free Floating Snare Drum, Drastic Plastik Trigger Pads, and Tour Artifacts.
This Pearl snare drum is one of two custom Free Floating snares that Tommy Lee used on Motley Crue’s 1987 Girls, Girls, Girls Tour. Both snares were 6.5 x 14 Free Floating models with custom red hardware. One snare has…
1929 Leedy Conn Tuxedo Trap Set with Butterfly Silhouette Painted Head
As we look at the history of the three leading American drum companies of the 1920s and 30s, Leedy, Ludwig, and Slingerland; their story leads us to the creation of the very rare drum kit in this article. In 1896,…
The Carmine Appice Motherlode
Drummer, singer, songwriter, soloist, band leader, author, educator, innovator… It’s nearly impossible to describe Carmine Appice’s massive influence on the drum world. He sits near the top of Rolling Stone Magazine’s list of the Top 100 Drummers of All Time,…
1941 WFL Ray Bauduc De Luxe Marble Capitol Outfit
Dixieland jazz, also referred to as traditional jazz, hot jazz, or simply Dixieland originated in the early 1900’s in New Orleans. The stock market crash of 1929 started the Great Depression and lasted for next decade. During that time a…
Frank Ferrer’s Guns ‘N’ Roses Pork Pie Drums
Guns N’ Roses are one of the most influential hard rock bands ever. The band has endured one of the most tumultuous roller coaster rides in the history of rock and roll, but they’re still going strong and rockin’ hard…
The Bobby Rock Peavey “Renaissance” aka. “Sistine Chapel” Kit
Derl Maxwell is a lifelong drummer who has earned the reputation around the Southeast as the “hat drummer.” While he has a love/hate relationship with his reputation of entertaining people with drum tricks, faces, antics, and unique hats while he’s…
Slingerland Radio King Drums - 1938 And 1950 Gene Krupa Super Deluxe Ensembles
The drum set is a little over 100 years old, the modern drum set that we are familiar with today is less than 100 years old. After the Civil War, the drum set was created out of necessity. Around 1890…
1928 Ludwig “Ludwigold” The “Rajah-Supreme” Trap Set
Drum finishes are an interesting part of drum history. In 1926, Ludwig introduced a textured gold sparkle painted finish called “Stipelgold.” This was quickly replaced in 1927 with the “New Ludwigold Iridescent Display Finish.” In 1927, the Ludwig drum company…
What do Charlie Watts, Simon Phillips, and Thomas Lang All Have in Common?
There’s never been a more unlikely group of drummers corralled to record an album than the curious trio of Charlie Watts, Simon Phillips, and Thomas Lang. In 2009, Austrian producer Peter Viehweger assembled some of LA’s finest players to record…
The Evolution of the Hi-Hat
The history of how the modern day hi-hat was invented is a subject that many drummers and drum historians will continue to debate. In this article, I am going to give you historical facts and present actual examples of the…
Ringo Starr’s “Now and Then” WFL Set
By Donn Bennett Like most musicians of my generation, I was deeply influenced by The Beatles. For years I obsessively studied Ringo Starr’s playing and the minute intricacies of his various drum kits. By the mid-1980s my obsession led to…
1928 Ludwig Rialto and 1933 Ludwig Pioneer Trap Kits
The drum set has come a long way from the simple trap kits of the 1920s and 30s. Ironically, many drummers today are returning to these very simple sets for busking (type) gigs, favoring the convenience and ease of packing…
Rick Allen’s Def Leppard Collection
It was a thrill when I got a call from the iconic Def Leppard. They started out in 1976 like countless teenage bands in Sheffield, England. Over 100 million albums later, they are still going strong, selling out stadiums all…
Two 1930s Slingerland Green Trap Kits
Here’s a little history of how Slingerland got into the drum business. In the 1920’s the banjo was very popular in music of day. Up until 1927 Slingerland was a banjo company. Ludwig had been a drum company since 1909.…
