Snare of the day

Leedy Utility

This lovely 1960 Leedy Utility snare drum arrived in the shop a couple days before Christmas.

This 14 x 5.5″ Leedy snare drum in original, natural mahogany is in great condition. Dated 1960, it features 6 original chrome lugs, single flange hoops, vintage snare drum claws and the original 3 point snare strainer.

The Blue oval badge, with the postal code 48 printed after the word Chicago, dates this drum 1960. Overall this drum is in great, original condition. Featuring an original vintage calf head on the batter side and a Slingerland True-Tone on the resonant side, it tunes up easily and sounds great – the calf head giving it that great vintage tone. It sounds great with brushes as well as sticks; it benefits from a lighter stick to experience the full tone of the drum.

This Leedy snare drum may suit a player looking for something quirky, an alternative to some of the other 6 lug vintage snare drums that are popular. More details on the website…

Snare of the day

Slingerland Magnum 702 series

Well, its late in the day, but I have some time to sneak a quick write up on a tasty snare we have in store!

If you’re looking for a great Rock snare drum, maybe your search ends here…. an early 1980s 14×8″ Slingerland Magnum 702 series maple snare drum! This 5 ply maple shell snare drum is featured in the 1983 Slingerland catalogue. This drum is in lovely condition, featuring all original hardware including 10 full length lugs,  stick-saver hoops and Slapshot strainer.

The Slapshot strainer has lovers and haters, the latter due to it’s cumbersome nature. Personally, I love any drums where the snare wires extend past the diameter of the shell, it seems that most of the classics do – Ludwig Super Sensitive, Premier 2000, Rogers Dynasonic, Slingerland Radio King, to name a few. This strainer is a little bulky, but is fully functional and with a good set of wires present adds to the sensitivity and versatility of this drum.

That said, I took this up to Northstone Studios with Jayce Lewis a few weeks ago, giving it a trial run – it definitely rocked, plenty of volume, great body with a nice, full sound due to the depth. All in all, a winner.

What a great snare drum, one we certainly don’t see everyday here in the UK. More details on the website.

Vintage drum musings…

Somehow it’s Friday. For the past two days I’ve had The Strokes debut album ‘Is this is?’ on heavy rotation, taking me back to 2001. I was living in Brighton around that time, helping a friend build a studio, and sleeping in the loft of that building as we did so. Mad times, working all hours, building an empire. I lost the plot somewhere around that time, and ended up moving to Wales via a sleepy village outside Brighton for a couple years where I met my wife. James did really well with the studio and it continues to grow – check it out Brighton Electric. If you’re on the South Coast of the UK, well worth checking out I’d say.

Back to now and I’m wondering if I can track down The Strokes drummer for a chat about recording that album, for our magazine Vintage Drums Legendary Sounds. He’s come up in my mind as I’ve been finalising a piece on Clem Burke for issue 3 and we’ve been talking about the whole New York sound;The Ramones, New York Dolls, Blondie, The Strokes…. We have a lot of other cool stuff in Issue 3, including articles on Charlie Watts and Ronnie Verrell, as well as behind the scenes recording a drum sample library and loads of knowledgeable contributions on vintage drums from a variety of sources. Almost there, looking at End February publishing date.

Looking around the shop I’m just seeing loads of cool snares! Yesterday we sold a nice 40’s Carlton Standard to Chris from White Feather Collective. I’m spoilt for choice to recommend one, but this Slingerland Sound King is one of my favourite drums. 14 x 6.5″ chrome over brass shell that just sounds great at any tuning, more common in the 5″ shell size, these drums are a must have in the studio arsenal.

In an attempt to get the year off to a good start, I’ve been trying to tidy the shop. In doing so, I seem to be discovering boxes and boxes of vintage spares that aren’t listed on the website. Slowly but surely I am photographing and listing these, but it’s a long journey! If you’re still searching for that elusive spare part to complete your project or most loved snare/kit, do drop us a line and we’ll let you know what we have available.

Signing off on a fairly chilly Friday afternoon to update the website and get some orders packed and ready to ship tomorrow.

 

 

Snare of the day

Fibes SFT690

We are fortunate to have two stunning Fibes snare drums in stock at Nick Hopkin Drums. Both drums are in amazing condition, with original parts including the snare wires.

First up is a 14×6″ Crystalite drum; this clear acrylic shell is recognised as something of a classic, rarer in the 6″ depth. All hardware is correct and in great condition, the shell is immaculate with no cracks. The SFT snare strainer is complete and fully functional; it comes with a set of original wires which are in great shape. This drum tunes up easily and sounds great!

We also have a 14×5.5″ fibreglass in Brown Marble. This is an original, and rarer Fibes colour. Maybe you have the kit to match? Again, all the hardware on this drum is original; it even has the Fibes rubber bumper fitted to prevent the snare knocking against the tom.

Both these drums sound great, with loads of sensitivity and response from the extended snare wires. Plenty of volume from these shells when required, a lovely bright crisp tone. An alternative to the vintage wooden and metal shell snare drums in your collection.

More details on both drums on our website…

Snare of the day

Slingerland Radio King, 1958

This stunning late 1950’s Slingerland Radio King snare drum arrived at the shop this week. What can I say, one of the nicest sounding Radio King snare drums I’ve had in the shop for some time – some just sing when you hit them!

Finished in Black Diamond Pearl, this 14 x 5.5″ solid maple shell is in lovely condition. The previous owner had this drum restored 10 years ago – the bearing edges were re-cut, as were the snare beds. The shell interior is date stamped 21 JUL 1958 and is in great condition, with original hardware fitted; twin felt internal tone control/muffler, Sticksaver hoops and Clamshell snare strainer and butt end. The lever on the strainer has been updated with a modern replica arm, which functions great (the original lever comes with the drum).

Fitted with Remo heads and Puresound wires, the drum tunes up easily and sounds like a dream. A wet one. More information on the website…

Snare of the day

Slingerland Standard Concert

This stunning Slingerland Standard Concert model snare drum arrived at the shop just before the Christmas holidays.

14 x 6.5″ 3 ply shell in Black Diamond Pearl in lovely condition with original hardware – Rapid strainer, Stick saver hoops, 16 lugs. Black Brass Niles badge serial number 57646, the interior of the shell is date stamped Feb 1965.

As you can see, there’s some wear to the chrome on the batter side hoop, revealing the brass – the brass hoops adding real character to this drum. The tone is absolutely lovely, that warm vintage sound but with plenty of crack when played with a rim shot.

What can i say? A fairly rare drum in the UK, in fact we don’t come across many Slingerland snares deeper than a 5″. This was purchased from a collector in the USA. and selected for our shop, both due to its original condition and amazing tone.

You can view more details about this drum on the website.

Snare of the day

Slingerland Radio King 14 x 7″

This Stunning 14 x 7″ Solid shell Radio King just landed at the shop…

What can I say? Highly sought after 7″ Solid maple shell in a cool Red/Yellow Duco with original Nickel hardware and hoops. Black / brass Chicago badge dates this drum late 1950’s (’56-59). Some wear to the paintwork, but this drum looks and sounds way cool.

Fitted with a new Remo Hazy Ambassador and a set of Puresound wires as the originals were a bit worn out; I left the batter head as it has cool song notes and lyrics written by a previous owner. This drum takes regular heads, tunes up easily and sounds #Stunning! More information on the website…

Snare of the day

Ludwig Supraphonic 400

This fine Ludwig Supraphonic 400 snare drum arrived at the shop this week with some more gear….

The most recorded snare drum of all time, this drum has loads of tone; together with the invention  of the plastic drum head, this drum was the sound of Rock & Roll. This particular drum dates around 1976 by the serial number on the Blue/Olive badge. All hardware is original and fully functional. Some chrome pitting on the shell which is common on these drums.

It tunes up and sounds great right across the tuning range. We have more coming soon, but right now this is the only one in stock – don’t miss out! More details here.

Snare of the day

Camco No. 99 Super

OK, so this rather rare & stunning Camco snare drum arrived at the shop a couple days ago…

Appearing in the 1965 catalogue with the name No.99 Super, this drum is a lovely example in original condition. Chrome over brass shell and hoops, original key mounted in the shell, original internal tone control dampener, original fully functional snare strainer. The drum is cosmetically in great shape, with a small dent where the tone control knob it; One for the collector as well as the player.

Sounds wise, it tunes up nicely and does what you’d expect from a chrome on brass drum. Nice and open, but with a control and a warm bit. More information on the website and a short video of the drum in action on our Instagram.

Snare of the day

Bespoke Copper shell

This copper shell custom snare drum recently came into the shop and has been sat in a heavy duty flight case, overlooked. That was a mistake…..

This drum is seeking a new home and needs to be played loads and enjoyed. I don’t have masses of information, other than it was built by a gentleman named Clive Adams in 1997 (who owned and ran Mercury Drum Co. in the UK). The shell itself was made by a copper smith Steven E Schifer, the solid brass hardware assembled by Clive I assume. This drum is absolutely stunning; great attention to design details like the leather washers separating all hardware from the shell. Yamaha strainers in gold complete this outstanding drum.

The drum tunes up beautifully, and the tone…oh, its like biting into a bar of your favourite chocolate or sipping your favourite beverage after a long hot summer day in work! It’s just….

More details on this drum on our website where we offer international shipping. There is a short video of this drum being played in the shop on my Instagram.

Stunning. Someone please treat themselves to this, it’s a bit special.