GUIDE TO VINTAGE DRUMS

In the period between 1905-1915, many pedals carne out with a very
compact design. Due to the si.ze of the bass drums (3Q-36") and the fact that a
drummer had to be able to carry all of his set in one load to get it on a
streetcar, anything which could lighten the load or make it easier to carry was
considered useful. Bass drum pedals were no exception. There were severa!
models offered without footboards which could be easily packed away.
Towards the end of this period, someone attempted to manufacture a peda.l
which played a pair of cymbals with the heel, and a bass drum with the toe.
Due to the necessity of holding your Jeg up all nlght, this idea didn't last
long.
THE
FIRST MODERN
BASS DRUM PEDAL
lt wasn't until 1909 that William F. Ludwig and his brother Theobald
built a pedal that would revolutionize drumming. Their pedal had a spring
(which caused the beater to come back off the head on its own), a post
mounted beater (which decreased the length required for a beater shaft), and a
cast .footboard. This gave the drummer the ability to play quicker tempos for
longer periods of time without fatigue. As an added bonus, the all metal con-
struction of the Ludwig pedal allowed the cymbal
striker to be mounted to the beater shaft and to be
pulled away from the cymbal when the dru.mmer
chose to play the bass drum without the cyrnbal. A
later incamation of this pedal had a mechanism
which allowed the drummer to "switch off'' the
cymbals with a move of his fool The Ludwig pedal
spawned a number of clones.
L1.1dwig Pedal (1912 Cal.alog)
1910 Ludwig Pedal
GUIDE TO VINTAGE DRUMS



The Fraser Pedal (shown above is listed In the 1914 Leedy catalog and is
very similar In mecha.nism to the Ludwig, with a twist. With the purchase of
an optional footboard, the pedal could be used with the pedal parallel to the
batter head, (to conserve on space). Ludwig had their own version of side
pedal which was offered In the 1918 catalogas well. By 1920, many variations
on the Ludwig pedal were available from Leedy and Walberg & Auge, a
company devoted to the manufacture ol hardware and drummers accessories.
While these pedals offered the American drummer ease in playing
cymbal/ bass drum sounds, Our German counterparts were cooking up a lew
ideas ol their own. He:re is a shot (below) from an older Sonar catalog. Note
the urper left pedal. which has a Pedal lor crash cymbals (2) and a bass drum
peda which share a common heel plate. There is also an interesting Duplex
pedal with two footboards In the same catalog.
--......
8
GUIDE TO VINTAGE DRUMS





The first drum set offered by Ludwig
showed up n the 1918 catalog. lt featured a
single tension bass drum (8x24), a single
tension snare drum (3x12), Bass drum pedal
w /cymbal strker, suspended cymbal and
hoop mounted cymbal, and hoop mounted
wood block. The "Ludwig Complete "Jazz
'Er-Up" Outfit was hailed as "the making of
the party.
Although not pictured with a set or
sold as part of a set, Ludwig does show two
sizes of single headed tunable toms attached
to the Jazzerup accessory packages, which
also included tuned cowbells, two tone
wood blocks, and triangles. 1n 1919, an
upgraded set appears featurng a double
tenson snare and bass drum,wth a Chinese
tom tom added.
Professional Outfit No. l
9
----
GUIDE TO VINTAGE DRUMS







SOUND EFFECTS
AND CHINESE TOMS
The musical situation of the early 1900s consisted largely of "theater
music". These engagements demanded that the drummer supply sound ef-
fects to accompany the action taking place on stage. As a result, the first addi-
tions to the drumset after the bass drum/cymbal and snare drum were the
sound effects. From gunshots, to doors, horses hooves, va.rious bird calls, rat-
tles and whistles, the drummer had a huge responsibility to provide accom-
paniment for any occasion.
When I first started researchlng sound effects of the early 20th century,
1 began to think that maybe collecting effects would be a large enough hobby
to preclude drum collecting. In fact, the most ardent pursuers of vintage
sound effects seem to be "legit" or classical musicians. Dan Armstrong,
Percussion instructor at Penn Sta te University, has this to say about old sound
effects: "One of m y finds that 1 use fairly often is a set of heavy-gauge Leed y
sle.ighbells which are fas tened bottom-up on a flat disk rather than strung out
on a wooden handle. These old ones are loud and they stop jingling much
more quickly than "Modem Sleighbells". I have also found uses for a mouth
siren with what looks like the bell of a trumpet attached (greatly increases the
volume) and a variety of mouth-operated effects such as train whistles, tug-
boat whistles, baby cres, etc. Again these are hard to find, but useful and cer-
tainly fun! "
In the first Ludwig catalog (1912), the sound effects were not that
prominent. A drummer"s arsenal of sound effects (if one is to believe the ad-
vertising copy of the ad) consisted of such stand-bys as the Horse trot imita-
tion, Shot Cushion (for gunshots), a ratchet, anvil, chimes, sleigh bells, hen,
rooster, baby, and All-in-one effects, sUde and Bird whistles, a Slapstick, clog
maUets, and Chinese toms. Apparently Trains were still a big item, since the
last item in the catalog was a large square chunk of metal suspended by a
string, bearing the glorious name of Train Bell.
The 1919 catalog features aU of the above sound effects, with some im-
provements in the Train effect. The 1919 Ludwig catalog shows the Ludwig
Railroad Im.itation. The first line in the copy says "TI you are dead tired of
pounding sheet iron flat, try this". It goes on to say that this new and im-
proved model will produce Locomotive starts, stops or distant approaches
with the greatest of ease. While it would take another book to detail the
sound and appearance of the majority of sound effects in use up until the mid
30s, 1 will simply list all of the sound effects sold by Ludwig and Leedy
through the mid-30s.
10
GUIDE TO VINTAGE DRUMS













Being raised in the age of television, it is sometimes hard to envision
just how difficult it might be to accompany a silent movie, or even early
"talkies". U. G. Leedy, presiden! and founder of Leedy drums, described
how sorne effects are produced:
"The roar of the airplane motors in the "Talkies" is
accomplished with the use of Timpani, or Kettle drums, and an
electric motor rotating a series of straps. If the picture is to be a
close-up of the plane, the motor is run at full speed and the
straps beating on the drum give a terrific roaring sound. lf the
plane is being shown at a distance, the motor is slowed down
and the drum gives off a tone sounding like the far away purr of
an airplane engine. Pisto/ shots and camwn roars are produced
through the use of a small machine firing blank cartridges. "
BACK TO THE DRUMSET
Aside from all of these sound effects, the drumset continued to
dt:vtdop as a unit cousisting of cymbals, snare drums, bass drums and tom
toms. Up until the mid 20s, the use of tom toms was fairly limited. About the
same time that sound effects carne into vogue, the Chinese tom-tom was
added to the drumset. Usually only a single small tom tom was used (as an
effect). These crudely made instruments had two heads, both tacked onto the
shell. The heads were sometimes painted with dragons and other symbols,
and there were tiny wires inside the drum (to ward off evil spirits). What
began as a small tom tom hung on a bass drum lug with a wire or metal loop,
soon e><panded a.c; drummer.c; became aware ol the Rntmd pnssibilitif'S of tom-
toms. Soon two or three different sizes of Chinese tom-toms began showing
up on drumsets, along with rack systems to mount all the hardware on. On
the cover of the 1923 Ludwig catalog, (next page) Ralph Smith is shown
standing proudly by his drumset featuring 3 different sized Chinese toms, 2
timpani, wood blocks, cowbells, a bass drum, complete with hoop mounted
cymbal (hit via the BD pedal) a snare drum, and a suspended cymbal. Under
the picture is the caption, "The Modern Drummer". While the 1924 Leedy
catalog doesn't show Chinese toms on their sets, they do appear in the
accessories section of the catalog in 3 different sizes with floor stands (cradles).
GUIDE TO VINTAGE DRUMS






GUIDE TO VINTAGE DRUMS





J. , O. $OISTIUMN J. W. PEPPE&.
l!IDK,
Patu.td Jo.l7 5, J8i2 .
. .].
The single tensioned thumbscrew drums, which were the ''standard''
when Boulanger and Sostmann & Pepper designed their drums, featured
from six to twenty tension rods, which threaded into the bottom collar hook.
While the most popular sizes of the drum for dance band/Vaudeville work
appear to be 4x14 and 4x15, the drums were available in 5" and 6-1/2" depths
as well. Thumbscrew drums were offered for a wide range of uses. As stated
in the 1900 Leedy "C" catalog:
"Our Une of drums <t'lnslitute what we N .me$Uy believe lo be the
''Best." They <1.te built for bu.siness, bu.Ut to be ab$Oiutely excellrnt in every
dtbU, buHI to uJI by rt'.1..10n of their mtrlts.
Ou.r drum.s not oudt of vt.nr (as ordin.arily but are soHd, stumbrnt
wood htUs, then:by producing a quality a.nd quantity of tone that c:annot be
ha.d with metal OT ve.neer. We daim th.at a solid wood &hell it not nea.rly so
susceptible to .atmosphtric chilJ\gts a& o.nr of mct.tl, and produces cle.ar,
sru.ppy vibration whkh u.nnot be equ.Ued by ;m y other ma.ke of drum.
The sizes available in Single Tension, solid wood shell drums were
plentiful, with 3x14, 3x15, 4x14, 4x15, Sx14, 6x15, 9x15, 9x17, and 10xl7 (inch)
sizes offered with 14 thumbrods per drum. Band Drums listed elsewhere in
the catalog went from 6x14 to 10x17 as well, for a total of 16 different size
options for snare drums.
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GUIDE TO VINTAGE DRUMS








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Severa! drum companies such
as Duplex (Boulanger) and the George
B. Stone Drum Company, offered 16,
and even 20 lug, double tension snare
drums. By mounting stu.ds (which
functioned as casings for tuning rods)
in the side of the drum; and offsetting
the top and bottom studs, a double
tension drum was constructed with
ample room to mount the studs. The
Stone Master Model snare d!rums were
constructed of solid maple,. and occa
sionally walnut and mahogany, with as
many as 16 tension rods per head on a
14" drum. The shell as well as hoops
were constructed of Birds-eye maple.
The Stone drum required a wrench to
tune it, and thus caused a lot of incon
venience. The snare tensioning device
offered on the Pepper drum was rather
primitive, and didn't offer much
throwoff, but the tension rods could be
operated by a screwdriver, which
made it more convenient than the
Stone drum. When Boulanger intro-
duced his single post, 16 lug snare
drum with strainers under the top &
bottom heads in 1898, which even had
square tension rod heads, the Pepper
drum had no advantages. Even
though both of these drums were pio
neering masterpieces, they eventually
fll out of favor whe llie double post
Tube Lug was invented in 1910, re
placing nearly every other method of
tuning.
Tube lug snare drums became
the industry standud very shortly af-
ter they were introduced by the
Ludwig & Ludwig Drum company in
1910. However, the first Ludwig
drums were offered with threaded
studs, simi.lar to a drum ("Tom Milis
Drum" now on display at Drum
Center of lndanapolis) manufactured
in Germany probably made by Sonor
which Mr. Ludwig oM day
on the street. The Milis drum shared
some smilarities with the Stone
Master model tensioning system, but
had a metal shell.
GUIDE TO VINTAGE DRUMS




This was almost the same
concept as the Stone drum, except
that the tension rod was manipulated
much more easily, and a "new" brass
shell made its appearance. Ludwig
only produced this drum for a year or
so before adding a tube between the
two studs to add strength to the lugs
and prevent the studs from bendi.ng
the shell. Their design for a separate
tension lug casing became so popular
that every manufacturer of the day
copied the design with minor
differences, or bought the lugs
from Ludwig. The tube lug revolu
tionized snare drums around 1910, a.nd remained the industry standard until
Leed y introduced their pressed metal lug casing which held a swiveling lug
nut. Although Leedy introduced and developed the pressed metal lug
around 1912, it was severa! years before any of the other percussion manufac
turers carne out with non-tube lugs. Ludwig and Slingerland began
producing cast lug casings around 1934. Leedy had already introduced a casi
lug casing around 1931, which really placed their drums "ahead of the game"
for a while. These casings, although similar in function, were designed so
that a drummer could identify the company by lhe casing. It seems thal the
only flaw with tube lugs was that they aU look the same from a dislance, and
that made il difficult lo seJJ the
look of the drum. So in order
lo differentiale lhemselves
from each other, each com-
pany changed its look.
Slingerland carne out
with the Scalloped "Radio
King" lug in 1935, Ludwig in
troduced the Imperial lug in
1935, and Leedy switched from
the pressed lug to the
square/"x" lug in or around
1934. The firsl attempls by
Ludwig and Slingerland to
produce casi lugs resulted in
casings with the threads
lapped directly into the casing.
Oue to the inferior quality of
metal used (usually either
aluminum or pot metal), the
threads soon gave out. Only a
few drums were made with
these casings, and surviving
models are rarely fully intact.
1914 Leedy Drums
featuring the 2 hole lug
design with swivel nuls
GUIDE TO VINTAGE DRUMS



After the abysmal failure of these first lugs, both Slingerland and
Ludwig finally took the idea Leedy had been using on their drums for the
past 10 years, and with sorne minor variations, namel swivel nuts, intro-
duced it as their own design. The following pictures show the introduction
of the Ludwig Imperial Lug
Ludwig Silver Anniversary Super-Sensitive
models and accompanying catalog test
1'l
GUIDE TO VINTAGE DRUMS





BASS DRUMS
With the exception of the advent of double tension, bass drums re-
mained unchanged other than cosmetically through the 20s and 30s. From
the early teens up through the mid 20s, a lot of bass drurns were made of solid
Maple, Walnut, and Mahogany, however, sorne were constructed from ply-
wood (then referred lo as "veneer"). In the 1900 Leed y catalog, every drum in
the catalog is either solid maple, mahogany or walnut.
Early bass drums were kept in place when playing by hoop mounted
spurs. And since the average size of bass drurn was anywhere from 24" to 32",
the weighl of the drurn was sufficient lo keep it in place. There were attempts
to transform lhe bass drurn into a trap case from severa! cornpanies. Barry
Manufacturing introduced the "trapdoor" bass drum and the Collapsible, or
folding bass drum, in addition to the Perfection (Walberg & Auge) Drum
Cornpany's bass drum which "is hinged and opens like a trunk to hold your
snare, hardware and all of your traps!" The relative scarcity of these drum to-
dny points to their short life spnn. Bnss Drum Hends did provide n Jot of inter-
est however. The number of choices in hand painted bass drurn heads, al-
though offering standardized designs, really left us with sorne neat artwork,
simila.r lo the engraving on sorne snare drurns in that no two are exactly the
same. The use of lights inside these bass drums (to make the head illustra-
tions stand out and keep the heads taut in humid conditions) resulted in
rnany extra holes being drilled in shells, as did the addition of heaters (once
electricity became readily available to make them a viable option). Despite aU
of these changes and the addition of Lug casings instead of single tension or
tube lugs, the bass drum basically stayed the same.
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GUIDE TO VINTAGE DRUMS


LOW BOYS AND HI HATS
Somewhere in the m id 20s, the cymbal "clanger" which was attached to
the bass drum beater apparently lost its charm to sorne drummers. One of the
first attempts made to alleviate the monotony of a constantly clanging cymbal
whenever the bass drum was played, was to offer a damper. The first
dampers were pads which could be brought in contact with the cymbal by
taking the foot off of the pedal. Such a limited use invention was bound to
spawn other, more creative ideas. The fust dampers were followed (and made
obsolete) in 1919 by the "'New Ludwig Alternator" which was an extra pedal
assembly with two functions. If one pedal was depressed, the snare throwoff
was engaged. If the other was depressed, a muffler was held against the cym
bal. The "Aiternator", which was connected to the snare and cymbal by way of
cables, acted independently of the bass drum pedal, but met its demise when
the Low boy was invented. The first cymbal playing devices made separate
from the bass drum were very crude indeed, and ludicrous by todays stan
dards for Hi-Hats.
Nicknamed the Snowshoe-a pair of shoe shaped boards with cymbals
attached and a spring loaded hinge, this extremely crude setup, allowed the
drummer could play closed cymbal accents with his left foot. The advent of
the snowshoe and its sound soon inspired others to created a more convenient
and controllable model. The first Low-boys, as they were called, stood about
10 inches off the floor, had a spring loaded direct pull mechanism, could be
folded up for transporting and were probably built by Walberg and Auge.
No one is quite sure how the Hi-hat grew out of the Low boy, but by 1928,
Ludwig, Slingerland and other companies showed both Hi-hats and Low boy
stands. Papa Jo Jones stated that he had invented the Hi-Hat in 1926 out of
necessity (he couldn' t reach the cymbals on the floor), in his 1984 Modem
Orummer interview. Since the 1924 Leedy Catalog shows both low-boys and
hihat stands, perhaps Mr. Jones has his dates confused. The Hihat didn' t
really take over until the mid to late 30s, due to a need to integrate it with the
hands as well as the feet, but endless variations were invented, including the
"Twinsok" which had two sets of cymbals operated by the same foot pedal;
the "Perfection Extra" which had holders for two crash cymbals and two
Chinese toms attached; the Gladstone cable Hi-hat; and the Slingerland WOW
GUIDE TO VINTAGE DRUMS



Pedal).
THE EVOLUTION OF THE HI-HAT
BY CHET FALZERANO
Reprinted from the Not So Modero Qrummer
The Hi Hat as we know it had a humble beginning largely due to eco-
nomics and space. At the turn of the century, Vaudeville orchestra pits were
notoriously small. To accommodate this lack of space and to cut costs, per-
cussion sections were reduced from a snare drummer, bass drummer and
cymbal player to a single person. Out of necessity, the trap set was bom. Bass
drum pedals of various designs we.re constructed, however, most included a
second beater that struck a cymbal mounted on the bass drum hoop. This ap-
paratus was often called a "clanger", and rightly so. The resulting tone was a
rather monotonous clanging sound.
Drummers desiring the more pleasant sound of two cymbals played
together first developed the snow shoe sock pedal. Its construction was sim-
ply two cymbals mounted between two foot shaped boards with a spring
hinge. The player slipped his foot into a toe strap (hence the term
"Snowshoe") and could either execute a crash or "chick"sound depending on
the attack.
22