As a Canadian drummer and wannabe collector, I have a particular soft spot for Ayotte drums. Often heralded as the first boutique drum company, it was founded by Ray Ayotte out in Vancouver in the early 1980s. The drums that came out of his shop are universally praised for their exceptional craftsmanship, with beautiful wood … More 1990s Ayotte Custom Snare Drum
A fellow Yamaha Custom Drums owner gave me the heads up about a pretty unique set of drums. These were for sale on the Chicago Music Exchange site a few months ago, and were listed as an early 2000s Absolute Maple Custom drum kit with wood hoops. Of course, the badge says they’re Yamaha Custom … More Yamaha Custom Drums, Part 4
The great thing about collecting vintage drums is the vast range of options and pricing. As much as I’d like to have an engraved 1920s Ludwig Black Beauty in my collection, it’s a bit out of my price range at the moment (unless I stumble across one at an estate sale or Goodwill store, which … More 1970 Ludwig Standard Snare
High on my list of snare drums I’d like to own is a Leedy Broadway snare from the 1940s. I love the Art Deco beavertail lugs, the engraved snare hoop, the classic white marine pearl finish. But while doing my regular eBay scan for a Broadway the other night, I came across another (much cheaper) … More 1956-57 Leedy Utility Snare Drum
As a follow-up to my previous post about the rarely-seen Yamaha Custom Drums series from the mid-1990s, I came across a PDF of Modern Drummer from October 1996. An article about these drums (and some other new offerings from Yamaha) begins on page 32. For those of you who are too lazy to click on … More Yamaha Custom Drums, Part 3
