Oh dixieland dixieland!

[kay-gee]

How many of you know that the drum set as we know it today is an american invention, with it's roots in New Orleans about the turn of the last century. Although drums go back to ancient times, the "kit" is fairly new in terms of musical instruments. It appears that guys would play on street corners ...small groups of horns, guitars, bangoes etc...and Since it was not practical to have a percussion section, drummers became inventive and began to assemble stuff together that one guy could play. The first drums were attained from military groups and schools, some drums even dating back to the civil war. The first kick pedal, was a beater attached to a guys shoe. This enabled the keeping of 4/4 time while playing a snare drum. The bass drums in those days being large (often 30" or more) soon became a central unit to which all kinds of wooden blocks and bells could be attached. Marching cymbals were suspended individually on clothes hanger like apparatus. Soon the only limit was the imagination. Drummers found steady work through the 20's in movie houses, providing sound effects for silent films. The funny looking set-ups becames referred to as contraptions, shortened to "traps". The following decades brought several innovations in configuration with toms and larger and dedicated cymbals (rides crashes etc...)

It is in the spirit of the first dixieland set that I one day decded to assemble a set from odd parts (this and that) to come up with something very unique but also functional.

I hope you enjoy the following photos and stories.

all the best...

[kay-gee]

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...s/dixie003.jpg



http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...s/dixie004.jpg

This is the heart of the beast. A 8"x26" marching bass drum. It came from an american legion. It is a WFL (circa 1950) It has the original calf skin heads on either side. It is single tension (as are all the drums shown here). This mens there are no lugs. the drum tightens with a single tension rod that draws both heads together at the same time. No matter how you tighten it, you get a mirror image head tension resulting in a sympathetic and very sonorous tone. This drum has 12 rods. It is simply painted. I used cowbell mounting brackets for spurs. Simple but effective. Keep drum upright LOL.

all the best...

[kay-gee]

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...s/dixie005.jpg

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...s/dixie006.jpg

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...s/dixie007.jpg

this is lovingly referred to as the "Frankensnare" It came as a cut down 14" Gretsch marching drum shell. 3-ply poplar and mahogany. It was Swiss cheese-ish. Under the paint is a bit of filler. It has wooden hoops (Ludwig I think) Ludwig snares, butt plate, claws and P-85 throw. I had no tension rods to fit it so I cut lengths of threaded rod. Nuts tighten it. I even put some little rubber grips off a toy hockey game to prevent nasty knuckle scrapes on the rod ends. It is painted out, and varnished in. Now has Remo Fiber-Skyn on top. I play it somewhat loosely for that greasy old time New Orleans kind of sound.

all the best...

[kay-gee]

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...s/dixie008.jpg

This is a 10"x 14" Gretsch marching snare drum stamped 1953 inside. It is pretty much intact except the gut snares and sheep skin reso head have been removed. It serves as a nice boomy tom.

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...s/dixie009.jpg

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...s/dixie010.jpg

a 9x13 Ludwig marching drum. Painted white inside. I suspect about 1960 -64. I made legs for it out of wood. Using 3 little rubber washers I made from a wine stopper, They kind of suspend on the legs. Funny looking I know but it works!

all the best...

[kay-gee]

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...s/dixie014.jpg

A Ludwig spur-Lok hi hat stand and Speed king pedal. Mid 60's. I beefed up the beater with padding and a sock to about tennis ball size. Creates beautiful boom on the calf head of the bass drum. I kept the calf heads for all these drums. Too impractical in this humidity, so I'm using Fiber-Skyn batters as a reasonable facsimiles of calf. I solved the bass problem with a light bulb as you will see.

all the best...

[Northern Redneck]

This might interest you. Its for sale near me.

[kay-gee]

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...s/dixie011.jpg

Left to right... a hat clutch fastened in a clamp and S rod cymbal arm (homemade)
Leedy and Ludwig L arm holder and L arm
I took a Ludwig tom bracket and bolted it to a piece of wood. Can virtually "C" clamp anywhere on s bass drum
A Long L arm I made from a hood propping rod from a scrapped Hona Civic.

all the best...

[kay-gee]

This might interest you. Its for sale near me.

Sure love to have at go on them anyway! LOL they are beautiful.

all the bst...

[kay-gee]

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...s/dixie012.jpg

Ah cymbals. What to choose? Since mounting all the cymbals to bass drum, it seemed logical to stay small.

Top row Lto R...15 inch Avedis Zildjian hi hat bottom used as a ride. I usually dangle a piece of bathroom chain on it for a lttle sizzle. It really "swings"
A 12" Paiste signature Splash (crash)
A 10" A zidjian splash (recently aquired from a member here)

Bottom row...a Paiste 602 hat top and a Sabian hat bottom. Talk about trashy LOL I literally found it in a trash bin behind a music studio. Notice finger tip size chunk missing...actually prevents air lock and chicks nicely.

all the best...

[CharlyG]

this is fun!!!

[kay-gee]

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...s/dixie013.jpg

Some extra percussion stuff, some of which I attach to the drum. Collection includes hand cymbals, claves, a guiro block (big purple) bells tambourines etc...

all the best...

[kay-gee]

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...s/dixie022.jpg

This is a stool given to me by a photographer back in 1982 when I was on the road. It can raise from 18" to 27" without a single wing nut bolt or anything. I cant figure out how it works but it is great.

all the best...

[kay-gee]

Put it all together and it looks like this...
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...s/dixie020.jpg
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...s/dixie021.jpg

all the best...

[CharlyG]

Nice pix, nice story, nice thread, NICER drums!

[kay-gee]

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...s/dixie017.jpg

all the best...

[kay-gee]

A bit more to come . keep watching

all the best...

[campbellj25]

Got any videos of you playing those?

[kay-gee]

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...s/dixie019.jpg

all the best...

[kay-gee]

as mentioned I put a light bulb in the bass to keep the heads tight on humid days. It has an added benefit. The night time is the right time LOL

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...s/dixie024.jpg

all the best...

[kay-gee]

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...s/dixie025.jpg

all the best...

[kay-gee]

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...s/dixie001.jpg

the set breaks down to this. A hockey bag the bass drum and a couple of light stands

all the best...

[kay-gee]

some other stuff

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...s/dixie023.jpg

A goat skin drum with a hole chewed through it (thank-you potcake hound) an african beat box, cheap pair Toca bongoes, A piece of Junkanoo paraphenelia, fire bell and a couple pairs of homemade wine cork mallets (play beatifully)

all the best...

[kay-gee]

So you can see...you guys ever come to visit...we can get down and make some beautiful noise!!!
That's it for now....I hope you enjoyed the show.

Someday a video will be available, but not now.

THE END

all the best...

[Mr. Tama]

Absolutely amazing! I want to do that now! lol

[ocddrummer]

Amazing collection KG. I would love to sit behind one of these kits with some old jazz/ragtime cats and cook. If I'm ever in Mass., I would love to come check it out in person. I LOVE OLD DRUMS