Since I was a young drummer, I have always had a "thing" for snare drums.  This may seem a bit ironic given the nature of the business (custom bass drumheads), but to me, nothing gives a song or even a drummer their "voice" more than a well-made, well-tuned snare drum.  Buddy had his.  Tony had his.  Bonham had his.  Krupa had his.  Many other drummers have theirs.  And certainly there's a "right" snare drum sound for any given song.

I caught the collecting bug more than 20 years ago while reading an issue of GQ or Esquire Magazine (I can't remember which) at my aunt and uncle's cabin in the Adirondack Mountains.  There was a small sidebar article in the magazine that talked about a drumsmith from Seattle named Gregg Keplinger.  Keplinger was making snares for many of my favorite drummers out of some very unique materials including iron and stainless steel.  I decided then that I would someday own a Keplinger.  Today I own six.

Since then, I've collected a number of unique and interesting snare drums from the likes of Keplinger, Joyful Noise, Brady, Craviotto, Luka Percussion, Sonor, Ludwig, Pearl and many more.  I also made sure to add some "industry standards" to the mix for when I'm looking for "that" sound.  It may not be the Curotto Collection, but then again, what is?

I'm very lucky to own some very special drums, so over the coming months I will be working with my good friend and master drummer Ted MacKenzie to review each and every drum in the collection.  We'll post video, photos and text reviews so you can check them out for yourselves.  My hope is that you will find this exercise both interesting and valuable, and that maybe a few of you will find *your* voice among these fine drums and use it to make some amazing music that we'll all enjoy.

Cheers!

--Jim.

The DrumART Collection:

1. ADM Jarrah Block Shell with Sleishman Free-Floating System - 5.5" x 13"
2. Allstar 220 Bronze - 6.5" x 14"
3. Ayotte-Keplinger with wood hoops - 6.5" x 14"
4. Blaemire Fiberglass with Rogers Hardware - 5" x 14"
5. Brady Jarrah Ply in Red Silky Oak Gloss - 5.5" x 14"
6. Brady Jarrah Ply in Wandoo Burl Satin - 8" x 14"
7. C&C Maple in Red Paua Abalone - 6.5" x 14"
8. Canopus Zelkova Solid - 6.5" x 14"
9. Craviotto Birdseye Maple MonoPly in Natural Satin - 6.5" x 14"
10. Drum Art Olivewood Stave - 6.5" x 14"
11. Drum Foundry Titanium with Wood Hoops - 6.5" x 14"
12. Drum Solo Ash Segment - 5.5" x 14"
13. DW Edge in Red Marble - 5" x 14"
14. DW Edge in Champagne Glass Glitter - 7" x 14"
15. Firchie Roto-Snare - 5" x 14" (sort of)
16. Heuer Hitmaker Black on Brass - 6.5" x 14"
17. Joyful Noise TKO (Tim Kae Original) - 6.5" x 14"
18. Keplinger Iron - 5.5" x 14"
19. Keplinger Stainless - 5.5" x 14"
20. Keplinger Stainless Popcorn - 6.5" x 10"
21. Keplinger Heavy Brass - 6.5" x 13"
22. Keplinger Heavy Brass Free-Floating - 7" x 14"
23. Ludwig 100th Anniversary Black Beauty with Twin Channel die-cast hoops ("The One") - 6.5" x 14"
24. Ludwig 100th Anniversary Engraved Black Magic - 5" x 14"
25. Ludwig Black Magic - 7" x 13"
26. Ludwig Brass Edition Supraphonic - 6.5" x 14"
27. Ludwig Bronze Supraphonic (modern) - 5" x 14"
28. Ludwig Bronze Supraphonic (modern) - 6.5" x 14"
29. Ludwig Supraphonic (70s) - 5" x 14"
30. Ludwig Supraphonic (modern) - 6.5" x 14"
31. Ludwig Supraphonic Super-Sensitive (60s) - 5" x 14"
32. Ludwig Supraphonic Super-Sensitive (70s) - 5" x 14"
33. Ludwig Acrolite (60s) - 5" x 14"
34. Ludwig Acrolite (70s) - 5" x 14"
35. Ludwig "Blackrolite" Black Galaxy Acrolite - 5" x 14"
36. Ludwig "Blackrolite" Black Galaxy Acrolite - 6.5" x 14"
37. Ludwig Standard - 5" x 14"
38. Luka Solid Maple with Stellar Bubinga Segment D/C Hoops - 7" x 14" x 3/4"
39. Luka Solid Maple Popcorn - 6" x 10" x 1/2"
40. Mapex Maple Deluxe Heavy Maple in Birdseye Sunburst - 6.5" x 14"
41. McKenzie Carbon Fiber - 6.5" x 14"
42. McKenzie Magnesium - 5.5" x 14"
43. McKenzie Magnesium - 6.5" x 14"
44. McKenzie Magnesium - 8" x 14"
45. Mine Lot Drumworks Bell Brass - 6.5" x 14"
46. Mine Lot Drumworks Bell Brass with cast brass hoops and cast brass lugs - 8" x 14"
47. Mine Lot Drumworks Birdseye Maple Single-Ply in natural gloss with Stanbridge Bubinga Segment Hoops - 6.5" x 14"
48. Mine Lot Drumworks Solid Maple (The "DadAndy") - 4.5" x 14" x 1/2"
49. Organic Custom Drums Maple/Maple or Maple/Birch Free-Floating - 6.5" x 14"
50. Pearl Tico Torres Signature Cast Aluminum Free-Floating - 6.5" x 14"
51. Pearl Brass Free-Floating - 6.5" x 14"
52. Pearl Copper Free-Floating - 6.5" x 14"
53. Pearl Maple Free-Floating - 3.5" x 14"
54. Pearl Sensitone Brass - 5.5" x 14"
55. Pearl Sensitone Brass - 6.5" x 14"
56. Pearl Masters Custom Limited Edition Maple - 5.5" x 14"
57. Peavey Radial Pro 1000 Maple Segment in Natural - 5.5" x 13"
58. Peavey Radial Pro 1000 Maple Segment in Canary Yellow - 5.5" x 14"
59. Potyondi Custom Cast Iron ("The Sledge") - 4.5" x 14"
60. Slingerland Student Snare (my first drum!) in Chrome over Maple - 5.5" x 14"
61. Sonor Horst Link Signature Ferro-Manganese - 8" x 14"
62. Sonor Artist Series Heavy Maple in Amboina - 7" x 13"
63. Sonor Delite in Birdseye Cherry - 5" x 14"
64. Sonor D-444 Ferro-Manganese - 5" x 14"
65. Tempus Carbon Fibre in Red Sparkle - 6.5" x 14"
66. Tempus Fibreglass in Champagne Sparkle - 5.5" x 14"
67. World Max Black Hawg Hammered Brass - 5" x 14"
68. World Max Black on Brass Super-Sensitive - 6.5" x 14"
69. Yamaha Bamboo - 5.5" x 14"
70. Yamaha Kabuto Steel - 5.5" x 14"
71. Yamaha SD4470 Nouveau Brass - 6.5" x 14"