The Rogers Super Ten Model Snare Drum

The Rogers Drum Company, like Ludwig, Slingerland, Camco, Leedy, and Gretsch, tried to offer a drum or drum kit for everyone's budget. In the case of Rogers, the Dynasonic snare drum was the flagship of the company followed by the Powertone (See blog dated July 20th). Over the years, collectors have made the Dynasonic, particularly the wood shell version, one of the most prized and sought after snare drums in the marketplace. Prices have gone through the roof. Certainly, the fact that both Buddy Rich and Louis Bellson played the Dyna helped matters considerably. But Buddy also played a wood Powertone and although it too has increased in value over the years, that increase hasn't come close to that of the Dynasonic.

As mentioned earlier, Rogers offered other models during the company's lifetime. Not all of these drums have weathered the test of time as well as the Dyna. In fact, it's a truism that just because a drum is old, doesn't necessarily make it good, desirable, or collectible. The same can be said about anything that is considered an antique. Which brings us to the drum you see pictured here.

The Rogers Super Ten was introduced in 1973. Its production run lasted until 1983. It came in two sizes, 5 x 14 and 6 1/2 x 14. The shell was made of steel, as were the hoops, and it had ten lugs, thus the name Super Ten. In 1983, a wood shell model was offered, although I've never seen one in the flesh. The Super Ten replaced the Powertone, which had finally run its course.

The 1976 Rogers catalog describes the drum as follows. " At last, a snare drum you can dig into and it still responds and feels good....carefully designed snare beds provide that thick sound that has become so popular....easy to play, easy to tune, and durable, the Super Ten gives a funky sound that is so much a part of today's music."

Suffice it to say, that the above catalog ad copy is just that....ad copy. The reality is somewhat different. There's nothing special about the Super Ten. The carefully designed snare beds are a figment of someone's imagination. It's not a bad drum, but it has no specialness about it at all. The sound of the drum is rather pedestrian, although with the choice of drum heads nowadays, a drummer could tweak the Super Ten to his heart's content. No endorsers were ever connected to the drum. And perhaps that's the problem. In any case, you don't see many of these in the marketplace and they are not considered very collectible.

It's all rather ironic really. Here's an average musical instrument that is currently considered not very desirable. Yet, it is relatively rare and it does share the same Rogers hardware as her more expensive sisters. It's true that the Rogers Drum Company had started its long slow slide into oblivion around the late 70's. Unfortunately, this drum was one of the casualties.