Rogers Drum Company Ad--Downbeat Magazine Part 2

This is the 2nd page of a double truck ad that appeared in Downbeat Magazine in the early 60's. The first page appeared in a my  blog dated December 22nd. These ads called attention to a 5 day percussion symposium that occurred in New York. Close to 2000 drummers attended.  Back in the day, these conferences were unusual. In fact, I don't recall anything quite like this.

But let's be honest. This ad was part of a massive promotional campaign to put the Rogers Drum Company on the map. Their number one endorser, Buddy Rich, was featured front and center. Other Drummers too shared the spotlight. These included Cozy Cole, Roy Burns, Jim Chapin, and Zutty Singleton.  As the reader can see, this page shows a great picture of Buddy Rich and Joe Morello discussing  some particular aspect of drumming. Joe Morello was Ludwig's number one endorser.  No doubt Ben Strauss and Henry Grossman, the driving forces behind Rogers, were as pleased as punch to have a representative from a major competitor show up at their promotional event.

The Rogers Drum Company never looked back after making its big splash in the early 60's. They were consistently aggressive and innovative concerning their drums and the marketing of them. The drums were not cheap. A 4 piece Rogers drum kit listed for about 200.00 more than a similar configured Ludwig or Slingerland kit. But, in this case. you got what you paid for.

Today, some 50 years after this ad appeared, Rogers Drums still hold their value. Collectors search them out, and drummers around the world still play them and swear by them. You couldn't ask for a better legacy.

The Rogers Brass Dynasonic Snare Drum

Every Drum Company in the 1960's sold a flagship snare drum. This drum was intended to be the finest snare drum the company could offer. It was usually the most expensive drum in the catalog and the company did its best to draw attention to it.

This didn't necessarily mean it was the most popular snare drum. And, despite a company's best efforts, it didn't mean that it was the best sounding snare drum, either. Ludwig, for example, offered the Ludwig Super Sensitive as its flagship, but many drummers prefer the standard Supraphonic 400 for its sound and ease of tuning. It also was virtually indestructible and many of these drums survive and are in use today.

The Rogers Drum Company offered the Dynasonic as its flagship snare drum. The drum came in two sizes, 5 x 14 and 6 1/2 x 14 . The Dyna was designed in the early 60's when Buddy Rich was Rogers' main endorser. Both a wood shell and a brass shell were available. It was sold as a standard snare on both the Buddy Rich Celebrity model and the Louie Bellson double bass model.

Over the years, the wood Dyna has increased in value by leaps and bounds. The more numerous brass model has not. In both wood and metal shell versions, the 6 1/2 x 14 model is more rare than the 5 x 14 model. Which brings us to the brass beauty you see pictured here.

This Dyna is from the later 60's, perhaps early 70's. Earlier models had 7 etched lines on the shell. Later models had 5, as can be seen on this cutie pie. All Dyna shells had the unique two beads around the top and bottom of the drum. This was done to increase the rigidity of the shell. Ludwig, on the contrary, had one bead around the middle of its shells. And Slingerland had no beads, claiming they were sound distorting.

Beads or not, this is a fabulous sounding snare drum. Loud, but sensitive, and very versatile, this drum can fill the bill in almost any musical setting. Although the 6 1/2 x 14 model is not something you run into everyday, the 5 x 14 model is not that rare and prices are very reasonable. This drum is one of the great examples of the golden age of American Drum Manufacturers.

Rogers Swiv-O-matic Hardware

William Ludwig Jr. spent the later years of his life, proudly celebrating the legacy of his drum company. For a number of years, he made an appearance at the Chicago Vintage Drum Show talking about Ludwig Drums and the company's rich history. One moment in particular sticks in my mind and it's directly related to the topic I'm addressing today.

During his visit to the show, Bill would host a question and answer symposium. At one point, a fellow drummer asked Bill which competing Drum Company, during the 60's heyday, caused him the most concern. Without hesitating, he said that Rogers, "scared the dickens out of him."

The Rogers Drum Company was aggressive in promotion, marketing, and innovation. The picture here is a copy of the 2nd page of the Rogers 1962 catalog. The Rogers Swiv-O-Matic hardware was truly revolutionary for the time. The uni ball idea allowed the drummer to place his hanging toms in almost any imaginable position. In addition, the hardware was tough and durable. In the 50's, the rail consolette, or the Ray McKinley tom holder as Slingerland called it, was the holder of choice. Indeed, Ludwig, Slingerland, and Gretsch all used the rail. It made its first appearance in 1947 and it was solid, but very limited, particularly concerning height and angle. The Swiv-o-Matic tom holder changed the playing field dramatically.

Soon, other companies began to change their hardware. Slingerland adopted the uni ball idea and came up with the Set-O-Matic holder. Fibes used the concept almost exclusively. Even Camco shipped some kits with the Rogers hardware attached. On the other hand, Ludwig and Gretsch continued with the rail, continuously improving it.

In the 70's and 80's, as rock music became louder, drum companies were forced to adapt. Rogers changed to their Memriloc hardware. It was beefier and much, much heavier. Slingerland followed suit with their Magnum hardware. Even Ludwig began selling sets with their Modular series hardware.

But it's the Swiv-O-Matic hardware that caught the fancy of drummers so many years ago, even drummers who didn't play Rogers Drums. The link below shows Keith Moon with his Pictures of Lily Premier kit and the Rogers Swiv-O-Matic hardware.

http://www.vintagedrumsandmore.com/media-drum-articles-keith-moon-swivo.htm

And here's the great Buddy Rich.
http://www.vintagedrumsandmore.com/media-drum-articles-buddy-rich-swivo.htm

The Rogers Century Snare Drum

Like all the Drum Companies in the 60's, the Rogers Drum Company offered a variety of snare drums for every taste and budget. The Powertone snare drum was clearly the mainstream choice.(See Blog Aug.10th). But in an effort to increase sales to the concert drummer, Rogers offered up the drum you see pictured here.

The Rogers Century Snare drum was the largest snare drum that ever graced a Rogers catalog. This beauty was 8 inches deep with a 15 inch diameter head. The early 60's catalog describes this drum as a "Perma-Built" snare drum. This was simply a slogan that Rogers used in its catalogs to indicate the strength of its shells. Indeed, the 1956 catalog showed a photo of 5 employees balancing themselves on a Rogers parade drum shell.

The drum came with triple flange hoops, the standard swivomatic snare strainer, the maple/poplar shell with Maple reinforcing rings, 16 self aligning lugs, and 20 strand snappy snares. The drum listed for 95.00 dollars in the mahogany or lacquered version, 105.00 dollars in the Pearl version. For an extra 2.00 dollars, one could opt for gut snares.

The Rogers Century was designed to be played in a concert band or an orchestral setting. It's large size allowed it to be heard in an environment where it had to compete with 100 other musicians playing large scale symphonic pieces. As one can imagine, it's a loud drum, but not particularly sensitive. Sensitivity was up to the player. The cost of the drum put it right in the middle range of Rogers Snare drums. The Rogers Dynasonic was the price leader at a suggested list of 150.00. Today, that doesn't seem like a lot of money, but in 1962 that wasn't peanuts.

As far as I can tell, the Rogers Century was never associated with any particular player or orchestra. I never seen one used in a commercial band. It would seem to be perfect for a loud rock or metal band. I suspect that the issue is one of availability. Also, I don't imagine many have survived over the years. It's not a very collectible drum and I've never seen one at the many vintage drum shows I've attended over the years. I picked this sweetheart up for a song at a drum store in Toronto Canada many years ago.

This drum's time has come and gone. Nevertheless, the Rogers Century Snare Drum still occupies a place in drum history.

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.