thanx guys, this has got to be the 5th time I've watched this , lol. I own a '67 white pearl Dave clark, Londoner kit and just love it! also 2 Dynos (wood & COB) what an awesome company.
The first time I saw a Rogers kit was in the mid 90s . Blue sparkle Cleveland I think. Very pretty, sounded great to. I have an original C O B 5x14 powertone snare. Loud!! Crisp!! And very controllable. I love it. Lol
Excellent Video. As a former High School Teacher (35 Years) I would highly recommend, Always SHOW and Tell. I know that you have added some pictures, but in the future, whatever you are Talking about, ALWAYS Physically have the Actual Item, Hold and Point to the many features of the Items you are discussing.
Always enjoy these videos. Here's an idea...I don't know if there are many of the old timers left, might be too late. But my Dad would tell me stories about his playing days in the late 30's and early 40's before he went in Army (WWII). I always excited to hear about all the drummers he met and sometimes worked opposite with on some double band bills. One of my very favorite stories when Dad played the old Paramount Theate in NYC. The bandstand came up from lower level, rising up to appear on stage in front of the audience. Don't know if any one's around that witnessed all that, but I love to hear from the older cats that were involved in that scene. Again thanks for all in supporting us drum addicts. Continued blessings and all good things!!!
Thanks for sharing Alan. This reminds me of a Billy Gladstone story. Billy used to play at Radio City in NYC. The band would come up from two levels below the stage on an elevator/riser. Back then the drum heads we’re calf, so by the time they reached the stage level the drum would need to be retuned due to changes in humidity. Billy always felt that taking the drum off the stand to tune the bottom head didn’t look professional, so he developed his 3-way tuning lug system so that all tuning could be done from the top head tension rods vials a special 3 way key. This allowed you to tune the top, the bottom, and both together. I will do an episode on Billy and talk about this.
Great historical detail. I do remember when Rogers "came out" in the mid 60s, and was really impressed with all the innovative hardware design features they came out with. That RedOnyx finish was the best. I always liked the Dyna-sonic snare design, though I never even played one. In my "consumer" mind, Rogers really were the brand that blazed the trail of innovation in drum equipment. Then DW started "getting fancy" with their new bass pedal, and took it from there. I played my original Ludwig Speed Kings till they fell apart. Now I appreciate the value of design and precision in pedals (Axis devotee). The trend of big companies simply buying successful companies, then undermining the craftsmanship that built the brand is a sad era for so many good businesses. I was recently happy to notice that Rodgers was "back", and new Dyna sonics are available. Not sure how they compare with the originals (?) . I am seriously tempted to "upgrade" one of my existing drums to the Dynasonic snare frame system - don't know if there are special snare bed requirements.
I’d love to hear more about the transition from jasper shells to Keller shells, from b&b lugs to beaver tail and from Keller 3 ply to 5 ply. Sounds like for a period it was total mix and match free for all!
Great hearing about these wonderful drums! I love my big R kit as well as my swivo kit. When Rogers switched from the Jasper 3 ply to the 5 ply shells, my understanding is that they were Keller shells. The new dyna-sonics are great snares, I get many compliments! Thank you for the great info and stories!
I sometimes regret selling my Rogers Londoner 5 kit with the three mounted toms on the bass drum. Butcher block finish. Chrome Dynasonic snare . Played many a job with this kit.
Buddy Rich played Ludwig/WFL from 1946 -59, then in the 60s, when so many top drummers played Ludwig, Buddy played Rogers from 1960-66. He didn’t follow Ringo, like so many others, causing the massive Ludwig sales.
When I acquired a Rogers drum set back in 1992: 4-piece, steel grey ripple finish 1965 vintage: 5 x 14" COB Dynasonic snare, 8 x 12" tom, 14 x 20" bass, 16 x 16" floor tom: beavertail lugs, Rogers script shell badges, Cleveland interior tags; shortly thereafter I bought that 'Rogers' book by Rob Cook and it is my 'Rogers bible'. Many of the pages are dog-eared and worn from hours of reading and reference. Since then I added on 8 x 12" tom, 9 x 13" tom, and another 14 x 20" bass drum in matching finish from about the same time period to make a double-bass kit. It is not entirely Rogers as the hardware is a mix of Ludwig and Pearl (the hi-hat stand is a Rogers from the 'Memriloc' era). Wonderful drums they are a treasured centerpiece of my drum collection.
I just tripped across your podcast from my RU-vid video website. Really interesting. I wonder, do you have a podcast on Gretsch? The history of the drum companies is very interesting. Thanks for this great service.
You are entirely welcome. Gretsch's family business is long and very interesting. Right now, I'm just keeping the podcast a defense of the Christian faith.
Great job talking about the Rogers company. I would like to suggest a podcast on drum bevels, different bevels and the sound they put out along with the different types of wood and how they change the drum sound. Thank you.
What a joy listening to someone passionate about drums (Rogers especially) give this history lesson. Great production quality - dig the pics of drums being discussed. And what a cool backdrop. Thank you for these. Can’t wait for the Gretsch episode. My first kit was a Big R. Always wanted a 60’s Rogers bop kit. These days I’m a Gretsch and Yamaha fan, but would absolutely buy a new Rogers bop kit. The quality of the new snares is top notch, so that’s a great sign. Any chance we’ll be seeing kits available soon? 18” kick pleeease, Rogers reps, I beg of you! 🙏
I have a Rogers 9/72 Fullerton CA era kit in black nitron (I guess) wrap with a metal Dynasonic snare. That snare is PAINFULL if hit hard in a small room. I use it as my main live kit and have recorded with it and the toms are good, but the bass drum is punchy and deep and exceptional.
Love these Podcasts - thanks very much to you both for sharing your knowledge. Can you shed any light on the shell makers of Rogers drums? Reason I ask is I was once told that Jasper (or Keller?) were the producers for Rogers, Camco, GW? Myth or truth? I have an early (3ply 1962ish) Camco snare which has a very sharp bearing edges which sounds quite similar to the Rogers shells you are discussing? Be great if you can shed some light on the history of the shell makers... + hope you can make a longer episode on the whole GW/Camco/Tama/DW stuff.
Great stuff! I have the English Rogers metal shell Dyna-sonic and English Rogers lacquered brass. I've a Rogers USA Dyna too. The English stuff isn't too shabby. The metal drum, at least. I can't speak about the wood shells. Awesome video, guys! Thanks👍
Hi Alan, Thanks for the comment. I didn’t mention the English Rogers part of the history and probably should have, at least in passing. I was sticking mostly to the US-based drums. The metal shell English Dyna snare drums are not bad at all. I haven’t actually had an English Rogers kit so don’t know how the toms and bass drum sound. I don’t really deal with these so I am not sure if any come on the market from time to time. I would think that these would be very rare here in the US. Probably not a lot of collector value, but rare nonetheless. Thanks! Steve
CBS ruined Rogers and Fender love Rogers drums.Big R had a big ugly plastic decal instead of a very nice Script badge this made the drums look high end with class.
Nice information there Steve and Steve J ,I was surprised that you left out the Rarest of all Dynasonics the XP10 series made from 1981-83 10 ply wood ,all maple these are way more rare then the 3000 or so 1960's series ,I have only seen less than 10 14x5 ,other sizes are rare also 6.5 and 8x14 this info came from research over the years on forums ,thanks for a most enjoyable podcast
Hi Kel. Thanks for the comment! I did leave out the later Rogers like the XP 8 drums and the later wood Dyna but only because I generally stopped the detailed analysis right around the end of the swivomatic era, but we can mention it some more here. The XP8 series was actually very nice and well made and they are a relative bargain these days. Very different from the swivomatic era of course since the shell was a different and the hardware was the Memri-loc style etc. The wood dynas from the early 80s were good drums and the addition of the 8x14 along with the 5x14 and the 6.5x14 was nice. They only came in natural maple finish. I have had several examples over the years but they never sold anywhere near the price points of the 60s era wood dynas. The XP 8 drums and those later wood dynas just aren’t as popular with the hardcore Rogers collectors, but they are a great value and are excellent instruments. They were the last of what I would call excellent quality coming from Rogers before we the decline. Thanks again!
I really enjoyed this could anyone tell me about a recent Rogers set I found in a music store a couple weeks ago? It was a holiday set from 68 or 69. I believe the color was red and they wanted about $2100.
scsdrummer Would love to help but without pics and without knowing the sizes I can’t say. If you have that information let me know. Send it to me at vintagedrums@aol.com
