Vintage Rogers snare

[bvrettski]

I have a vintage Rogers Dyna Sonic snare. 5.5 x 14" Serial number 51255

I'd like determine its model, age and worth.

I also have the orginal Rogers snare stand.

The drum is missing the aluminum snare rail and iwould like to find one if possible.

Any information about the drum would be appreciated.

Thanks Brett

[Tommyp]

Well hey again Brett...

What you have here would appear to be a 1970 Rogers Dynasonic snare drum. The shell is a 5 line, and these are pretty common, although still nice. The more highly sought after COB Dynasonic's are the earlier 7 line varients. Anyway, regarding the SNARE FRAME:

These can be had a couple different ways... the easiest way would be to buy one BRAND NEW from Al Drew's Music in Woonsocket RI, or, cruise eBay and wait for a used one to come up, which they often do, but they are almost always expensive, and then you take your chances as to whether or not they are straight or warped. A warped snare frame will make the Dynasonic sound like crap regardless of WHAT you do to tune it. I own/gig on Rogers drums and have owned 5 Dynasonics... I currently own two, ( I sold three of them ) and still gig on them. Again, my '66 WMP Dynasonic can be seen on this very site, as well as my '65 7 line COB. Both of them near MINT!

Value? I have seen your year or similar sell for as little as $150.00, or as much as $450.00... condition being like yours or nicer. It all depends on WHO is looking and WHEN on these. Needless to say, a nice COB 7 line can go as high as $600.00, and I remember one in particular going for $1000.00! I even bid on that one as it was PRISTINE/MINT, but it still sold way too high. Was nice for the seller though!

[bvrettski]

Does the snare frame improve sound. Its very solid sounding as is and I've played it for 12 years. I'm guessing the frame gives some increased flixibility in tensioning. Is this correct?

Thansk for the info and just to let you kow I bought this for $25 at a going out of business sale. Go figure.

Brett

[Tommyp]

Hey Brett...

The snare frame is the essence of the Dynasonic system... without the snare frame, as you have been playing yours, it is essentially just a COB/metal snare drum... plenty of POP/POWER to be sure, but not possessing the "sensitivity" that the Dynasonic was designed for. With the frame in place and the snares attached and tensioned, the Swivo strainer raises the WHOLE FRAME up against the bottom head, just GENTLY "kissing" it, which leaves the snares FREE to vibrate easily as the air column excites the bottom head... Thus, incredible sensitivity... ( some guys say too much, but I don't agree )... and also a drum that will NEVER choke, irrespective of how hard you play it.

Set up correctly, the Rogers Dynasonic is an incredible drum... and the key is setting it up correctly. In the hands of a "ham fisted" drummer, a guy who just cranks up the snares as tight as they will go, the drum sounds like crap. Not to mention, overtightening the snares/frame will almost always DENT the shell right behind the strainer. This is always a good indication of a drum that belonged to a player that didn't take the time to LEARN how to set the drum up.

When Dynasonic's were sold new, they came with an instruction booklet on HOW to set the drum up... I think a lot of guys didn't bother with the booklet, couldn't get the drum to sound/play right, gave up on it, and called it a piece of crap. So,

The short answer to your question: "Does the frame improve the sound"?... The answer would be, YES!

BTW, smokin' nice drum for $25.00!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That's a STEAL!!!!!!!!!!

Tommyp

[bvrettski]

Thanks for the info. Looking at mine , there arent any dents but I've always used a stretchy polyester fabric on my strainers so its not so tight o nthe bottom. I'll have to start searching for one of the frames. I probably fall more into the "Ham Fisted" drummer category even though I have I take care of my equipement. I'm afraid I grew up in an era of drums that were big...thick and you had to hit them hard to get much out of them (ie. the rock kits of the 80's)

Thanks as always for the info I'll probably be selling this snare at some point as I move into a new kit...and yes something with more feel. It will be like learning to drum all over again.

Brett

[Pete Stoltman]

Tommyp, can you give some insight as to why the 7 line Dynos are more desirable than the 5 line? There must be some difference other than the lines right?

[bvrettski]

Might be just how "rare" they are. I'm thinking of hammer two new lines into my shell just for value..*laughs*

[Tommyp]

Hey Brett/Pete...

The main difference between the 7 line and the later 5 line Dynasonics, is the shell. While ALL Dynasonics are COB... ( chrome over brass )... the 7 line shells are made of heavier gauge brass. This doesn't mean that the 5 line Dynasonics are cheap... just that the earlier COB Dynasonics were made of heavier material. BOTH 5 and 7 line Dynasonics have the TWO BEADS, one on top, and one on the bottom for more structural integrity. Regarding the LINES:

On the 7 line Dynasonics, the lines are actually just "etched" into the shell... more for being pleasing to the eye than anything else. On the 5 line Dynasonics, Rogers actually cut the lines INTO THE SHELL, which again helped with the structural integrity of the shell, which makes sense because these shells are thinner. If you look inside your 5 line, you will see the lines from the inside as well as the outside... on the 7 line, the inside shell is SMOOTH.

My '65 7 line COB Dynasonic is serial #7694... ( an early one )... and the drum is HEAVY! I am currently detailing/re-furbishing a 5 line COB Dynasonic for a drummer friend of mine, serial #14926, and the weight difference between the two drums is quite apparent, which is funny because the two drums are only a year apart in actual manufacture! But that's the difference in the two shells... the weight.

[bvrettski]

One thing I've noticed as I've looked at other 5 line COBs, Mine has the Rogers logo in script where as most of the others have the Big R Logo. Does this date or differentiate the models?

Found this one on another forum:

http://www.drums.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=2101&goto=nextoldest

Thanks

Brett

[Tommyp]

Hey Brett...

Yes!... and a good observation on your part. The Big "R" Dynasonics are the much later manufactured drums, starting at around 1976. These drums are METAL SHELL ONLY, and were all manufactured in Fullerton Ca., a period in Rogers history nowhere near as desireable/collectible to the Rogers enthusiest, thus, the Big "R" Dynasonics can be had for quite a bit less than the earlier Dynasonics. The most desired/collectible Dynasonics seem to be from say 1962, to 1972, give or take a few years. Also!, and this is important:

Island Music started licensing the Rogers name later on in the 70's and a bit beyond... These drums are cheap imports and not very good quality at all. One must be careful because these Dynasonics still have the Big "R" badge, but the badge is now made of a vinyl material, has NO SERIAL number, and no longer says "made In USA". Otherwise, the drums "look" identical.

Brett, you know, based on your assessment of your drumming style... ( heavy, 80's rock )... if you were still wanting to play a Rogers snare drum, the one you would want, hands down, is the Rogers SuperTen. This is a STEEL shelled 10 lug drum with a standard Swivo strainer/butt system, and these drums CRANK!!!!!! These can be had "usually" for very low money compared to the Dynasonic's, but they aren't low grade quality in the slightest. Rogers came out with this drum to TRY and compete with the very popular, venerable Ludwig Supraphonic 400. I have a MINT '73 Rogers SuperTen, dual badge including the script logo, and this drum positively SHREDS!!! As a matter of fact, I can't gig with it as it has way to much power for the gigs that I play, yet the drum is incredibly sensitive too. The "problem" is the drum is... LOUD!!!! This drum can easily get out over any band at any volume. The SuperTen never really caught on... ( shame as they will give a Supraphonic 400 a serious run anyday! )... so they can be picked up rather painlessly with regard to price. EVERY Rogers fan/enthusiest/player should have one of these in their playing arsenal!

I'll attach a few pics of my SuperTen...

Tommyp

[bvrettski]

Thanks for the "scoop" on the SuperTen. I'll keep that in mind. I'm actually hoping to move away from the Ham Handed club in an attempt to develop more feel and touch. IN that light I'll be putting together a smaller more responsive kit I hope.

I grew up in the Progressive/ Metal days with drum instruction based more on the popular style of the time. I may always be a "Hit em hard" kinda guy but I'm gonna try working more touch into my playing.

My old kit is an 11 pierce Tama Imperialstar in like new condition. Its been babied all around. I've tried numerous times to open the kit up using different head combinations but have never found the kind of playability I was looking for. Those deep toms and heavy shells just arent condusive to that kind of setup. Not to mention the 24" bass drum wont allow me to get my rack tomes down where I want them. (laughs).

You mentioned I could buy a Swivo setup somewhere. Do you have a link or phone number?

Thaks again for the scoop and Happy Holiday or Merry Christmas..

Brett

[Tommyp]

Hey Brett...

I talked with Dave Drew today and inquired as to whether he has any NEW Rogers Dynasonic snare frames in stock... he does. Al Drew Music bought ALL the Rogers remaining stock whan they went OOB... These Dynasonic snare frames are made NEW to the EXACT Rogers specs/blueprints. They are a perfect fit.

Okay, here's the info/link for ya: www.aldrewmusic@aol.com

And here's the store phone number: 401-769-3552

Oh, the frames aren't cheap... but I have NEVER seen these sell on eBay for less then this, and, you are guaranteed these WILL NOT be warped. The price... $74.95... but now your drum will be complete and set up correctly. You know, once your Dynasonic is all set up with the correct parts, you may not want to sell it! :-)

Good luck!

Tommyp

[musicbybj]

I just saw a dyna sonic snare rail on eBay today...check it out.

Cool