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View Full Version : The Band - King Harvest 1970, That's a cool old kit!

Jim
12-07-2008, 09:30 PM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_hsp4SBwO4
JohnG
01-04-2009, 06:02 PM
too cool.....was that the Bearsville recording studio ?? It's not Big Pink....
I was up at Levons Midnight Ramble this past fall....a remarkable show...
Jim
01-05-2009, 08:41 AM
I couldn't find a definitive source on the location... found references to Robbie Robertson's studio... Levon's barn... and simply somebody's house.. most commonly mentioned seems to be it was a session at Robbie Robertson's studio.

When I was reading I found reference to "a guy" that rents out some great vintage drums for people needing equipment and recording at Bearsville.

Wow... now there could be some history in those drums. :)
Ludwig-dude
03-22-2009, 07:30 PM
Actually those drums weren't vintage at the time. They were Ludwigs that Levon has ordered from Ludwig like that. Watch the Last Waltz again, he uses this kit in the two studio scenes with Emmilou Harris and also with the Staples. They were contemporary drums.....basically the lower end marching drums at the time converted to kit use.

I'm thinking of searching out a few of those old lower end marching drums with the wood hoops to replicate this kit.....Yes Sir
Jim
10-16-2009, 09:31 PM
Bump... did you get that replica kit built??
Ludwig-dude
10-17-2009, 08:44 AM
Bump... did you get that replica kit built??

Not yet. Thats another project to get finished after the Leedy, after the Gretsch, after the....well youget the idea....Falling Do
mcjnic
10-17-2009, 11:36 AM
I've got a Gold Sparkle Wood Hoop Slingerland 15 incher. I've held on to it for a really cool kit idea. This is a great idea! What kind of other drums do you think would go with this? I'm intrigued.
Jim
10-18-2009, 11:59 AM
Hey could this be where the video was shot...

http://www.iowrock.demon.co.uk/archive/iow_archive_wootton.html
Ludwig-dude
10-18-2009, 12:18 PM
Hey could this be where the video was shot...

http://www.iowrock.demon.co.uk/archive/iow_archive_wootton.html

No it was filmed in upstate New York....Woodstock to be exact. Its not the Big Pink house, but closeby.
Jim
10-18-2009, 01:07 PM
When you look at the picture of Levon's kit in the UK shot... with windows and the amp it just looks like a really good match.
Ludwig-dude
10-18-2009, 03:19 PM
When you look at the picture of Levon's kit in the UK shot... with windows and the amp it just looks like a really good match.

Yes, but they show an outside shot of the house in the opening scene, and its not the same one shown in the UK. Also, this was filmed in 1970, not 1969 like the link shows.
510
11-02-2009, 08:42 PM
It looks to me like Levon had the wooden hoops on that Tom cut down like maybe a half inch or so. That would make an old marching snare look a little more modern and he may have cut the size of the shell down while he was at it. I don't know, but if so it could have been a vintage drum, right?
section2
11-04-2009, 02:18 AM
I read in Levon's autobiography that he found his wood-hoop kit at a pawn shop in LA just before they started recording their self-titled album in early 1969. I'd always assumed it was a very old kit.

On the other hand, Ludwig-dude says Levon ordered the kit new from Ludwig. Perhaps he bought the old kit at a pawn shop and then ordered a new, similar kit from Ludwig? I'd guess a newer kit would have been more road-worthy, so maybe he bought a newer replica to take on tour.
510
11-04-2009, 07:11 PM
Just for clarification, I mentioned the possible trimming of the hoops because the original marching snare height of the hoop can change the angle that you use to hit the head when playing. Coming from your snare to the tom (old marching snare) could be uncomfortable with tall hoops IMHO.

Levon is cool!
Ludwig-dude
11-04-2009, 11:49 PM
Just for clarification, I mentioned the possible trimming of the hoops because the original marching snare height of the hoop can change the angle that you use to hit the head when playing. Coming from your snare to the tom (old marching snare) could be uncomfortable with tall hoops IMHO.

Levon is cool!

Well....the snare was an old wood hoop Ludwig & Ludwig, or possibly a Leedy, hard to tell in the pics, and those hoops were rather tall as well....I'm pretty sure he played them as-is.
510
11-05-2009, 03:52 PM
Well....the snare was an old wood hoop Ludwig & Ludwig, or possibly a Leedy, hard to tell in the pics, and those hoops were rather tall as well....I'm pretty sure he played them as-is.

Ludwig-dude,

When I saw your post I had to laugh at myself! It is so ingrained in me that using an old marching snare as an up tom (it’s a good way to get a thin shelled tom tom cheap...similar size to toms), that I didn’t even consider a regular snare was what Levon could be using. I imagine you are exactly right. I’m still chuckling at my “Duh!” moment.

Thanks L-D
WANT IM ALL
11-16-2009, 07:44 PM
the snare drum crack on king harvest is killer. i saw levon
play on that kit a few times. the band was the original roots
rock band. they would make a fortune on the jam band
scene today. the skill sets of these guys were incredible!
i know a few of the fellas in levon's band.these dudes can
really lay it down. groove you out the door and really
deal on the solos too.
Jim
11-20-2010, 01:39 PM
http://video.pbs.org/video/1618751533/

http://theband.hiof.no/articles/the_big_beat_lh.html

Kind'a neat...
section2
11-20-2010, 05:31 PM
Actually those drums weren't vintage at the time. They were Ludwigs that Levon has ordered from Ludwig like that. Watch the Last Waltz again, he uses this kit in the two studio scenes with Emmilou Harris and also with the Staples. They were contemporary drums.....basically the lower end marching drums at the time converted to kit use.

I'm thinking of searching out a few of those old lower end marching drums with the wood hoops to replicate this kit.....Yes Sir

I just re-watched the Last Waltz, and you're right, L-D: the drums in the studio scenes were new. But I'm pretty sure those were a different kit from the one seen in this video. As far as I know, the kit in this video was his old pawn shop kit, and then some time before the Last Waltz he ordered a new set from Ludwig.

Either way, the bottom line is that there's some truly great drumming here. :)
Ludwig-dude
11-20-2010, 06:43 PM
I just re-watched the Last Waltz, and you're right, L-D: the drums in the studio scenes were new. But I'm pretty sure those were a different kit from the one seen in this video. As far as I know, the kit in this video was his old pawn shop kit, and then some time before the Last Waltz he ordered a new set from Ludwig.

Either way, the bottom line is that there's some truly great drumming here. :)

Yes they are two different kits. The one from the Last Waltz was the new one he ordered. The one in this video is the one he bought at the pawn shop.