Old 11-28-2014, 09:00 PM
#1
Purdie Shuffle Purdie Shuffle is offline
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Default Vintage W&A Kit Restoration
Howdy All,

I am the new and very happy owner of a late 20's/early 30's Walburg & Auge' drum kit! It needs a ton of work, but by the time I get through with them they'll look like they just left the factory. Lots of dirt, dust, rust and restoring to do, but this is an old and very rare kit and well worth any $ and effort I put into it. The kit is Marine Blue Pearl and it is in really good condition. No breaks, no marks, or burns on the wrap - it is clean and perfectly aged.

The kit is composed of: a whopping 14x28" bass drum, 16x16 floor tom, 14x14 floor tom, 7x11 and 9x13 rack toms, 14x5 snare. (see photos) The kit is from the late 20's/early 30's based on what little information on early W&A drums I was able to find on the Internet.

The Story:

Every once-in-awhile something incredible will appear in the For Sale section that is a freak of nature... this kit is one of them! Last week a first time poster stopped by the site just to advertise a drum kit he had for sale. I was fortunate enough to spot the ad shortly after it posted.

The ad was for a vintage W&A kit (6 drums,) for $600. No photos. I pm'd him right away and a few hours later he sent me a bunch of photos of the kit. I 'almost' soiled myself when I saw what they were. Needless to say, I -immediately- called the number he provided me and we sealed the deal. Really nice and interesting guy too! His name is Gus Mazzocca, he's the 'second' owner of the kit. It was his first drum kit that his dad bought for him (used) in 1950. It turns out that Gus is a Print-maker! He's a well-known modern artist and he was a professor at the University of Connecticut for 30 years! It really was fun to meet him and he was a pleasure to do business with. Everything went smooth as silk.

It turns out that it would have cost me about $600 to pack and ship the kit (6 drums plus a monster 28 bass drum,) interstate from him to me. That's when my buddy, Glenn (FER428) stepped in and volunteered to pick up the kit for me and meet me half way. This transaction was only possible for me because of Glenn. His help made it do-able. The man spent 5 hours on the road today just to do me a favor. Don't worry, I really hooked him up! He didn't want anything for doing me the favor, but I took good care of him anyway. Good guy, not many out there like him. Big heart. Below is a photo of Glenn and me. My wife dubbed us, 'The Squatch Bros.'! I guess we do look a little 'Squatchy' with our scruffy grey beards! It was a gas to meet him. I'm only sorry that we didn't have enough time to hang out. His son Dan, who played chauffeur, has a gig tonight, so they had to hit to hit the road again right after the exchange. We're planning to hook up for the next Delaware Drum Show in February so we can spend some time together. The whole adventure was a blast, fun and exhausting!

Here's a shot of Gus standing by the drums right before they left his house: see below

Here's a shot of the Squatch Bros! Glenn & myself. Freezing our as$es off in Clifton, NJ. see below



"Before" photos of the drums will be in the next post. Watch this space for progress reports. I'm going to do this one right!

John
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http://www.walbergandauge.com/VintageVenue.htm

Last edited by Purdie Shuffle; 09-27-2017 at 03:09 PM.
Old 11-28-2014, 09:07 PM
#2
jccabinets jccabinets is offline
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Default Re: Vintage W&A Kit Restoration
Very cool John, Glenn is a great guy for sure. Let's see the drums!
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Jeff C

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Old 11-28-2014, 09:22 PM
#3
Purdie Shuffle Purdie Shuffle is offline
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Default Re: Vintage W&A Kit Restoration
Here are shots I took as we brought them in from the cold:

see below

I forgot to mention that I also received two boxes full of antique drum hardware and cymbals! I'll post some photos of the 'extras' that came with the kit later. I'm pooped from driving all day!

John
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Too many great drums to list here!

http://www.walbergandauge.com/VintageVenue.htm

Last edited by Purdie Shuffle; 09-27-2017 at 03:12 PM.
Old 11-28-2014, 09:24 PM
#4
FFR428 FFR428 is offline
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Default Re: Vintage W&A Kit Restoration
Hi John~! Was great to meet you and Bev today. Yes indeed and very cold there in NJ~! The Squatch Bros I love it~! Ha. Long day but very very fun time!! I love cool adventures like this. Meeting Gus was a blast. He wanted me to stay for coffee and chat a bit. I had to hit the road so sadly not much time to talk. I didn't know he is a Print Maker and was very nice to meet him. That picture is cool as the sun was beaming down on the drums through the window. They are the stars here! I do wish we had more time to hang. We were all tired and had long trips home. Glad you made it ok with everything. That was a full car you had!! Lots of cool stuff for sure. Thanks for letting me be a part of it. Seeing those in person was amazing. And well worth the drive!! Dan peeked in the drum bag when we stopped on the way home and told me I better check it out. I wanted to wait but OMG my heart skipped a few beats when I did. I can't think you enough!! And for everything else as well. This REALLY blew me away!! Wow!! I'll post some pics and update things a bit. This thread is for your new W&A's!!! Congrats! Yes at the Delaware show we're buying you both dinner too afterwards!! That's for certain!

Enjoy John~!

All the best, Glenn.
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Old 11-28-2014, 09:27 PM
#5
teverson-sr teverson-sr is offline
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Default Re: Vintage W&A Kit Restoration
Are those tension "tubes" that thread onto a rod?
Old 11-28-2014, 09:34 PM
#6
jccabinets jccabinets is offline
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Default Re: Vintage W&A Kit Restoration
Wow, those are gorgeous and look like they will clean up nice.
Okay, now, what did Glenn get?
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Old 11-28-2014, 09:38 PM
#7
Purdie Shuffle Purdie Shuffle is offline
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Default Re: Vintage W&A Kit Restoration
Quote:
Originally Posted by teverson-sr View Post
Are those tension "tubes" that thread onto a rod?
Yes, I believe so. They are well constructed too. I'll take some interior shots for you as work progresses and you'll see what I'm talking about. The drums look like they were German built and engineered! Rock solid, well-constructed. The shells are a thing of wonder. I can't wait to see some bearing edges.

Does anybody have any info on old Walburg & Auge drums????? I know little, or nothing about the history of these drums. They came with a trap-table by the way that hooks onto the top of the bass drum. It's an amazing kit.

Jeff - I'll let Glenn tell you what he got. It freaked him out! He didn't get to see it until after we split up and he was back on the road again. I covered all his expenses for the day and gave him a really cool gift. He deserves it, big-time.

John
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http://www.walbergandauge.com/VintageVenue.htm

Last edited by Purdie Shuffle; 11-28-2014 at 09:43 PM.
Old 11-28-2014, 09:41 PM
#8
jccabinets jccabinets is offline
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Awesome! Your lucky John.
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Old 11-28-2014, 10:10 PM
#9
mlayton mlayton is offline
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Default Re: Vintage W&A Kit Restoration
great story john and glenn! that's what its all about. the drums are amazing. you've got a lot of work ahead. but its the good kinda work! I really like the wrap. man, if those tubs could talk. looking forward to seeing it all. great project.

mike
Old 11-28-2014, 10:57 PM
#10
Purdie Shuffle Purdie Shuffle is offline
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Default Re: Vintage W&A Kit Restoration
> man, if those tubs could talk.

Me and Bev were talking about just that! In its day, this was a top line kit. Because there are so many drums in the kit and because of the sizes, I imagine it was owned by a professional drummer. The trap table speaks of silent movies with drummers sitting at their trap kits in the orchestra pit blowing whistles, making train sounds, crashes, you name it. Any sound that was needed for the movie being shown. This is a real 'show kit' so it's more likely it was used in a working band. Nobody would spend that kind of money in those days for drums... only pro's and the very wealthy. I'd love to know where these drums have been, what kind of music was played on them, and who played them. We'll never know. It's all left to imagination. But what fun imagining!

John
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