Great set and a great story! Glad to see you got a lot of local help with them.

Did the person you bought them from live in MA? I wonder how much they have traveled or if they never left the state!

Thanks so much! Yep... they made it happen. Yes... I bought the kit from someone in Revere MA who had it listed on ebay. He picked it up at a real estate auction.

He had the matching snare but sold it before I saw the kit. Would have been nice to have the snare... he mentioned it sold for WAY more than the kit did.

I'm also currious if the kit ever left MA.

Man those look great! And very nice score on the snare too. They look like a lot of fun to play. Hey the black tape serves the purpose for now. That's all that matters. Looks pretty good too. Excellent~! Clapping Happy2

Very nice, glad you were able to get the head situations worked out.

Thanks Matt! :) I'll keep you posted about having you do the tacked on bottom heads.

Thanks! They are a absolute blast to play. The bass drum has a nice boom to it... not overwhelming and easy to control (thanks to the felt strips, tone control and Vater Vintage Bomber beater). Light 4 on the floor (off the head) sings big band. Lay into it a little and things get very funky and powerful.

These drums will definitely come out for a jazz gig sometime.

Ah.. you figured out what I used... go electrical tape... looks good from a distance. I can live with it for now. :)

On to the next project...

Hey Jespo! Sounds like you are enjoying your W&A drums! I've recently inherited the "same exact" kit from my Father. Same sizes, same gold sparkle wrap, same Gretch rocket lugs (Although the 14" has a metal rim not wood)

Interesting history on these drums. My Father purchased these drums in 1956 at 14 years old from a friend. (They were already 25 years old!) he played in a few bands through his teens. Also on the streets of Shrewsbury Ma with his buddies for change. Then he went to college so they were put away until I found them in the our attic in the early 80's. I set them up in my room and banged on them for a few years until I got a more modern kit. My Father gave me a hard time because I broke all the calf skin heads (CRINGE! I know) So back up in the attic they went until this year. My sister bought the family house and called me one day. "Do you want these old drums? If not I'm going to throw them out." ILL BE RIGHT THERE!!

So I have them now and I'm cleaning them up to play again. My father had painted them white and blue when he first got them. The wrap is decent under the paint. I'm glad you mentioned where you found the heads. I'll have to try those stores.

There was also a case of hardware, stands, an early hi-hat stand and 12" hats. Also a W&A gold sparkle 14x12 marching snare and a WFL 15x15 US military snare with the string tention webbing. I haven't marched with a snare since I was 10 (with my Dad) but they're nice to have around.

He still uses a W&A 14x5 mother of pearl snare (purchased at the W&A store in Worcester) with a newer Pearl kit in a Dixieland band and a jazz band.

I'll post some pics when I figure out how. Happy Drumming !!

JB