At the moment I have a 60's rb 20 13 16 not traditional jazz sizes but they were kind of a pound puppy that I rescued. I have had trouble tuning them so that they sound satisfactory - any suggestions? The bass finally sounds good - remo ps 3 and ambassador res - but the toms aren't there yet. I have medium aquarian american vintage batter and thin res but not good yet. Trying the light american vintage on the batter to see if that will help - any suggestions would be great. But for jazz my favorite kit at the moment is a sonor sonic plus II jungle kit 16" bass 10 rack and 13 floor. Set up with ambassador coated and superkick I and the equivalent res head. The snare I use depends the on the setting.

My all time favorite is my 1972 jazzette. I even have the correct era matching B/O jazzfest. The JF is dated April 1972 and has a clear interior while the set has granitone interiors. I got the JF later on. it is especially nice when I use my old K's with it. I actually have a 22" K istanbul, 13" K istanbul hats and a newer K constaninopal 20" ride. If I don't use those I have a full set of bosphorus cymbals that sound great! Here is my band in action. We normally have a piano player but a guitar was subbing this time.

www.tallgranitejazzband.info.

I built my jazz kit using early 60's era Slingerland shells. Bass was a 16x16 floor tom, 8x12 a Stage Band shell and the floor tom a 12x15 marching snare.

I used repro Radio King lugs and vintage stick saver rims. For snares I've got a Slingerland 6-lugger student finished to match the kit, a Slingerland 5x14 solid shell Artist and a '38 6-1/2x14 Radio King snare. I only play jazz and have only played Slingerlands since my first kit in '65. These are my favorites!

Regards

DonS

Thanks for the reply.

No problem. If I had a choice, I'd use coated Emad on batter and Ambassador coated on front... Much bigger WHOMP...

Can the "magic kit" be one that you wish you had for jazz? If so, 60's Gretsch RB 12,14,18 in Art Blakey style sparkle. One day...

I have a 80's rosewood Gretsch 12,14,20 and a Dayton WMP Rogers 12,16,20 that work great, but...12,14,18 RBs, man, that would be sweet.

New guy here, although some of you may know me from elsewhere. :cool:

My magic kit is my Jazzette kit (1969 w/1963 Jazz Festival snare)

[img]http://black.net.nz/drums/jazetsid.JPG[/img]

A Roy Haynes kind of thing, especially when served with a 602 flat ride on the side. It's also the only kit I have. I've got a few other miscellaneous Ludwig snares and other bits and pieces.

^^^A thing of beauty! Can we add a picture of your kit to the Vintage Drum Guide's special Jazzette section? Welcome to the forum!

Very nice kit Zenstat!!

Beautuful WMP jazzette! Is it actually date stamped 1969 inside? Does it have clear maple interiors or ganitone? It would not surprise me if your kit was date stamped 1969 because the badge on the 12 hangs kind of low like it was drilled for a keystone. Very cool set! I love mine!