You will get 600 smiles in no time playing that great drum. Congrats on the score!

Creighton

You done good. That's a great snare, no doubt about it. I think the size is fantastic.

Thanks. I actually prefer deeper snares - the depth is what initially attracted me to the drum. I typically enjoy playing anything 6.5 and deeper (unless it's a Jazz Festival!). I do have another question; I'm new to these snares and I noticed that it looks as though the extended snares require a metal piece going from the bridge to the snare itself? If I can locate an extended snare, will I require these pieces? I've included a picture of what I'm talking about.

What a lovely drum. There's a 15"x8" RK currently on Ebay in the UK with a buy now of 400UKP which looks to be around the same vintage as yours - possibly slightly newer. I think at $600 you did really well, particularly because it seems to be very much original and unmolested. I'd personally always pay more for a drum that might be in a shocking state and wholly original rather than something shiny with non-original mods.

Mike I know when PureSound made the RK wires in the vintage series they had those metal tabs on them. I'm pretty sure that is one of the models that was discontinued sadly. I don't know if other brands make something now. Hope someone can steer you in the right direction on that.

It has been my experience (with RK snares) that standard snare wires sound better than the original extended style with metal straps. The standard length wires choke less.

Mark 100 % agreed!

I notice that too... And I was wondering if the earlier adjustable gate/bracket/bridge would help bring the wires away from the head a hair...

Jason

Good to know about the extended snares. It does sound great as is and I think I'll keep the current setup. Thank you for everyone's input - I greatly appreciate it!

The adjustable brackets are very cantankerous. Usually, they jam up and sometimes no amount of adjustment will bring the wires flush with the head. Because the drums were designed for calf heads, the extra thickness helps the snares lay flat. However, I've had lots of them that worked perfectly. The use of string and standard length wires really allows both the drum and the wires to "breathe".