Hello once again, Phil!

- Does anyone know what is this oval hole with these tow holes in the middle top of the bass drum ?

-I believe that those are the remaining mounting holes drilled where an internal bass drum muffling device was once installed - look at your snare drum shell on the the side where a lever arm with a knurled knob is mounted through an oval plate which operates the angled lever on the inside shell - An identical lever control assembly was probably attached there on top of the bass drum shell to control a much longer lever arm with muffle pad(s) inside the bass drum, for the purpose of eliminating unwanted overtone frequencies from the drum heads during playing. It is highly likely that the mounting hole spacing from the snare drum knob assembly exactly fits the holes drilled on the top of the bass drum as well.

- I replace the shell for, I guess, the cymbal arm (same shell as BD leg, on the left of the lest pic, opposite of the tom support). But the hole is ridiculously small, about 7 or 8 mm in diameter. Is it possible to install a cymbal on a rod so fine ?? and how the cymbal will be fixed (just a thread at the end of the rod) ? All the pics I've seen have more strong rod with tilt adjustment.

- If you have the shell mount which accepts an 8mm long steel rod passing through it, you can then search and ask around until you locate some cymbal seat tilter attachments which exactly fit the diameter of the rod and attach with a wing nut or set pin. You may also find older cymbal seats made of solid rubber which simply slip down over the end of the rod and fit perfectly. Long ago drum manufacturers sold cymbal rods and cymbal stands separately from the tilters and mounts which were necessary to attach to them - so you will succeed in reconstructing a proper fitting cymbal holding arm. As long as the 8mm. rod is strong steel it will have no problem holding even a large diameter cymbal firmly in playing position. Sonor, Trixon, Tromsa and other German manufacturers all made the parts during the 1950's and 1960's you can hunt down to use. WFL, Ludwig and Slingerland from the U.S.A. also made tilters and rubber mounts from the 1940's through the 1950's which attach to rods like this, as did PREMIER of England. Just be patient, do the research, contact various collectors and websites through this site and elsewhere, and you will soon have that drumkit completely restored as original. Refuse to compromise and refuse to redrill or alter the original construction, for all parts and pieces still exist somewhere on the planet lying around unused. German origin drums from this period utilize one or more of the following thread gauge sizes for all mounts, lugs, attachments, and tension rods which you can find at most hardware stores should you need to substitute for original pieces during the course of your restoration: 6mm. x 1mm. / 5mm. x .08mm / 4mm. x .07 mm. / 8mm. x 1.25mm. / 3mm. x .05mm. and SONOR drums utilize 1/4 - 20" threading for tension rods and many other attachments.

Fortunately most all Asian import manufactured drums today also use most or all of these same sizes for their wing nuts, hex nuts, tension rods, etc. ! Hope I've been of some help to you. Best of luck and enjoy your search and restoration! Those drums will sound wonderful when you play them!

I am pleasantly surprised how you guys reply for give help ! it's really a good place here, thanks again.

DOH, obvious!

Thanks for the explanation of the cymbal support, I will search for one.

cheers

Phil

These are TROWA drums from the late 50's. The wing bolt in the tom arm is a replacement ---the original had that beautiful assymetrical head, like the bass drum T-rods.

When the Links, fled East Germany in the early 50's , no-doubt the bulk of their workers stayed behind and continued to produce drums in the expropriated factory. For obvious reasons there were great similarities between the early TROWAS and Sonor drums.The shells were very similar for many years and then there was the inevitable divergence.In the early 70's, Trowa had morphed into Tacton and became kind of space age in style, whereas Sonor----benefitting from the collapse of Trixon, went in another direction.

As far as parts are concerned, there are some around ,mostly in Germany . You may find the heads to be offsized but similar to the sizes of some other German drums of the 50's.Plastic ones are available but these were made around the time Trowa, switched over, so they might be standard inch sizes too. The cymbal arm mount, is , like so many of these ,just a floor tom leg mount, mounted up on the bass. This mount is from the earlier series , which had very slender legs----8mm if you measured it. That arm would be very hard to find.

The missing muffler ,also will be hard to find. They are a dual purpose type----adjustable and a switch on ,all in one. The West German drum company , Deri used a similar one and they may be around also.In a pinch ,one of those could be retrofitted to work , with only an ovalling of the existing holes.

For snare wires. Again these will be hard to find. Old Sonor wires, for the 14" parallel strainer model, made around 1960 can be used but a better solution is to find a new set of wires of the correct length( 410mm +- end to end) and width( 40mm ends) and solder or have soldered onto the ends a small stud(4mm), protruding 20mm past the end. These studs protrude through the snare hangers and are adjusted with a knurled nut on each end. I will post a picture of a similar complete drum , shortly and show the wires. Look for Mint condition late 50's Trowa Piccolo snare drum , thread.

Thanks Calfskin, a lot of good info in your reply.

I think I understand the system, but picture will be appreciated !

About heads, I should add few details:

- BD has old heads, seem to be plastic glued on wood ring. Unfortunately, dimension is exactly 500 mm, so just under 20"... I suspect it will be very hard to find something in good condition... The batter one is drilled in the center. Perhaps I could put on this side the reso head. Or can I glue a modern reinforcement patch ?

- tom is 13", the head is in good condition (Remo)

- snare is 14", in good condition, Remo too.

So there's a mix of modern standard and old metric dimension. Is it normal or is it a mixed kit from various era ?

Cheers

Phil

Luckily, you have a kit made during the size transition and only one of your drums is metric. It happens to be the same size as the pre-1964 most common Trixon bass drum as well as an earlier size(pre 1959), Sonor. Heads for your drum are available new. The firms Altenburger Pergament und Trommelfell and Stabil-Plastkfelle, make heads for your drum. There is likely a distributor in France for one of them, or you could probably order direct.

It is not unusual during a period of transition, for a drum company to produce kits, that mix systems. All companies have been found to do this in one way or another. The size issue is more a European problem, though.

bad news, contacted them by email, got a reply today :

"Thank you for your inquiry.

Unfortunately, this cannot produce sizes any more.

Best regards"

Help2

Cheers

Phil

Phil,Nice set you have Calfskin is right about the maker of your set.Check this guy out for your missing lugs/T-rods and claws for your bass drum he may also have the strainer too. www.stdrums.de

they are in Germany.... Mikey

thanks Mikey, I've contacted them. I cross my fingers. :)

Cheers

Phil

I have a similar drum,found at a yard sale ,bass drum only

close to 21" probably tromsa with calfskinsClapping Happy2

Yes to your question over the years many snare's and about 30 set's.The last snare was about 6 weeks ago a 1920's Ludwig B/B snare for 49.99 out the door with no tax-{i have a resell nember}-Most of the set's people would bring into the shop to sell them to my mom when we had a Antique shop on the mid 80's....Mikey