Early DW Drums

[CptSB]

Hey guys, I got these drums a few months ago and wanted to check if anyone can tell me a little more about the age and maybe the value.

Sizes are 22, 14x12, 16x17, all drums have reinforcement rings.
Serial # are 100651, 100674, 100675.

I read somewhere that when DW started building drums they started with #100600 on their badges. If this is true these would be one of the very first drums they ever built. Also the bass drum spurs look like the old ones Camco used. Unfortunately some parts are missing and the previous owner cut out some holes because he used Sonor tom mounts.

Thanks already for your opinions.

[human71]

Yours could very well be a first run of DW drums of the early 80's. Here's a chart from DW's site that shows a timeline to when production began on their products. Drums began in 1982. Hope this helps !
http://www.dwdrums.com/info/dwstory.asp

[fishwaltz]

Having never been a fan of DW drums, I've never really looked into them. The following is 'stuff' I've heard. It certainly isn't rock solid, but may be better than some rumors you'll find on the web...

After the Camco collapse in Los Angeles, Tama and newly formed DW kind of picked the carcass clean. It seems DW ended up with the hardware, while Tama got the Camco name and whatever shells were laying about. I've been told, by people whose opinion I trust (who also dislike 'modern' DW), that the first shells sold under the DW logo were exceptional. They may have told me they were made by Keller, or not... can't remember. After a while, a year or two? Maybe more, DW switched their shells to what they do now. However the details play out, I've always heard that the first offerings from DW were wonderful drums.

Like I said, don't hang your hat on this information. Check around, someone will know.

[orangemi]

The 100 pre-fix is from the earliest run of their drums and the walnut stain is even more rare.

[mariosdrums]

Your drums are definitely some of the earliest DWs they made. The Camco parts are evidence of this - the spurs/mounts and the hoops as well. The shells will also be leftover Camco shells most likely. To confirm this measure the diameter and check to see if they are 1/4" undersized. Based on the badges and everything else, I am fairly confident these are some of the first run of drums DW produced.

[mariosdrums]

I zoomed in on the bearing edge picture - 6 ply with 6 ply rings. The real deal.

[CptSB]

Thanks a lot to all you guys for the help so far. Looks like I got something really special here

@Mariosdrums, I just measured the shells again, looks like they are really undersized by about 1/4".

What would you think about the value? Any guesses?

[CptSB]

Oh, and maybe someone can tell me what the original tom mounts they used in the early days looked like. Bass drum mount and tom holders. Cheers!

[orangemi]

The only early walnut stain DWs I'm aware of were endorsee kits. but from this photo it looks like they made a few...

That's an interesting reso head on your the BD, if it's from the DW factory.

[orangemi]

Originally Posted by CptSB

Oh, and maybe someone can tell me what the original tom mounts they used in the early days looked like. Bass drum mount and tom holders. Cheers!

They used original RIMS mounts and hung them off cymbal stands, although I've seen early single tom sets with TAMA tom mounts and generic Japanese rail mounts.