Hi,

Here's one that I got from a private collector just before the 2011 Chicago Show. I love these old "shelfers"...just as long as all of the parts are there.

1910-teens? 4x13.5 Frisco Snare Drum (M. J. Kochman & Co. San Francisco)

And that about tells you the extent of my knowledge about this drum. I have hundreds of old drum catalogs and all that I have found (via Google) is that the M. J. Kochman & Co. of San Francisco made goose call boxes. So I invite you to weigh in and send me some information about the M. J. Kochman & Co. of San Francisco and this Frisco snare drum.

The shell looks like solid mahogany with maple hoops, I especially like the FRISCO stamp on the top hoop. There is a metal ring around the center of the shell with eyelets that receive 20 claws and 20 nuts for the top and bottom tensioning. The center ring also has a nice FRISCO stamp along with the M. J. Kochman & Co. of San Francisco stamp. The drum was missing one claw and one nut so a special thanks goes to my machinist Abe Abello (Weld-Tec Redwood City, CA) for reproducing a claw and nut. This guy is worth his weight in gold, you cannot tell the repro from the original! A special thanks also goes out to Bill Wanser for tucking/mounting a 13.5 batter head and wiring up the gut for me. The strainer is a Stone strainer (Pat. Feb. 9, 1909). A little lemon oil brought some life back to the shell.

Enjoy.

Mike Curotto