Hi Steve,

Mark Cooper did a great job of explaining the 3-way tuning on another forum...here you go: "Three way tuning allows the drummer to tune the top head only with one part of the drum key. Another "socket" tightens the bottom head only, so that the drummer does not have to turn the drum upside down. This was Billy Gladstone's idea. He thought it looked unprofessional for an orchestra drummer to turn a drum upside down during a performance in order to tighten or loosen the bottom head. During the calf skin head era, this was a constant problem due to changes in humidity. The third socket of the three-way key allowed the drummer to tune both top and bottom at the same time. I had never worked on one of these before, so it was a learning experience. I think it's actually a fantastic idea and works quite well. the only downside is that changing heads is a bit of a chore."

Mike Curotto

Cool, sounds like an interesting concept, thanks for the info Mike.

BTW I didn't mention that is a fantastic looking drum! Pure class all the way,Beautiful piece of history.

Cheers Stevo.