What's the general opinion on the first of the Rogers big R kits?.... 5 ply shells, grey interiors, memriloc HW. Just picked up a set, as I've wanted one ever since I was a kid.
Are these considered the last of a good era? The start of a bad era? Not going to hurt my feelings if they are. I'm just curious.
Also has a matching Dynasonic. Don't think it is chrome over brass, but not sure.
Any info, positive or negative on this era is appreciated.
I ordered a Swivo kit in 1974. When the drums arrived, they were Big R dums. I was 14 years old at the time and thought they were the coolest drums I'd ever seen. They wer edefinitely transition drums because my Dynasonic had both the Big R logo AND the Rogers script emblem on the same drum. And the floor tom legs were Swivo mouts but the shell had a Big R badge on it.
The Memriloc hardware basically changed ALL drum hardware that came after it.
However, the large tubes used for the tom mounts really sapped the resonance.
I use my Big R drums to this day.
My floor tom has the Swivo mounts as well. I was not aware that the big R logos appeared prior to '76. Just a little more restoration, then ready to play.
They are great drums. Rock solid hardware. Yes, it does sap some resonance, however, there are ways around that once you learn the kit and get things dialed in. The resonance effect is overblown in my opinion. I still play my 1977 Rogers 24, 13, 16, 18..... that I have owned since 1979.
All Chrome USA badged rogers dynasonics were COB.
Yes, I ordered a black Cortex Swivo kit in September of 1974 and they arrived in the store in January of 1975 as a Memriloc kit. So my kit must have been one of the very first ones. I used to hit them VERY hard all the time and they held up to everything. I sold most of the kit off several years ago and just kept one of the 22" bass drums, the 12" tom tom and the 14" tom tom. I made a cradle for the 14" tom with its mount facing up and then use the Memriloc mounting arm to mount the 12" tom tom on it. It's a very "bop" bop sized kit, no doubt! The 22" bass drum has basically been sitting in an old Humes & Berg fibre case since the 70's. I sold all the stands, too. The cymbal stands were perfect. Awesome drums and hardware.
I'd like to add that none of mine, including Dynasonic, have mufflers. I've seen some big R's (toms + dyna) that have internal mufflers.
Would this help pinpoint a possible year?
Thanks.
Possibly. My Dynasonic DID have an internal muffler -white felt., but the toms all came with external rim clip-on mufflers.
Great drums in my opinion. I do like the Swivo hardware better, but as mentioned, the memriloc changed everything. I've been playing my Big Rs a lot, though mine are XP8s, truly the end of the era (as Rob Cook says, the best drums Rogers made; take it for what it's worth!)
Here are mine right after I picked them up. The Dyna does have a muffler interestingly. THey are actually black painted over tobacco sunburst!
[IMG]http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs171.snc3/19833_346005147436_322005447436_4644471_4511677_n.jpg[/IMG]
I've got 2 of the early memriloc kits and I love them. That hardware, altho bulky in appearance, is super strong and will not lose its adjustment once you set it where you want the drums. The big tom arms may pull some resonance out of the larger toms, say 14 and 15 inch "rack" toms, but mine still sound fine. In fact, all the toms, 14 inch and smaller, ring like a bell if you want them to. I use Evans EC2 heads or G2's to tame the resonance a bit. So don't be scared off by claims that the big tom arms sap the drum resonance. If the bearing edges are good, they will ring and sing.
