These had stained dark interiors with a clear lacquer. The earliest wood shell drums were three ply maple/poplar/maple with three ply re-rings. We have a late 1970’s 6.5” Big R in the shop and it’s the only one I’ve ever seen, but they are out there. The late 1970’s drums feature the Big R badge with Rogers USA lettering. The 1960’s drums feature the script Rogers logo and the Dynasonic badge. Like the wood shell drums, these were soon replaced with Beavertail lugs and the shells resolved to have five lines etched in the middle. The next generation of shells had two beads and were a chrome-over-brass (COB) shell, with seven lines around the centre of the shell and Bread & Butter lugs. There were no beads and seven etched lines in the centre of the shell. The very first metal Dynasonics were thin Gretsch shells, of which only about 200 were made. The metal shell Dynasonic is most common in a 5”. This would require the shell to have no snare beds, which were believed to reduce volume and tone and create choking. The basic premise was to have a drum with floating snares which could be tensioned without putting any pressure on the head. The snare frame that held the snare wires evolved through various versions in an attempt to perfect the set up of the wires. The drum was launched in 1962 in both a wood and metal shell in varying depths, fitted with a unique snare frame often referred to as a snare cradle. Some of you will know the history of this snare drum, but if not, then here goes…

This month I’m looking at another timeless classic, the Rogers Dynasonic.

Rogers Dynasonic Serial Numbers