Eames Birch Snare Drum

[kenshireen1]

I just bought this snare and was looking for some info on Eames.
Did he make his own shells? Is this a quality snare. Believe it is birch

Eames Custom Snare Drum! Good Condition! Great Sound! | eBay

This Snare Drum is in Good Condition and has Great Sound!

www.ebay.com

 

[JDA]

probably the best buy you've made yet

; )

 

[nomsgmusic]

Yes, he made his own shells, and he made many different shells, so check out the Eames site to see what you have.

Yes they are birch, and I have "heard" that the Naturaltone shells were the "inspiration" for Yamaha's venture into birch drum shells.

Yes, they are GREAT shells and well constructed drums that usually (always?) had other manufacturers hardware. Eames' workmanship is second to none.

Possibly the most infamous Eames drum is a thick shelled (Now called Master Model) 15 ply birch shell that Steve Jordan got from Danny Gottlieb. Danny gave the drum to Steve when the lugs pulled out of a snare that Jordan was using (I think an older Ludwig?) because the drum was cranked up (tensioned) so high. Steve then proceeded to crank up the thicker shelled Eames to create "that sound" before he was turned onto the Brady drums.

Nice drum, hope that helps!
MSG

 

[towndog]

I have the Eames Master "Monster" 24 ply snare. Fantastic snare - in fact I ended up selling most of my other snares including Ludwig BB, etc.. Loved it so much I had Joe Mac make me an entire kit from the master tone series.

See pic and how thick the snare is.

 

[equipmentdork]

I have one of the 15-ply snares. You can hear what Steve Jordan liked about it.


Dan

 

[Cauldronics]

Funny this topic showed up today. I've been very close to getting a new 7x14 Master Model Original started to match my kit in forest green. Just need to find the right gold hardware.

 

[fibes3]

Funny this topic showed up today. I've been very close to getting a new 7x14 Master Model Original started to match my kit in forest green. Just need to find the right gold hardware.

Can you post a photo?
I'm a fan of the green and brass color combo.

 

[fibes3]

I just bought this snare and was looking for some info on Eames.
Did he make his own shells? Is this a quality snare. Believe it is birch

Eames Custom Snare Drum! Good Condition! Great Sound! | eBay

This Snare Drum is in Good Condition and has Great Sound!

www.ebay.com

I had a 15 x 15 floor tom made back in the late 70's.
You won't be disappointed.

 

[Cauldronics]

Can you post a photo?
I'm a fan of the green and brass color combo.

 

[fibes3]

Beautiful kit sir!

 

[Marc M]

Looks like you have a 6 ply fine tone shell,should be 1/4 inch thick.Eames now offers lug casings with their drums,but for many years lugs and hardware were customer supplied,exceptions were made for Name drummers.
You never know what type/mix of hardware you will see used.If you asked Joe Mac what he recommended he told me Yamaha.

 

[Tilter]

There's serious history behind these drums. They're made with some of the same equipment used by both George B. and George L. Stone in the late 1800s.

Eames has only had three proprietors since 1950; Ralph Eames, Joe MacSweeney, and most recently, Mark Kohler. Many years ago wflkurt and I had the good fortune to spend a day hanging with Joe...something I'll never forget

Some background on father and son Stone, with a brief mention of Eames.

George B. Stone & Son

Historical information on Boston's George B. Stone & Son, George Lawrence Stone, and vintage Geo B. Stone & Son drums.

www.bostondrumbuilders.com

 

[drummertom]

Mark Koehler is still turning out a great product.

 

[Sonorholic]

I bought my first drum from Joe in the early 80's.. I've had a bunch over the years and some kit stuff too.. all wonderful instruments. Bob Gullotti used to leave his drums in his car year round no mater what the weather and never had a problem. There was also a snare shell that was in a store that burned down and sat in water for a few days before it could be rescued. They took it back to Joe and he put it on the wheel to check it out.. still solid.

I got one of the Vintage E models made by Mark Kohler and yes, it's exactly the same drum as Joe made. Great stuff all around.

 

[dtk]

i had an 85 master model...learned about Eames waiting in line for a Bruford Clinic.
I picked up an Eames shell that was meant to be a free floater shell...and had ImposingWIll hear make it into a snare (14x3)...it can sound amazingly full for 3" deep.

The drummer that played my wedding had an Eames kit...14x14 floor tom converted into a snare...a bit silly...

 

[jkuhl]

I bought my first drum from Joe in the early 80's.. I've had a bunch over the years and some kit stuff too.. all wonderful instruments. Bob Gullotti used to leave his drums in his car year round no mater what the weather and never had a problem. There was also a snare shell that was in a store that burned down and sat in water for a few days before it could be rescued. They took it back to Joe and he put it on the wheel to check it out.. still solid.

I got one of the Vintage E models made by Mark Kohler and yes, it's exactly the same drum as Joe made. Great stuff all around.

That's great news because there's a natural tendency to wonder if the student is able to carry on for the teacher. I've had the pleasure of playing some Joe Mac Eames kits pretty extensively and frequently ask myself why I never had him build me a kit. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that there isn't a finer American made ply drum shell available, no question if we're talking birch only. These are fantastic drums and don't get the attention they deserve.