Business was brisk at the retail level and manufacturers worked overtime trying to pry every last dollar they could from their customers. The 1960's were a wonderful time for drum companies and drum retailers. The history of Drum Companies is filled with many success stories. I'm sure there were Slingerland endorsers who used the drum, but I've never seen any. It lasted one year and then simply faded away.
It's a good drum, but it's not better than the Slingerland Radio King. This particular drum is unusual because it's a wood shell covered with chrome wrap. The Spitfire was a different animal entirely. The 1973 catalog shows a 4 x 14 Buddy Rich model, but both heads had an equal number of lugs.
Slingerland had offered offset lug snare drums in the early 70's. This was supposed to give added sensitivity and clarity to the drum.
It also came with brass hoops and the TDR snare strainer, which Slingerland introduced in 1976.Īs one can see in the photo, the drum had the unusual arrangement of off set lugs, with 12 for the batter head and 6 for the snare head. It came with either gut or wire snares and you had a choice of a wood shell, a chrome-plated brass shell, or a lacquered brass shell. This drum was offered in two sizes, 5 1/2 x 14 and 6 1/2 x 14. In 1979, the Slingerland Drum Company gave customers a look at the Slingerland Spitfire Snare Drum. Some of these ideas have worked, others have not. Slingerland, Ludwig, Gretsch, Rogers, Camco, Premier- all have taken a whack at it. After going through various owners and even a few name changes, the company " gave up the ghost." Perhaps it will reappear someday, but its place in drum history is assured.ĭrum Companies throughout the decades have gone to great lengths to build "the perfect Snare Drum." Different shells, different snare strainers, and different snare wires and heads have all been used in the quest for the perfect sound. Unfortunately, the Fibes Drum Company is no longer with us. The drum is very sensitive and is a great all around snare drum that can be used in any situation. It's really more of a sprayed on finish than a wrap. The drums came in various wraps with the strangest being the Fivel finish. The pictured SFT 690 Snare Drum is one of four that I own. Well, I thought, if these drums are good enough for Buddy and these other great drummers, then I had to own one. Jack Sperling and Alan Dawson played them, along with Billy Cobham of the Mahavishnu Orchestra. The cover of his Live in London LP on RCA clearly shows his Fibes Snare Drum.īuddy wasn't the only player who endorsed Fibes. because he used the Fibes Snare Drum even when he was endorsing Slingerland. I remember the snare drum, in particular, stood out. There was Buddy Rich sitting behind a set of Fibes drums driving his band like nobodies business. I remember the first time I saw these drums. This was truly a first, and drummers took to Fiberglass and sales took off.
In 1966, the Fibes Drum Corporation was born and fiberglass was used for shell construction. The one constant was the make up of the shell. As I mentioned in my last blog, Drum companies over the years have tried different combinations of shell size, snare strainers, wires, and tensioning systems to build their drums.