Building a Gretsch Max Roach - Progressive Jazz Snare
When it comes to piccolo snare drums, I've always wanted to get my hands on one of those Nobel & Cooley 14" x 3.75" maple snare drum favored by Phil Collins, or the vintage Gretsch 14" x 4" Progressive Jazz maple snare, made famous in the late 1950s and early 1960s by the legendary drummer Max Roach. The Nobel & Cooley will cost you at least $1000, and the Gretsch at least twice as much or more. Not cheap, that's for sure. Well, I've built a bunch of snare drums before, so why not make my own version of the Gretsch drum? From 1954 to 1961, Gretsch promoted this snare as the "Max Roach Model", and later as the "Progressive Jazz Model". Finding a vintage shell was nearly impossible without spending a ton of cash, however finding a modern Gretsch 14" x 4" shell was a lot easier. After scouring ebay & Reverb for months, I got my hands on a 6 ply maple shell with bearing edges and a snare bed added. This would be...