E. Doctor Smith's Blog

In my last blog, I was preparing to build a replica of the Tama "Bill Bruford Signature Palette Series" snare drum from scratch, with all-chrome, authentic Tama parts. Most of the parts I was able to find quite easily, however the vintage Tama MCS50A Throw Off and MCS50B Butt proved to a real challenge to obtain. Eventually, I found them; (I even had to search as far as Athens, Greece and Lindau, Germany; Thank you Trimis and Thomann Music!). As I had mentioned before, Bruford's Tama snare was unique; A 14" x 6", 6 ply shell consisting of 2 ply Maple, 2 ply Birch and 2 ply Maple. My version would use a 6 ply Keller VSS Maple 14" x 6" shell. Not exactly the same, but as close as I could get. In fact, all of my Gretsch, Mapex and Yamaha snares were 100% Maple, each warm and wonderful sounding. As fate would have it, I happened to come across an unusual find; A 14" x 6" Bill Bruford Signature Series snare drum that was missing all of its o

Bill Bruford's "rimshot" is one of the most unique and exquisite snare drum sounds ever heard. From his earlier days on his 14"x 5.5" Ludwig Supraphonic Super-Sensitive snare with Yes, to his brass 14" x 6.5" Tama Big Beat snare with King Crimson, Bruford's crisp rolls and sticking technique were a thing of beauty and a joy to behold.  In his later years, Bruford moved away from the metal snare drums of rock, to the jazzier sound of the all-maple 14"x 6.5" Tama Starclassic snare drum with his all-acoustic group Earthworks.  It was during that era that Tama offered the "Bill Bruford Signature Palette Series" snare drum, a customized, 6 ply Starclassic; 2 ply Maple, 2 ply Birch and 2 ply Maple. It was also outfitted with all black hardware; lugs, hoops, strainer and a custom "Black Metallic Sand Blasted" finish, with Bill Bruford's personally autographed and numbered decal. Listing for around $650, the snare quic