Making of the Superdrum-12 Lug Snare Drum.

A Note from Designer Dave “Bedrock” Bedrosian

All my life I have loved playing the drums. You name it, I have played it. Rock, Rhythm and Blues, Jazz, and Symphonic to name a few. I have played dozens of snare drums from very cheap ($25) to very expensive ($2500)!

When I was a beginner I didn’t care how many lugs my snare drum had. I was happy having any snare drum. As time passed I learned about how drums were made. And how they should sound. I became more selective about my snare drums and experimented with different shell materials, wood, brass, chrome, fiberglass. My favorite drum for years was a Roger’s brass “Dynasonic” which sounded great until I dropped it. It was never the same after that and I was sick about ruining it. The next one was a Ludwig 8 lug mahogany shell 6 inches deep. It also sounded great but I didn’t know how good things could be until I discovered a 10 lug Ludwig “Supersensitive”. I still own this drum today and would never part with it. A few more years passed before I became aware that 12 lug drums even existed. When I heard one I couldn’t believe that it would be the dramatic difference that it was.

I decided to get one made to my specifications and began talking to manufacturers about making a 12 lug snare drum. It took years to get it done. A famous Asian company agreed to do it but because of the language barrier it took several attempts over several years to get it right. When I was told that there was a 12 lug chrome snare drum ready to be picked up I didn’t believe it! I went to get it, very skeptical that it would be what I had asked for. To my surprise it was there, a 14 by 5 ½ inch 12 lug snare drum in gleaming chrome. I couldn’t wait to get it home, tune it up and play it, which I did and was very happy. It was worth the wait! The drum was very sensitive with superior articulation and dynamic range. It had “crack” like a gun shot! Something for every drummer!

This is where Superdrum started, first with one drum, then 20 and then hundreds. I was doing what I had envisioned, putting a high end snare drum on the market for a low end price. My first endorser was the legend Bernard Purdie, a drummer so famous that he was known as “the world’s most recorded drummer”. I had been a fan for years and he had played with some of the best musicians on some of my all time favorite recordings. When he tried the drum while playing “HAIR” on Broadway in New York in the summer of 2009 he liked it enough to endorse it. I was thrilled. Since then I have signed international percussion virtuoso, Haruka Fujii, who I heard at the PAS convention in Indianapolis in November 2090. A brilliant performer in the Fujii Trio that included her mother and sister. I wanted a rock drummer and signed Joel Patterson who I have known for years and consider a good friend., a great Los Angeles musician playing on the LA club scene, Hollywood recording studios and touring with “Gene Loves Jezebel”, Robbie Krieger of the Doors and most recently “Sky Parade. My newest endorser is a exceptionally exciting talent, Tony Austin, who has already played with some of the biggest names in jazz and is only 31. I have never in my life heard a better drumset player!

So much for the history of the Superdrum company so far. Read on if you want specifics on how this drum is made.