Same strainer and butt that were on the 1981 snares I have/had. The "butt" is made by Camloc and modified by DW. It's actually a tension latch!

http://www.camloc.us/

That's cool! I never knew that, I always thought it was made by or for Camco. Thanks for the info. Are you the one who used to own this snare along with the matching brass shelled 6.5x14?

SN 100624?

Yes, That's it! I am guessing the 124th one made?

I could never get anyone at DW to commit to what their SN system meant. I was fortunate to purchase both snares and the kit from their original owners who had excellent provenance regarding when they had been purchased.

Right On! I thought I had bought it from you years ago. I only wish I had taken you up on the matching set you had in storage. A Gigantic Thanks Again for it, I absolutely love it, it's one of my all time favorites!!!

Glad you are enjoying it! I traded that DW set to a music store located in New England who sold it and the new owner had it up on eBAY this past summer.

Awesome job! I have an Oaklawn 6.5x14, they sound incredible, congrats!

Somewhat OT. Has anyone seen or owned an Oaklawn Band Aristocrat? 8 x 15 - it's a beast, I'll bet. I've got a WFL Concert snare that's also 8 x 15 - sounds great loud or soft.

Best

Stephen

Thanks Steve, But really the thanks should go to you and Ryan. Ryan for all of his hard work, and you for the inspiration. It was your 6.5x14" George Way Concert Aristocrat that inspired the build of this one. It wasn't quite physically possible to get the depth down to a 6.5" without drilling all new lug screw holes, so it ended up just under 7" in depth, or 6.5" plus... It sounds killer and has a wide range of tuning options all the way up to piccolo. I was so impressed by the sound and the attention to detail on the build, I have requested one from the L.A. era. Unfortunately it will have to wait on finding a shell that has been seriously abused as I won't cannibalize a perfectly usable 10x14. We have lost so many 16x18" 6ply Jasper floor toms to the making of bass drums I can't even find one after over 2 years of looking. You own the only one I have ever seen that hasn't been cut down to a 14x18 and turned into a bass drum. I did see a 6ply Jasper 18x20" floor tom in Walnut on ebay a while back but that's tooooo big...When you get a chance could you post a pic of your GW Concert Aristocrat? I don't think everyone has seen it and it's a beauty, also extremely rare.