Yeah, I was given a guys name that was a collector. Because of my association with Drouyn years ago he decided to sell me the kit. I pick it up on Friday 8th April. Can't wait. He's a real stickler for everything working properly so I hope it's as good as it looks. I'll posty some more pics when I get her set up

Welcome aboard bluecoast, lovely drums!

I've sent you a PM

It's funny how things come about...I am reading the Stevie Wright (Easybeats) biography, Hard road and noticed on the back cover that Easybeats drummer, Snowy Fleet, played Drouyn drums. So, I thought I'd search threads on here to find out about them. I was looking at Bluecoast's photos of his kit and i thought i recognised something that's puzzled me for a while.

A couple of years ago i bought an Oyster blue pearl Ludwig kit that turned out to have an odd 13" tom. I posted pics here but nobody recognised it. It's sat here ever since. It's the mufflers in Bluecoast's kit that got me thinking - is this a Drouyn tom?

Well here it is. As you can see it has ludwig lugs (now removed) and I've since used the mufflers elsewhere but i'm sure they can be tracked down. It has unfortunately been drilled for a different mount and lugs. So is it a Drouyn?

And if anyone has a use for it then I'd happily pass it on.

Hi mate!

That surely is a Drouyn from what I can see in the pics. The stamping/pencil marks on the inner of the shell should state the Serial, Job & Model number. The bearing edges are also distinctively Drouyn.

:D

Thanks Dave. Yes, there is a pencil mark inside. The model number is T404 and the other number is 144. Being in New Zealand i guess it's not that far to have come from Australia. It's just a shame someone had to butcher it as the wrap is in good shape as are the edges.

Again, if anyone has a use for it they can have it for the cost of shipping.

Gidday HiHat and other Drouyn / Dandy / Stradivarius appreciators,

Lindsay Hough here. I am also a Brisbane born drummer (but now resident in Germany) and owned Dandy / Stradivarius by Dandy / and had my original Dandy kit recovered by the factory and rebadged Drouyn. Beautiful craftmanship in what was in it's day, a capital city that felt much like a country town. I still own today a very early 60's Dandy Piccolo 14x3 (8 lug) snare. I also knew Dennis and Lois Drouyn and my teacher Mike Tyler knew the entire staff for years. HiHat, I will try and find some pikees for your book (which I very much look forward to) but it could take some time. If anyone knows how to contact Lois I would love to catch up with her. Peter Hudson mentioned in earlier notes is one of our great drummers especially in the Blues genre and I'm pleased to see him getting some recognition outside the sunshine coast. Drouyn were true pioneers in drum manufacture and the longer than 14" bass drum shells that are now so popular were a mainstay of Drouyn's creativity in the early 70's. Asian manufacturing versus the high cost of labour in Australia was the beginning of the death knell for this great company, when their hand made quality made their drums almost as expensive as a kit of Rogers.... which I eventually succumbed to during this period. Anyway HiHat - good luck with your project and feel free to conact me directly.

From the pics I have seen these drums were of very good quality,and I love the look,If you don't mind me asking Lindsay,what was the deal with the Stradivarius,a private label drum for another distributor/market?

Hi, I've only just discovered this thread.

I'm a Brisbane drummer that has an original Stradivarius/Dandy in very good condition (late 50'/early 60's). It is the same kit as in the 60's Dandy catalog. This kit has most of the original vellum heads and when the weather is fine this kit sounds sweet!!! The shells on these are as good if not better build quality than Gretsch, Ludwig, Rogers of that era. I have seen the odd Drouyn kit over the years and thay have always sounded great. The best kick drum I have ever heard was a 20" drouyn.

I visited the factory in the early 90's shortly after the factory had apparently closed. Lois had kindy walked me through the building and gave me the impression they were still in business. Today, the factory is still stands abandoned in Stones Corner, Brisbane. I'd happily contribute pictures/stories to this book if it hasn't been written already!

Cheers.

Hi, I must say, I resemble that remark!

I was the drummer at the Sando that day and remember the conversation.

If old mate is still in the writing process for the book I'd be more than happy to provide some pics of my well worn Drouyn, it is a beast of a kit. It's probably around 1966 model or thereabouts, kind of a rip off of Ringo's black oyster kit... see pic below for finish. It would be nice to know what this finish was actually called?

I bought it around 1997 out of the Trading Post for $400 minus a snare. The guy I bought it from wanted the Ludwig Supro snare that was with the kit and the guy wouldn't separate it for him so he had to buy the whole kit for the snare, then he stored the Drouyn's until he eventually whacked it up for sale.

I'd say I got a bargain. I still have all the internal dampeners and it's the only kit I've ever seen with two on each drum, one on the batter head and one on the resonate head, smart! I have the original L bass drum spurs also but they were too flimsey and some decent Pearl ones have been fitted. The kit was rough looking anyway so a couple of new holes didn't hurt the sound or asthetics but it made it my daily touring work horse. I've also manufactured a steel plate that I've put inside the bass drum under the tom mount to prevent any more cracking due to stress as mentioned by the last post.

Old mate was helping me load the kit out of a venue one night and walked the floor tom around to the rear of the car without my knowledge. I jump in the car to move it closer to the venue doors and as we reverse back I hear this loud bang and scrapping noise as the rear of my ute lifts up in the air.

I backed over the floor tom, the exhaust pipe went into the sheel, I now have a nice Rodeo exhaust pipe sized cresent in the floor tom. Hasn't effected the sound in any way naturally and gives it a bit more character. These kits are hard to kill!!!

My kit sounds fantastic and every engineer thats ever put a mic on it has been blown away. How I wish they still made Drouyn, I'd be lining up for a new kit immediately if the build quality was still as high.

It's been mentioned before and I'm sure he wouldn't mind a phone call, Don Sleishman, inventer, drummer and drum maker should be able to provide a wealth of information on Drouyn. His first suspension shell mount system was on a Drouyn snare drum. He's the one who told me about the casings being ex-WWII munition shells from the Australian Army. He also told me the brand also started out as Dandy after the yacht the family owned by the same name that won the Admirals Cup or similar. Not many people liked the name Dandy and they weren't selling the numbers the quality deserved so they went through a few other names like Dandy Strativariuos, Dandy by Drouyn, Drouyn by Drouyn before settling on just Drouyn.

I also have a very old marching snare drum with no badge on it (which alot of old Dandy snares were like apparently...). I've been told it's a Drouyn by the painted finish on the wooden hoops and shell (Rose Adler) from the factory. Must have been before they had the money to produce badges? It needs a full restore and new skins but again, for $80 on Ebay I reckon I got a bargain. Pics below, first the kit then the marching snare.

Keep on rocking! wardy

When I was about 15 I spent a lot of time at the Drouyn drum factory. Lois Drouyn was running it back then and she would sponsor some awards on the country music club scene. I got to know her well but haven't touched base with her in 25 years. I did some work at the factory making drums and learning how it all worked. I remember we used to write on the inside of the shell the date and serial numbers. The factory was fitted out with some of the oldest machines I have ever seen but they were well looked after and did a great job. I even remember a specialty made mold that was done so a very large drum could be made for the Queensland symphony orchestra. It was about 7-8ft in diameter.

Lois was one of the nicest ladies I have ever met and surely knew her stuff when it came to making drums. Unfortunately she didn't have enough work to keep me on so I got a apprenticeship as a cabinetmaker as this was the closest thing to a drum maker otherwise I would still be working there today. I don't remember much about the history only to say that Lois took over from her Father and was running the business and she had a daughter "Simone" but I don't know if she followed on with the business. At the time I had a original 4 pce Drouyn kit and added 2 concert toms on a stand. This kit was bought for me for my 10th birthday from a fellow called Gordon Burnett who played around Brisbane in a country band called "The Images". 20" base drum, wooden snare, 14" tom and 16" floor tom. Even with the Drouyn logo on the base and hihat pedal........Those were the days