ABOUT ME : A tiny footprint with considerable thump. Simply put I do not buy much. And the focus of what I do buy falls mainly within the 1960's, sometimes delving further into the past. And then I only buy the best and what I think can be transformed into something far better than its present state. I love winding the clock backwards as much as possible which means fully detailing without ever modifying. The considerable time and effort from dismantling to cleaning to polishing to prepping and putting everything back together again can be daunting. But when all's said and done and another cap gets flicked off the Guinness, well, the toils 100% worth it.

Speaking of not getting any better ... of the handful of vintage drums and guitars available in my shop, some of which you are simply not going to be able to find a commensurate instrument anywhere else. Except, maybe, in a museum or the finest private collections.

A word about pricing ... well, many a drummer considers a drum a tool merely to make noise. Like a wooden spoon whacking a pot and its lid are tools to turn mothers manic. Just pop your head into a forum and listen to the screaming when truly rare and/or exceptional drums hit the market. Outrage! you'll hear. Blasphemy! the cry. Often (I hear) my shop comes up for pitchforking.

But a funny thing happens when walking away from the forum : that little noisemaker shows up SOLD! And then the roar that was falls silent when the realization hits that this *&^Y#&()&^!! actually sold that thing the psuedo-experts said would only go for a tenth of list.

I know of no other specialized group who craps in the water and then cries about having to swim in it than a pool full of drummers. Yu-Gi-Oh! masters don't do it. Barbie aficionados wouldn't dream of it. Guitarists rarely stoop. Just look up anything that people collect and what you'll find is that the really good stuff goes for crazy prices. But ask one of these drummers if a drum's collectible and they'll poke your eye out with a stick.

And now a little something about this listing ...

This is a very rare 13” x 3” Jazz-Combo Piccolo with a bit of Ludwig history and provenance, on top of being in unbelievable condition! This is a one owner snare owned by Jim Sewrey since the time he worked at Ludwig as a marketing director and clinician between 1967-73. Sewrey was "instrumental in bringing the piccolo drum to market before he worked at Ludwig." While at Ludwig he worked with Dick Schory and Bobby Christian, both of whom are massive figures in Ludwig history.

13x3" Jazz-Combo piccolo's are almost always found with B/O badges ... and these are in and of themselves rare indeed. To have the version with a Keystone badge is exceptionally rarer. And to have one with the provenance and in the killer condition is just unheard of. "The drum was actually part of 'clinic stock' that was available at the time."

About all that's amiss is 3 small areas of flaking on the crimped bed of the bottom rim. I have done absolutely no polishing or cleaning that I'd typically do. The reason being that when these shells were produced they had an oil seal added for protection (could be wrong here; but occasionally this oil is present on some 60's shells - it is, however, rare indeed! to find it). Any wear is exceptionally light anywhere on shell, hardware and snare wires (no stretching here); the batter head is about it.

Along with the snare you will also receive the 3x13" Ludwig vinyl bag with Sewrey's name written internally - and it, too, is in excellent condition. It is obvious that the snare was stored exceptionally well. Not only was it stored in the Ludwig bag but also a Ludwig hard case (NOT included in the sale). And to put the rarity (Keystone badge 13x3" Piccolo's were available in a very tight window; not unlike Keystone badge / clear interior late 60's drums) and price into perspective, imagine if you could order one brand new from 1968. How much would you pay? But you cannot. So how much would you pay for one in nearly new condition, if you could actually pin one down? You're not going to see one like this again!