This is one of my favourite drums ever. It is well made, beautiful looking and is spot on for sound.
There's not many drum manufacturers (or anyone for that matter) I would honestly say I'm a fan of, however, Adrian Kirchler is one of my favourite drum makers, easily one of the best creators of metal drums in the world and a true artist. I am a fan. He's the guy who has been making the metal snares for Johnny Craviotto for the last few years, he's done the 100th anniversary Triumphal drums for Ludwig and occasionally gets to build his own drums too.
This drum is a 14x5 brass drum with 24k gold plated shell, hoops and hardware. The shell and hoops are engraved with the same basic pattern as one of Mike Curotto's Triumphal drums (page 14/15 in his great book). It also has my name engraved in it. At the time Adrian
made this drum for me, he had only made 14 Gold models and this, he said, was the most labour
intensive because of the particular engraving. To date, this is the most expensive drum I've
bought or had made.
The drum sounds like a 1920s snare drum, which is after all what it's based on. I have played it a few times although I've not gigged it and have no plans to either. It currently lives on a display stand in my front room.
More photos of this drum.
AK Drums website.
A review of the drum for Mike Dolbear.com
