[Q Factor]

When were the first drums invented? Obviously Indians and people used them back in the day but when was the first drum set created?

[Qwerk]

I think I remember one of my band directors, who is really into jazz, said something like 1900-1920? Apparently they started out with what I think was called a "low boy' at the time, and it was a hi-hat but it was only about a foot off the ground because they only used the pedal, and didn't play on it.

Or maybe I'm remembering this all wrong and this is all a load of crap. I would think you should be able to find it using google or something.

[malletjazz]

Originally Posted by Qwerk

I think I remember one of my band directors, who is really into jazz, said something like 1900-1920?

That sounds about right.

I pulled a book off the shelf - John Aldridge's "Guide to Vintage Drums" - to check on some dates. Here's what I found:

- the first patents for bass drum pedals around 1887-88; "The first modern bass drum pedal" in 1909 (Ludwig). (Aldridge, pg. 7)

- "The first drum set offered by Ludwig showed up in the 1918 catalog" (Aldridge, pg. 9)

- "...the drumset as we know it only came into existence around 1930." (Aldridge, pg. 5) - lug casings, tunable heads, the hi-hat, etc.

- early versions of the hi-hat came into existence in the 1920s, but their use didn't really become commonplace until the mid-to-late 1930s.

BTW, the book is published by Centerstream Publishing, and it's a great book to have if you're interested in the history of vintage drums, and in the history of drum companies.

	Ludwig Drums Shop for Ludwig Drums at Musician's Friend

[gyutae]

Cool! You just have drum books on your shelf you can check things up in?

!930, hm.. That's pretty recent if you ask me and modern drums are just really starting out. How much more can we advance in terms of drum technology? I'm looking forward to the future.