1930 LEEDY 5 x 14 RAINBOW PEARL BROADWAY PARALLEL MODEL No. 2416 (First Generation)

[curotto]

Hello fellow Forumites,

Another snare drum comes into the collection via the fertile waters of EBay. Say what you want about EBay but I have found many rare and extremely rare snare drums from this site.

1930 LEEDY 5 x 14 RAINBOW PEARL BROADWAY PARALLEL MODEL No. 2416 (First Generation)

The SHELL:

Leedy Rainbow Pearl was only offered in 1930. The Rainbow Pearl wrap was in very good shape and cleaned up nicely. This wrap has a “glue grid” backing on it as you will see in the photos. Surprisingly there were very little cracks in the finish which is pretty rare for this finish. The finish on this shell is similar to a 1930s run of Ludwig & Ludwig Peacock Pearl (see photo) which makes sense as Leedy and L & L were both purchased by C. G. Conn, Ltd. in 1929 and these snare drums were literally built across the way from each other. I am of the opinion that these finishes are the same but it makes sense product branding-wise that they kept Leedy’s “Rainbow Pearl” separate from L & L’s “Peacock Pearl”. One can only imagine what all of those blues, greens, reds, yellows, purples etc. would look like in person. The solid mahogany shell interior is very clean and the Leedy (pre-badge) wood grommet is intact.

The HARDWARE:

All of the nickel plated hardware cleaned up and polished up nicely. The Broadway Parallel mechanism on this drum is Leedy’s first generation Parallel Mechanism; everything is complete and works perfectly. The tension rods were missing as were the top and bottom rims. Thanks goes to my good friend Mark Cooper, coopersvintagedrums@verizon.net who supplied me with the correct rims and tension rods.

Of-the-era top and bottom calf heads and wire wound snares rounded out this easy restoration.

Some Final Thoughts:

It looks like Leedy’s Rainbow Pearl was only around for one year (1930) which makes this one of Leedy’s rarest finishes. I have seen 5-6 Leedy Broadway Standard snare drums in Rainbow Pearl. This is the only Rainbow Pearl Broadway Parallel Model that I have ever seen or heard of. As always, I invite you to weigh-in with any comments or photos of your own Leedy Rainbow Pearl snare drums.

Enjoy!

Mike Curotto

 

[bkny110]

WOW!! Spectacular!!!

 

[clowndog]

Glad you got this one Mike. She turned out great! It was tempting, but I'll have to make do with my 'Standard' Rainbow Pearl Leedy.

 

[Drumstickdude]

Beautiful vintage drum.

 

[Drumstickdude]

Just noticed, The wrap lookes like some sort of cloth tapestry underneath. What IS that?

 

[Atlantaskins]

Saw that one on eBay. Great drum!!

 

[curotto]

Just noticed, The wrap lookes like some sort of cloth tapestry underneath. What IS that?

I talked to John Aldridge many years ago about another drum and he called it a "glue grid" type of backing so that's the term I have been using all these years.

Mike Curotto

 

[xtchc1978]

Very nice.

 

[DolFan54]

That's awesome!

 

[Prufrock]

Handsome drum! Mike, what was used to polish the nickel? Looks great.

 

[curotto]

Handsome drum! Mike, what was used to polish the nickel? Looks great.

I use Cape Cod Polishing Cloths.

Mike Curotto

 

[Prufrock]

Handsome drum! Mike, what was used to polish the nickel? Looks great.

I use Cape Cod Polishing Cloths.

Mike Curotto

Thanks, Mike. I know others have suggested Cape Cod cloths in the past. I'll have to give them a try.

 

[Mark Cooper]

Excellent job, Mike! What a beauty!

 

[JDZ]

Great colors in that wrap. Congrats!

 

[vintagedrummersweden]

Great drum!

 

[dcwoodkc]

Woah, now that is sweet!

 

[Osahead2]

Wow!

 

[studrum]

Superb, Mr. Curotto, as always! it's a great thing that we are all getting together (you, Cooper helpin' out) to put these fine American drums back in top condition.

 

[curotto]

Superb, Mr. Curotto, as always! it's a great thing that we are all getting together (you, Cooper helpin' out) to put these fine American drums back in top condition.

Yes, Mark Cooper and others have been a great help.

Mike Curotto

 

[JazzDrumGuy]

Great job - lovely drum. Question - it was sold sans hoops - I assume you have a treasure trove of vintage hoops? Otherwise, I am looking for some vintage hoops (Gretsch, Slingy) and would love to know where to find these......PM me if appropriate.....thanks.