About Me
by JR Frondelli- Owner/Drum Builder
"Long Ago and Far Away..."
...back in the Olde Days Of Drumming, drummer's made music on instruments of questionable origin with heads of animal skin. Though these instruments were far from "perfect", they spoke with a tonality that has become the sacred vernacular of drum sounds.
Sometime in the last quarter of the 20th century, drum manufacturers, who had it right all along, decided to wield their mighty pens and drawing boards and heap a whole new set of "improvements" on the modern drum kit. So they invented new fittings and hardware and bestowed upon the modern drum kit items such as: heavy, stiff tubular tom holders, thick floor tom legs, thick, heavy, stiff drum shells, thicker counterhoops, heavy brass lugs, and it was good...NOT!!!
What the esteemed drum manufacturers had done was to rob the Holy Tone out of the lowly, poor percussion instrument and turned the Prince into a frog. The jazz drummer especially, in his quest for higher tunings and lots of good tone was stymied, for these new "improved" drums were unable to deliver these worldly qualities. In response to this, the confused drummers scrambled for answers. "Perhaps we shall investigate the construction of the shell" and "A larger assortment of drum heads is what we require" and "We need to isolate the shell from the bonds of it's mount" exclaimed the stifled percussive artists. And thereafter, all was good...NOT!!!
These drummers had succumbed to the tomfoolery of the "heavier is better" marketing tactics employed by the drum companies, both commercial and custom...until now.
In 2005, Keller, the "God of the Drum Shell" recreated the shell made of fine maple and poplar woods. Gone was the heavy shell of the past. And, as the carrier and professor of His word, I am bringing you drums made in the fine old tradition, replete with lightweight hoops holders and hardware, together with a touch of elegance lent by the use of a stylish "Neo-Classic" die-cast lug, but with attention to details such as accurate, hand-contoured roundover bearing edges, all made with an accuracy and quality that drum manufacturers could barely dream of back in the days of yore, yet will not fall apart on the road. If you are a "3-ply kinda guy" (or girl), or pine for the sounds of Ringo, Buddy or Bonham, Frondelli USA Drums are for YOU!
"What's New Is Old Again!"
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