I wonder if it has to do with the Radio King solid shell snare just not sounding as good as other drums? The only solid shell I have experience with is a DW Caviotto which I don't like as well as my maple multiple ply laminate Ludwig.

The Buddy Rich Drum Company project has been in the works for years and the sources for the various products have been chronicled in Cathy Rich's infrequent updates on the Official Buddy Rich Website. www.buddyrich.com

She states that the high end drums will be made by DW, and that there will be a lower priced line as well, made overseas. DW released a kit a year or so ago, with the ostentatious badge that is featured as an overlay if you click on the myspace link that Bart posted. The picture in this thread shows a badge that looks like an oversized clone of the Slingerland badge, and these may well be the lower priced kit that she mentioned.

The BR company is obviously not a startup manufacturing operation but is only a marketing
deal for drums either made to spec, or rebadged existing stuff.

Is there a need for it ? Maybe. There is still a market out there for the "four on the floor" kit in classic sizes and proportions, i.e. 14" kick drum depth, no power tom dimensions, BD mounted cymbal and tom holder, etc.  Although the younger generations may consider them dinosaurs, this setup is still being used in big bands, especially on the road.

The "ghost" bands (or rather the drummers of) of Glenn Miller, Artie Shaw, Tommy Dorsey, Count Basie et al are still using this configuration.

Why? The classic look likely has something to do with it but the configuration takes up minimal floor space, packs up quickly and provides the basic equipment needed to do the job. There are few choices out there for a pre-packaged four piece that fits the aforementioned specs. I went through a lot of time, effort and money to assemble my big band kit though I admit that as I was forming a WWII era tribute band, I wanted a 40's period look, which increased the difficulty. If I was looking for a new kit today, the DW version with the beavertail lugs would certainly fill the bill and would get serious consideration.

If you read through the forum on the BR website, it is apparent that there are a number of BR fanatics out there who will line up to buy anything with his name on it.

Roger

Gee I would sure hope so, but you are not. I would think that any musician serious enough about their chosen instrument would be serious enough to know it's history and all the greats that played it before them. Unfortunately, it's mostly kids I know with this reaction. However, this lack of knowlege of the classic greats does not affect their killer skills. Hopefully they will gain this knowledge as the grow and mature with their instrument. I must confess that I was drumming for about 2-3 years (started at 12) before learning about Rich or Krupa. Too busy listening to the M. Taylors, D. Wilsons, R. Starkeys, C. Watts, etc. at that time. And it wasn't 'till my late teens before becoming aware of Web and Dodds. MY bad.

The set I referred to on page 1 is a Slingerland BR kit, not a BR Drum Co. kit.