The Rebirth of a Legend
The Rogers name carries a lot of weight in terms of USA drum history. The quality and innovation of Rogers drums back in the 60’s is legendary, and those drums remain highly sought-after by collectors and enthusiasts alike. One of the more well known innovations is the Dyna-Sonic snare drum, and its proprietary floating snare wire rail system. Wood and metal Dyna-sonic snare drums were introduced around 1961, and were produced until 1980. The metal snare drums sold much better than their wooden counterparts and for this reason the wooden Dyna-sonics of this era are much more scarce.
The Reissue
The Rogers Drum Company was recently given new life when it was acquired by Big Bang Distribution. Rogers enthusiasts were happy to hear that Rogers would begin producing faithful replacement parts for their vintage drums. Shortly after, they announced the reissue of one of their most sought after collector’s snares - the wooden Dyna-Sonic. We weren’t particularly excited upon the news of the Dyna-Sonic’s reissue. Wooden Dyna-Sonics were so rare, that we didn’t have much experience with them. Once we got our hands on them, we quickly changed our tune.
The Hardware
The most hype around the Dyna-Sonic is the proprietary floating rail system. The concept behind this system is to evenly distribute snare wire tension across the bottom head, preventing that annoying choked sound. While the functionality of the rail system seems daunting at first, once you spend some time with it you can understand its value. The snare response on the Dyna-Sonic is absolutely incredible, and is much more than just a gimmick. The 14x5 models were exceptionally sensitive making them a ton of fun to play.
Dyna-Sonics come with 2 distinct lug options - the Bread and Butter or the Beavertail. What’s remarkable about these lugs (and all of the other hardware components) is that they are EXACT reproductions of the originals from the 60’s. This is great news for vintage collectors and people just getting on board with Rogers drums alike. Another completely useful and functional throwback on the Dyna-Sonic is the internal muffler system. Why aren’t more drum companies employing these? The easy to use muffler gives you the perfect amount of dampening with a simple turn of the knob, eliminating the need for moongels or other inconvenient options. Other faithful hardware components include the Rogers script logo, oval badge and Clock face strainer. The hoops are triple flanged 1.6 mm.