The Rogers USA Drums Big R Period 1975-1984
Dating Guide For Snares and Drums
by
Jack McFeeters
Present day knowledge of the Rogers Big R period has long been fraught with myth, misinformation, assumptions, and lack of sufficient research. There are no extant records for production numbers from year to year, neither for the period as a whole. A number of dating guides for Rogers drums have surfaced over the years, some more accurate than others. Successive attempts making use of their predessors, building upon them, adding to the trove of information, and thankfully, making their efforts public without restrictions. I know there is much work currently being done by others to provide more accurate dating for the Cleveland, Dayton, and pre Big R Fullerton eras.
I did not begin keeping track of serial numbers with the goal in mind to eventually write a dating guide. My interest was purely personal in the beginning. As time progressed, the more drums I observed, the more I tended to disagree with the information that was available.
Ive worked at this for several years to make these determinations concerning the Big R period. Many people have contributed to these findings, as well as drums observed on EBay, pics I robbed off the internet from many un-named, and for the most part, unknown sources, drums I own, drums I have physically seen, and well, I cannot even begin to exhaust the list, or even begin to thank all of those to whom thanks is owed. I gleaned information from any and every source I ran across. A special thanks to all the members of The Rogers Owners Forum.
The Big R Period
Myths
Serial numbers repeat
A few years ago, this was an accepted fact.. Rogers used the same serial numbers over and over in the Big R period. This is simply not true. Numbers do not repeat. Number sequences on five ply drums never appear on XP8 drums. There are No XP8 drums with five digit numbers. These only appear on early 1975 transition era Dynasonic and SuperTen snares, as well as general production drums., toms, bass, and floor toms. There are no XP 8 drums with beginning 6 or 7 six digit numbers (D6xxxxx or D7xxxxx). There are no five ply drums with “No Serial USA” badges. There are no five ply drums with RD badges. There are no five ply drums with badges in the D9xxxxx or D1xxxxx six digit ranges. And, there are no XP 8 drums that bear a serial number range found on five ply drums. This is very significant. By itself, it proves that serials did not repeat.
Serial number sequences are undependable
In fact, the opposite is true, the sequences are dependable for dating. Again, special thanks to the ROF for the dogged determination of its members to achieve accuracy. The proliferation of sales on ebay over the past ten years, has given access to thousands of drums. It has been a great laboratory for observing specific hardware on snare drums, observing the construction of drums, by carefully isolating what number sequences appear uniquely on five ply shells or on XP8 drums, and by carefully disregarding drums that were out of place due to replacement parts, I can say without a doubt, that serial numbers are a dependable means of dating the manufacture of a specific drum. And that holds for whether it is a bass, tom, floor tom, Dynasonic, or SuperTen.
How Many?
Dynasonics nor SuperTens enjoyed a unique badge numbering system during the Big R period. They did have a unique numbering system during the entirety of their Oval Badge production run. During the Big R period, drums were badged as they were built. A tom, a bass, a snare, a tom, a snare... etc. So how many specific snare drums were actually built is a question that cannot be answered by observing serial numbers.
The SuperTen Rogers Snare Drum
1973-1984 Chrome Over Steel 5x14, 6.5x14
1981-1984 XP10 Ten Ply All Maple 5x14, 6.5x26, 8x14
I am not exactly sure what the highest number for an oval badge SuperTen is. This is an area where more research is needed. I believe I have observed drums well into the 4,000 range. I know numbers started in 1973 with a unique SuperTen badge that probably began with number 0001. Drum number 0007 sold on Ebay a couple years ago, and was a rusted out basket case. Our only source to determine how many SuperTen snares were built, is buy observing numbers on Oval Badge drums that come up for sale. We can only estimate, through observation of drums, how many Big R era drums were built. It is a number that is impossible to nail down.
What I have found by observing SuperTens for sale, as well as consultation of Rogers USA and Japan issued catalogs is that..
The 5x14 SuperTen never had a Big R “transition period.” The concluding number for the Oval Badge era.. was the last Oval Badge Drum built, and the beginning number in the Big R period was the first Big R SuperTen built. From 1975 through to the end of production, or until shells ran out.. the Big R SuperTen was built on an Oval Badge Period shell. The badge was never relocated to the Big R Period location.. two panels to the left of the throw off. All other Big R era built snare drums, did have the badge move to the new location. The only exception to this badge relocation was the 5x14 COS SuperTen. The badge remains in the Oval Badge location, with the Oval Badge mounting holes, for the duration of production. Catalogs as late as 1983 confirm this. The 5x14 SuperTen is the same through out the duration of the Big R.
The 6.5 SuperTen did run out of Oval Badge shells in 1976 or 77 and subsequent catalogs show the badge in the new Big R location. I cannot date this, simply because too few 6.5 drums have been available for sale.
The Dynasonic Rogers Snare Drum
1961-1984
1975-84 Big R Period Chrome Over Brass 5x14, 6.5x14
1981-1984 XP10 Ten Ply All Maple 5x14, 6.5x14, 8x14
Relatively few construction changes to the Dynasonic are evident during the Big R period, not nearly as many as the period form 1961-75. There was the Gretsch shell, the seven line, and in 1967/68, the five liner. Changes in the frame, changes from B&B lugs, changes in the first gen beavertail lug, the second gen beavertail, hoop anomallies, shine of the chrome, but …..during the Big R period, there are only three major changes that can be observed in the COB Dynasonic.. 1. Badge Relocation, 2. A brief period of shells with no Dampener, and the introduction of the XP 10, all maple ten ply keller shelled Dynasonics and Supertens.
C-Clip Lugs were introduced on late issue Fullerton Oval Badge Drums. The Big R period bottom hoop was introduced on late issue Fullerton Oval Badge Drums. And the Big R snare frame as well. These are changes that were already in place when the Big R badge was introduced in 1975.
Dynasonic 1975
In 1975, Oval Badge shell stock was used with the new Big R badge covering the screw holes for the Oval Badge. These unique shells range until the high 14,000 serial range of Big R badges. I have seen some above this number, not many, with the highest as number D22641. Again reminding you that these five digit numbers are only found on five ply drums with speckled gray interiors. This is the First Generation Transition Era Big R Dynasonic.
Beginning with Dynasonic snare drums in the high 14,000 range and continuing well into the 40,xxx range, a shell is used that has no dampener. These are all five digit drums, and you will see them with five ply shelled sets bearing five digit serial numbers. These no dampener drums are unique to 1975/6 and are Second Generation Transition period drums. I have observed a number of drums on e-bay lately, five digit numbers, no dampener, and all parts are with a few replacement exceptions, early Big R construction.
Initially, a few drums showed up with no dampener and it was like, Cool, custom order, no dampener. As I observed more and more drums showing the same anomally, and all within the same serial range, I began to see this as less of an annomally and more as a manufacturing blip caused by a mistake in the initial Big R shell order. I sat on this theory for quite a while before publishing in a post on the Dynasonic forum, because I knew it was a bit radical, and did not really fit with everything we formerly believed on the Big R period. However, the more drums I observed, the more I was sure this no dampener shell was a unique early Big R period anomally. No drums that I have observed in the above mentioned serial range have a dampener, with the Big R badge in the new location. The thing that solidly clinched this for me was the observation of a double bass set, five ply, gray speckled interior, with all drums in five digit ranges from the 15K into the 30K ranges. This set also had its original Dynasonic in a five digit, no dampener, within the serial ranges represented by the overall set.
1976 Six digit numbers beginning with D6xxxxx.
1977 Six digit numbers beginning with D7xxxx-D72xxxx.
1978 Six digit numbers running from approximately D73xxx-D74xxxx. Also 1978 seen the introduction of Memrilock Floor Tom Legs and Mounts replacing the Fullerton Cast Swivo.
1979... XP8 Eight Ply All Maple. Movement of the Badge from left or right of the mount to a 180 degree position opposite the mount. I still need to see some original owner sets and snares to more accurately determine numbering.
1980 A special thanks to Tommy, who solidly established the No Serial Badge as being 1980/81, that fairly well explains why we've never seen six digit numbers beginning with an 8. If there are, I haven't seen them.
1981/82 seen the reintroduction of six digit serial numbered badges with a beginning number of D9xxxxx, as well as RD badges. This is a sequence I am still trying to research, as there are D 96xxxx numbers and RD 96xxxx. So I cannot yet know if there are repeats here or not, or, if the RD sequence isolates a range within the 960000 numbers.
1982 moving into 1983, numbers roll over into a six digit beginning with 100,000.
1983-84 sees numbers ending with the close of production somewhere around 125,000.
Approximately in 1980, the knob on the throw off changed on all snare drums, as also did the dampener. We see the introduction of a rivet top knob that is used exclusively for the remainder of production.
In late 82 going towards 83, I believe there was a hoop change. The shoulders still have that characteristic Rogers profile, however the top flange of the hoop gets much flatter. I have seen this hoop only on a very few drums, and those few are all very close to, or, above the D100000 range.
Dampeners were discontinued from XP 10 snare drums sometime after January 1983, probably as a cost saving measure, and quite possibly, stock was running out. I cannot confirm that dampeners were discontinued from Dynasonics and SuperTens as yet. I observed drum number D114590, a COB Dynasonic built after January 1983, from the number... and it has a dampener. So I know that close to the end, it is still present. The dampener could only be eliminated by a shell not prepped for one, and I do not believe CBS would have ordered new shells with old ones in stock to replace a part that cost less than replacing the shells.
I welcome anyone, and everyone, to make input on this little essay. I certainly do not claim it to be the end all, and recognize there is great room for advancement in what we know, and for correction of any mistakes or observations I may have made.
Yours Truly
John Ploughman

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