C&C Drum Co First Ever Abalone Drum Kit

These drums are the genesis of the iconic abalone-finished C&C drums. Purchased by the current owner at Explorers Drum & Percussion in Kansas City about 10 years ago, this amazing piece of drum history has been consigned with us and is now available to you. Its authenticity has been verified with the master builder himself, Bill Cardwell of C&C Drum Co.



According to Bill, these were commissioned by Paul Schmidt, author of "History of the Ludwig Drum Company." While doing his research for his book, Paul became intrigued with the Abalone Pearl finish offered by Ludwig in the early half of 1900's. Like other drum wraps, that finish was a plastic veneer, in this case intended to look like the natural mother of pearl harvested from the shells of mollusks. Paul went as far as to ask William F Ludwig II if they had ever considered using real abalone to finish a drum, but there seemed to be too many issues--both with the cost of the material and the technique with which to apply it. The idea of real abalone-finished drums then laid dormant until the late 1990's when it was Bill Cardwell who finally accepted Paul's challenge.



At this point Bill freely admits that he had no idea what he was doing, but that didn't stop him from investing $1,500 in the abalone he needed to finish these already expensive drums. It was a tedious process but Cardwell is a drum-building genius and, after much trial and error, this kit was finally completed--the first of its kind.



It would be years before he had the application method perfected (including a proprietary adhesive) but it was the abalone drums (including a Ludwig set finished for Ringo) that played a large part in putting C&C Drum Co. on the map.



This listing includes the following drums (depth x diameter):



8 x 8 Tom



9 x 10 Tom



10 x 12 Tom



10 x 13 Tom



12 x 15 Mounted Floor Tom



15 x 16 Mounted Floor Tom



18 x 22 Virgin Bass Drum



I was told that all seven drums are built with Keller 50th Anniversary 6-ply Maple shells. According to my conversation with Justin at Keller, these were made just a little bit thicker than their regular 6-ply drums. Many (not all) these anniversary shells had a "Robert R. Keller" signature stamped inside. The 15" and 16" drums of this kit both have that signature.

The bass drum head and logo is another rarity. Five of these were made at the request of Ben Harper's drummer in or around 2006. He wanted the hand signed "Cardwell" that appears on C&C badges. It is not clear how one of these heads found its way to this set.

Please see pictures for details as we consider them to be part of the item's desription. Please ask any and all questions before purchasing.



We are a brick and mortar drum specialty shop in Wichita KS. Please note that we are closed on Sundays so orders placed over the weekend will typically ship on Monday:

Tue - Fri 10am - 6pm CST

Sat 10am- 4pm CST



$300 covers the careful packing and shipping of your purchase to addresses in the continental United States. No international shipping. Please don't ask.

Midwest Drum & Percussion

Wichita, Kansas