Carl Palmer Steel Drum Kit

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A custom built steel drum kit with custom road cases and two side console units. The kit was commissioned by and once owned by Carl Palmer and purchased by Ringo Starr. The custom built kit was designed by Palmer and Mike Lowe and manufactured by eight different engineering companies, not a drum manufacturer. It was built in 1973. Each drum features an ornate engraving of woodland scenes created by jeweler Paul Ravn. Palmer has said he was inspired to engrave his drum kit by engravings he saw on a hunting rifle. Palmer used the drums while touring in the 1970s with Emerson Lake and Palmer. At that time the kit included gongs, a church bell and a xylophone which brought the total weight of the set to 2 1/2 tons. The kit comes with five custome road cases built to transport the drums as well as two large cases that house the side console units that support the toms and cymbal stands. An image of the kit fully assembled with console stands is shown for reference only. The cymbals are not included.  UPDATE: Cymbals are included with this kit. Please see list below. The kit is composed of 1/2 inch thick stainless steel shells manufactured by British Steel and includes: 6” x 5 1/2” Tom 8” x 5 1/2” Tom 10” x 6 1/2” Tom 12” x 8” Tom 13” x 9” Tom 14” x 10” Tom 15” x 15” Tom 16” x 15” Tom 18” x 18” Tom 28” x 20” Tom 2 side console units 7 custom road cases ranging in size from 30" x 32" x 32" to 66" x 54" x 21" Cymbals: 18” A. Zildjian Rock Crash (late 1970s/1980s) 16” A. Zildjian Medium Thin Crash (1960s) 1 pair 14” A. Zildjian New Beat Hi Hats (1960s) 16” Ludwig/Paiste Crash Medium Thin (1960s/1970s) The History and Description of the Kit In 1973, Carl Palmer, of Emerson Lake & Palmer, set out to build the perfect drum kit. After getting turned down by various drum companies, he eventually commissioned British Steel to manufacture the shells. The shells are custom made from stainless steel. Drum sizes are as follows; 6", 8", 10", 12", 13", 14", 15"single-headed tom's, and 16" &  18" floor toms (single-headed), 28''x 20'' (Massive) bass-drum (took two people to move it) in combination with a Ludwig Speed king bass drum pedal, Ludwig Super Sensitive Concert Model 14" x 5.5" snare drum, all hoops and rosette lugs were Gretsch, drum heads by Remo. Cymbals are all Paiste and include some massive sizes as Carl  puts it, "For volume and projection." Cymbal sizes are; 13" Sound Edge Hi-Hat 2002 in

combination with a Ludwig Atlas Hi-Hat stand, 24" China Type 2002, 22" Medium 2002, 22" Crash 2002, 24" Ride 2002, 24" Medium 2002, 17" Seven Sound Set No. 3 FO 602, 7" splash, 2" / 3" / 4" / 5" / 7" Children's Cymbals. The kit has two consoles on either side that are the predecessor to today's commonly used rack systems. Carl Palmer - "My drums are not just a piece of engineering, They're set up anatomically {sic} correct for my body to function the right way behind them. Each drum and cymbal was suspended by a rod that was angled at the exact position I wanted it. I would make a template out of cardboard and take it to the steel manufacturers with my specifications. Every night that I set the drums up they’re in the same position and my technique has gotten really good because I’m familiar with the distances." "The {edit} drums were made in London and no drum companies were involved - mostly because they'd look at it from a commercial mass-production point of view, where as I'm looking at it from a purely personal view. A metalworking firm made the stainless steel shells, which are about a half of an inch thick. The entire kit approaches something like two and a half tons. ...it's such a true sound, unlike wooden shells. I've been experimenting for quite a while and I've found that most wooden drums were okay a few years ago but they just didn't give that constant sound. With stainless steel, for me personally, the drums project a lot more. They have more top frequencies. I have them tuned quite tightly, unlike the heavy rock and roll drummers who go for the fat flabby sound. The complete set, including cymbals- and other holders, as well as all microphones and all wiring were mounted on a massive rack made of bent tubes." (The two consoles on either side of the set) Each shell was hand engraved with a dental drill by artist Paul Ravn. Again, quoting Carl..."The idea for the engravings came from a hunting rifle I saw one day with a couple of foxes jumping over a fence and I thought it would make it more personalized. I left most of the actual drawings to Paul Ravn . He drew them first and we went over them together. On one tom there is a common vole, on another a hedgehog, a turkey, a man on a horse and a fox. It adds a touch of quality. It's very bizarre and it's very extravagant but it is something that I've always wanted." And finally - the most unique technical innovation on this kit, the Percussion Synthesizers. This was the first to ever use them. As Carl Palmer explains - "...On the floor it had five buttons which you pushed to change the sound. That was okay, but say you wanted to play all those sounds really quickly in succession you'd have to be a tap dancer. What I did was to transfer all the sounds I wanted to each individual drum. I've therefore managed to get five electronic drum sounds that are pure electronic rhythmic impulses. Another drum plays a sequence, a series of 14 notes that repeat on the 14th and I managed to produce two counters. One counter plays a long bass note when you strike it while the other plays a pattern that's a little more complicated. The whole thing operates through a simple on-off button." ..."There's a small pickup microphone inside each of the drums which is wired to a small box with eight mini-synthesizers so each drum has its own electronic sound. I could be doing a roll around my drum set, for instance, and hit a button on the floor which suddenly switches on any of those mikes. When I strike the drum with an active mike, the signal goes back to that little box and triggers pre-set electronic sounds into the speakers while I keep playing along. It has as many possibilities as a keyboard synthesizer." Other equipment used with this set up included; a rotating rostrum, (riser) with lighting and strobe effects built in, that rotated 360º during  drum solos, a custom built PA System, 50"and 38" Paiste Symphonic Gongs (Hand painted with Dragons), 26"and 29" Ludwig Symphonic Timpani, a huge 134 pound Church Bell, an octave and a half of tubular bells, temple blocks (mounted on the left console) and various other percussion instruments including an extra large triangle. The kit made it's debut during ELP's 1973/74 Brain Salad Surgery tour. It was often under a cover on stage so it wouldn't be seen by the audience before the show. As the show would start the kit was unveiled; sparkling under the concert lighting. It was first seen on national television in the United

States during ABC's California Jam in 1974, and the first LP it was heard on was Welcome Back My Friends to the Show That Never Ends...Ladies and Gentlemen, Emerson Lake & Palmer.  (There's been some discrepancy as to whether it was used on the Brain Salad Surgery LP. The consensus is that the Ludwig Octa-Plus set was used on that LP and this kit was used during the tour. However, with Toccata on the BSS LP using Percussion Synthesizers and this being the first kit to incorporate them - there seems to be some validity to the discrepancy.) It was used in every ELP live show and every album from 1974 through 1978 (including their 1977 Works tour with full Orchestra) and became a fixture of ELP's live shows. This kit was as iconic to Carl Palmer as the Moog Modular was to Keith Emerson.  There is simply no other drum kit like this in the world. In 1980 ELP split and Carl stopped using the kit. It was listed in an auction, when Carl got a call from Ringo Starr who was interested in getting it for his son Zak. Carl withdrew it from the auction for Ringo. Zak never used the kit. Since then, it has been residing in one of Ringo's many storage facilities. It was offered to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in the early 2000s for a Progressive Rock exhibit they were planning - but never came to fruition. In Carl's words, Everything was a go. Ringo offered the kit to the Hall of Fame and they accepted. Everything was ready to go when Ringo's management asked the museum who to make the invoice out to. The Hall was taken a back, and said they thought the kit was being donated. Ringo's team agreed it was - but they needed to invoice for the shipping and insurance of the 2 ton kit. The Hall refused, so the kit remained in storage. That's where it's been (albeit in different locations) for over 30 years. In late August of this year. Ringo Starr and Barbara Bach decided that they would auction off quite a bit of items from their home(s) and storage facilities...for charity. We have confirmed,  from Ringo's drum tech and Carl Palmer's manager as well as Daren Julien from Julien's Auctions, that one of those items (that many people are not aware of) is Carl Palmer's Iconic Stainless Steel Drum kit.

Carl Palmer’s Custom Steel Drum Kit (used from 1973 to 1978) Constructed out of Stainless Steel, the complete rostrum set-up weighed about 2.5 tons. “Each drum was suspended by a rod that was angled at the exact position I wanted it,” Palmer explained. “I would make a template out of cardboard and take it to the steel manufacturers with my specifications… Every night that I set the drums up they’re in the same position and my technique had got really good because I’m familiar with the distances.” 28” x 20” Bass Drum 6”, 8”, 10”, 12”, 13”, 14”, 15”, & 16” Single-headed Tom-Tom’s 18” Floor Tom (Single-Headed for Projection) Ludwig Super Sensitive Concert Model 14” x 5.5” Snare Drum For a personalized touch Palmer had an engraver working with a dentist’s drill etch various hunting scenes he took from rifles across the drums. The kit took 12 months to complete, and involved input from the British Steel Corporation. The final cost came in at about $15,000. The only off the shelf items were the Gretsch hoops. Palmer’s cymbals were all Paiste and comprised” 24” medium ride; 22” crash; 20” crash/ride; 22” china type; 16” very heavy ride; 7.5” tiny splash; plus five heavy little cymbals, 7”, 5”, 4”, & 3”, as well as a tiny 2”. Palmer’s kit also included: 26” & 29” Ludwig symphonic model timps; an octave and a half of tubular bells; 50” & 38” Paiste gongs, a set of temple blocks; a row of camel bells, and an atmospheric tray consisting of a vibraslap, a ratchet, a violin bow, and cymbal and chain in a bucket plus an extra large triangle. Finally; there was a 134 lb. church bell mounted above his head. “I bought this from the Aldgate Bell Foundry,” Palmer says. “It was a reject from a church peal, it being slightly out of tune.” Palmer also incorporated his drum synthesizers into the steel set-up. As well as having a distinctive sound, set on a revolving riser with it’s own light display, the drum set was visually breathtaking. The kit can be heard on “Brain Salad Surgery”, “Welcome Back My Friends…”, “Works Vol. 1 & 2”. It can be seen on the California Jam movie, and the video, “Live ‘77”. The set is currently owned by Ringo/Zak Starkey. Apparently; the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland, OH wants it. But; the word is, they don’t want to pay to have it shipped. So; it is still on Ringo’s property in England.

From; ‘Emerson, Lake & Palmer – The Show That Never Ends A Musical Biography’ (2001)