The story of Gene Krupa playing a Rogers Dyna-Sonic snare drum has always been thought of as a myth. Not anymore. In fact, he owned two of these rare birds!  

This is a 5" Rogers white marine pearl, Dyna-Sonic snare drum with Slingerland lugs made in the early 1960's. Here’s the story that I was told by Patty Krupa when I pulled these two drums out of the box. She instantly said, “Oh the Buddy drums! Gene would often say how much he loved Buddy Rich’s sound." Take that for what it is, but here is what we do know after talking with Rogers Dyna-Sonic expert, Jerry Shields, who was a long time employee at the Rogers Drum Company in Covington, Ohio.
There was a workshop next to the Rogers factory where custom drum builder, Joe Thompson would handle all custom orders, or modifications for Rogers artists like Buddy Rich, or Louie Bellson. These drummers would stop by often. There was a rumor going around the shop that Gene Krupa had visited the Rogers Drum, Co. and that visit would most likely have led to meeting Joe Thompson. Gene obviously decided to disguise these snare drums with Slingerland lugs, so he would not jeopardize his endorsement deal, since Gene was Slingerland's first and biggest endorsee.
I'd really like to know what is written inside the makeshift snare dampener. Setlist? Gig poster? I'm not one to disturb history, so I'll just leave that alone. These extremely rare drums carry a lot of unique history between the three legends Buddy, Louie and Gene and were most likely the only two ever made. 

*Currently this snare drum is not for sale*

Take a listen to this new episode of the Drum History Podcast where these rare Dyna-Sonic snare drums are discussed.
https://megaphone.link/GS4011383729

Each sale will be accompanied by a Certificate Of Authenticity, and all items sold will remain on mcaulaydrums.com as a source to show their provenance.