From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Hayman drum
Hayman drum
Hayman drums were introduced in the late 1960s, being drum set at a time when drummers were seldom miked-
made by an English manufacturer. The idea was to come up outside of the studio. The original plan was to ht metal
up with a drum series to compete with the success of the liners inside the shells of rather ordinary beech Carlton
large American companies of the time. drums and, indeed, some of these were actually made.
The shells were thin walled with rings, and painted Ultimately they discarded the metal inserts, which were
white with what they called "Vibrasonic" interiors. The weighty and expensive and instead chose to thickly coat
lugs were essentially a copy of the Camco design. Hay- the drums’ interior surfaces. Bingo! Loud and extremely
man was out of business by 1975. cutting drums were here.
The company started with the name George Hayman Originally the drums were named George Hayman af-
on the badge, then shortened it to just Hayman in later ter one of the guys ` in Dallas-Arbiter’s Shoeburyness
years. factory (whose surname, to confuse things further, was
Hayman made the drum kits in only 3 brushed metal- actually Haymon) and, possibly, George Way who made
lic finishes; gold, silver and midnight blue."[1] the legendary Camcos. In further homage to that famous
American marque, the set’s nut boxes were also made cir-
Users cular, which was well avant-garde at the time. Anyway,
the name was eventually shortened to the more identifi-
• Michael Giles of King Crimson Hayman.
able Hayman
• Jim Capaldi of Traffic (band) The drums had a mixture of features which, prior to
• Aynsley Dunbar in the early 70’s 1969, would only be seen on expensive American prod-
• Bill Bruford of Yes and King Crimson ucts. Triple-flange hoops, which gave a more open sound,
• Wilgar Campbell of Rory Gallagher band very new to British drums, as were non-telescopic spurs,
• Ted McKenna (until 1978) of Rory Gallagher band adjustable, swivelling shell mounts and cymbal arms and
• John Wilson of Taste an abundance of tension screws and Reno heads.
• Rob Townsend of Family Dallas-Arbiter designed their own cumbersome tom
• Ric Parnell of Atomic Rooster holder too, which might well have looked good on the
Also Mitch Mitchell from The Jimi Hendrix Experience drawing board, but in reality was something of a night-
used to play Hayman drums for a few time, while Jon mare. A flat, curved and slotted rail was jacked up a little
Hiseman of Colosseum sponsored the brand for a short above the bass drum shell and to this was attached the
period but never recording with it. body of the cast tom holder itself. This was fitted with
not one, but two ratchets and by judicious use of both
Dating Hayman Drums you could actually have exceedingly limited horizontal
height adjustment. A radial-toothed block was fixed to
[2] the tom which mated with a ratchet on the holder to
• If the badge and/or snare strainer says "George maintain its playing angle, and very large capstan nuts
Hayman", then it is from 1968-69. locked tom to holder and holder to bass drum rail. These
• If the badge is a 4 cm brass one with "Hayman - then capstans had an annoying tendency to crush your fingers
it is around 1969-73 against the drum and were neither particularly stable
• If the badge is smaller and silver then it is one of the nor hard wearing. But at the time, it was the best around.
last to be made during 74/75. Hayman spurs were modelled on Ludwig type outrigger
Also, each round badge on a Hayman drum has a patent designs, but with large, cast circular holder blocks which
number - giving the year of manufacture within the matched the nut boxes and also located the tom legs.
patent number. Hayman’s ’lightning-bolt’ bass drum tensioners were the
first that were ergonomically designed to ease operation
History - they were shaped to accommodate the thumbs better.
The Dallas-Arbiter company also produced pretty
"They were the brainchild of Ivor Arbiter who besides good double-braced, tripod-based stands and pedals
being the first to actually bring guitars into Britain in called Speedamatic, which were actually a lot more sub-
quantity was also the first to import Ludwig and Gretsch stantial and sophisticated than the majority of their com-
drums during the `beat boom’. It was he who, in the six- petition. They’re no doubt still seeing service in drum
ties, cleverly identified a gap in the market for a LOUD sets almost a quarter of a century after their conception.
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Hayman drum
The snare stand was the first in Britain to use a basket- ply a thickish, sprayed-on coat of ordinary white
holding mechanism while the wide, industrial-fibre-belt- polyurethane paint (originally with an unfortunate ten-
ed bass pedal and double-sprung hi-hat (both featuring dency to craze). Its function was to harden the surface
easily adjustable springs) were particularly were worthy. of the drum, allowing the sound to bounce around inside
They were more rugged than just about anything else and give more `crack’. Hayman drums didn’t sound ex-
on the market, although the extremely chunky, scalloped actly warm but, for the mostly un-amplified drummers of
cast screws which arrested all the adjustable bits did the time, fitted the bill exactly. They cut through any sort
leave something to be desired. of music at high levels.
Initially the Hayman snare drums all had 5½" deep
wooden shells in common with the rest of the drums, but
a year or so later aluminium-shelled versions were in-
Finishes
troduced. They were loosely modelled along the lines of The original Haymans were only available in three
Ludwig’s 400, although in appearance, their shells were brushed metallic finishes: Solid Silver, Gold Ingot and
much more like Gretsch’s. I’m told they didn’t make too Midnight Blue, (Regal Red, Matt Black, Natural Pine and
many metal drums so they’re evidently quite collectable. see-through Iceberg were introduced later) the first five
Hayman were the first non-American snare drums to of which were also used to cover refrigerators!
have ten tensioners per head and boasted a simple, but When they were first introduced in August 1969, a
effective American-style on/off strainer attached to a 22 five drum Showman set without stands would have cost
strand snare. They also had an American-style swivelling £265.[1]
damper like Ludwig’s.
References
Sizes [1] ^ True Brits, Bob Henrit, Rhythm Magazine
Size-wise Hayman sets originally came with 22", 20" or [2] Not so Modern Drummer
18" bass drums and 12", 13", 14" and 16" toms, but even- • [1] The Guitar Collection of Guy Mackenzie includes
tually 24", 26" and even 28" basses appeared. The jazzers pictures of the Solid Silver Hayman drum kit he used
of the time went for the 18"x 12", 12"x8" and 14"x14" in the 1970s.
Recording outfit, while the rockers went for the larger-
sized Showmans.
See also
• List of drum makers
Sound
The secret of the Hayman sound was in the interior coat-
ing. It was rather grandly called Vibrasonic but was sim-
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Categories:
• Percussion instrument manufacturing companies
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