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Company History
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A sand casting made by
Gary Folchi at age 13,
in his middle school
shop class. More than
20 years later it became
the company logo
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Founded in 1961 by George A. Folchi, Precision Drum became the first provider of drum recovering wrap, selling the very same material that was being used by the major American drum companies. George quickly built a reputation of providing high quality products, with outstanding customer service. Primarily a mail order business, George served customers all around the world. During the early years, he taught his children about drum repair, construction, and various aspects of the business. He also taught them how to play the drums.
In the late 80’s, George expanded the business by becoming a Keller shell distributor, and adding a full line of drum building hardware to his catalog. He soon became an authority on drum building, offering assistance to do-it-yourselfers, and fueling the eventual explosion of small custom drum builders in the market place. Customers immediately recognized the superior sound of Precision’s drums over the mass produced drums on the market, and the word began to spread.
In 1993, George’s son Gary, a former IBM mechanical designer, joined the company full time and helped expand their direction to include custom drum building.
George’s daughter Andrea became the office manager and main customer service interface in 1996, and has become an expert at answering customer’s technical questions.
George Jr. brought his years of machinist experience into the company in 2000, and became the shop manager and main technical person.
Precision Drum Company is truly a family owned and operated business, providing high quality custom crafted drums, a full range of drum parts, hardware, and services, and 51 years of experience with drum recovering wraps .
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Precision Drum’s current location, in Pleasant Valley, NY.
Less than two hours north of New York city.
See photos of our showroom here (1 , 2 , 3 )
and complete photo galleries here
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New name tags!
As of July 2004, all drums
built by Precision will include
the “shield logo” stainless
steel name tag.
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Why Choose Precision?
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Quality:
We strive to achieve the highest quality standards in the services we provide as well as the parts we sell. Our knowledgeable staff takes pride in assuring quality products are delivered to every customer.
Service:
Our commitment to customer service is very important to us. In fact, our service toward you begins even before you become a customer. Request our free sample packet, and you will receive actual drum wrap sample swatches, a parts booklet, pricing, and more!
Our staff is always available to answer your questions, and help with your drum related projects.
Do you know who you’re dealing with? You should!
Beware of some other “small drum builders” and parts “suppliers” who are hiding behind fancy web sites. Often, they are in fact one man operations that will provide very slow delivery times, be difficult to contact, and may no longer be in business in the near future - when you may need them!
Reputation:
Our exceptional reputation is evident in our testimonials section, as well as in drum forums across the internet.
Selection:
Our huge inventory consists of over 50 different wrap finishes, hundreds of Keller shells, and all the parts and supplies to serve your needs.
Experience:
Collectively, Precision Drum’s staff has many years of experience in the fields of mechanical engineering, design, tool and die, and machinist. Serving drummers since 1961, Precision Drum has the experience to provide outstanding service.
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Customer Feedback:
Read what our customers say about our customer service:
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You folks at Precision are A #1. I wish every business had your work ethic.
Danny P
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II simply wanted to take a minute and thank you for the amazing, professional service you and your staff kindly provided for me. ... It is all to rare, unfortunately, in this age of monster marketing and predatory practice, to find a business that cares so deeply about its customers and its products. So again, thank you for your generosity.
Bill Ketzer, 2000
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Your office staff was VERY helpful and informative on the phone. The service you guys have provided so far has been excellent and I really appreciate it. It is hard to find good service these days. Anyway, thanks for the great service, I'm definitely spreading the word about you guys.
Craig M., 2003 (See Craig’s drums)
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I want to thank your organization for keeping the ”Service” in customer service.
Paul J. Metzger, 2004 |
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You guys are tops! Your workmanship is superb. I’m a woodworker myself and I know “precision” work when I see it. You definitely have the touch of excellence. Your customer service is A+++++++!!!
Jeff & Mary Louden, 2004
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While covering two drums, I had an occasion to phone three times for advice with my project. Each time, the help given allowed me to finish the drums successfully with no problems. Your employees are a credit to your establishment; they were friendly and knowledgeable.
Don Millet
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Received my drums a few days ago and i'm very impressed!! Not with the drums, they were always going to be good, but with the absolute first class service from you and your company.
From the very first e-mail to you I realized I was dealing with a truly professional company who value their customers no matter where in the world they may be. That's not always the case for us down here in Australia and I just wanted to say THANKS MATE in all sincerity.
John Griffin, 2008
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Thanks for getting my order out to me so quick. It was great working with you on this re-wrap project. I've used your competitors before and even though they're products seem to look just as good as yours, it takes a week to get an email response from XXX... I mean, the other guys!
Mike, 2008
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Thanks for the great service and communication.
The shells are great.. couldn’t ask for anything better.
This was another great experience. I will not hesitate to order again
Jerry L., 2008
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Frequently Asked Questions
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Q: What do you think about the double sided tape method of wrapping drums?
A: The tape method is easy, but it's not a quality job. You might notice that the large drum companies use tape on their student level drums. When wrap is taped, and not adhered completely to the shell, the wrap will dampen the sound of the shell - as if a blanket were wrapped around it. When wrap is glued completely, the wrap essentially becomes part of the shell, and resonates as part of the shell.
Quote from Modern Drummer Magazine:
“And no, an outer covering shouldn’t affect drum sound, as long as it’s tightly glued all around. However, if there are air pockets or it’s loose in some way, it could deaden the shell”. Modern Drummer Magazine, March 2008, page 168, article on “Drumshells”.
Besides the sound issue, the tape method could allow the wrap to ripple, bubble, not lay flat, or simply crack, especially as the drum wrap ages.
See what can happen when wrap is held on with tape at the seam..
Q: What are bearing edges?
A: Bearing edges are the contours (angle or round) cut at the edges of the drum shell. The bearing edge is where the drum head "bears", or makes contact with the drum shell. The style and quality of the bearing edge has a great effect on the sound of the drum.
Q: What is a Snare Bed?
A: A snare bed is a shallow, gradual relief cut in the bottom bearing edge of a snare drum, at the area where the snare wire straps cross the bearing edge to meet the throwoff and butt end. When tightened, the drum head will follow the snare bed contour, allowing the snare wires to make contact with the head in the center of the shell diameter.
The picture below shows a snare bed on the bottom edge of the drum.
Q: Can you make custom drum coverings?
A: The custom covers that we offer are stripes, and/or shapes cut out and glued on over another wrap finish - such as stars. Check out page 82 of the November 2003 issue of Modern Drummer, which shows one of our snare drums.
Also, we offer custom natural finishes such as stains, wax, oils, shellac, and urethane.
Q: I can't tell the difference between the Rogers finish of 35 years ago and your swatch of "Black Diamond Pearl." How is this possible?
A: It's very possible. Even though the currently produced material has a different chemical makeup than that from the 60's, our wrap material comes from the same manufacturer who supplied Rogers, Ludwig, Gretsch, Slingerland, etc.
Q: Can you explain the difference between a sparkle finish and a glitter?
A: The sparkles are made with silver colored plastic "flakes" , and the glass glitters are made with actual glass "flakes". Glass glitters reflect light a bit more brilliantly, but are much more brittle and difficult to work with.
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Links
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 Fans of Precision Drum - Join us!
 The next generation in online drum lessons
 Precision Drum Myspace page
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 VintageSnareDrums.com
A privately funded project for the preservation and historical documentation of the vintage drum industry
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DrumsPlayerWorld.com is a website that provides free drums lessons
online that includes video lessons and other resources.
Teach Yourself Piano
Free piano tutorials for players of all skill levels to improve their skills.
Jazz Drum Lessons Online!
Study online with jazz master Marvin “Bugalu” Smith.
United-by-drums - a very liberal forum for drummers to meet
and share info and ideas.
X drum set - Drum sets information resource.
Vintage Drum Center - Specializes in buying, selling and trading high quality
vintage drums and cymbals. Also offers more than 3500 new drum products
and an Online Vintage Drum Appraisal Service. Gibraltar hardware (all available through Precision Drum)
Virtual Drum School
Sticks-and-Skins - The online drum source
Vintage Logos - Custom made bass drum heads
Harmony Central - Drums & Percussion
The Hip Rhythm Digest
Musicians Buy Line
MusicMoz - a comprehensive directory of all things music
Tomas Howie Drumming Web
Drum Solo Artist - Drum Solo Artist Official Site is dedicated to Drum Solo
Artists, Drum Solo Techniques, Custom Drums, Custom Drum Setups and Rhythm
in General.
Drumset Connect - A percussion resource and network with drum forums, drummer directory, drum articles, reviews, and tabs, multimedia, and shopping for drum products.
Youdrummer.com - A national data base for drummers only.
FlexiMusic.com - Audio editing, recording and composing software for professional and home music makers.
Jim Messina’s Vintage Drums Talk - a video-oriented site where you can find out about vintage drums and percussion instruments.
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Free Stuff
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4” Vinyl Stickers
For a free sticker email
your name and address here
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Desktop Wallpapers 1024 x 768
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Site Map
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