155-Year-Old Drum Company Marches On

Drums made the old-fashioned way are popular with professional musicians

24 August 2010

Noble & Cooley's solid wooden snare drum shells are made from a single plank of wood and bent with steam - the way drums used to be made in the old days.

Noble & Cooley makes the kind of drums professional musicians love to play.

Their drum shells are crafted from a single plank of wood and bent with steam - the way drums were made generations ago. In fact, they're made with the same machinery the company used when it was founded in 1854.

Noble & Cooley president Jay Jones says this gives their snare drums a clean, full sound.

"All the recording artists were looking for this style of drum; the one-piece, steam-bent wood; has a much

better sound; goes to tape better than a ply [plywood] drum," he says.

Jay Jones is a sixth generation descendant of James Cooley, whose company evolved from making toy drums to classic snare drums for professional musicians.

Toy Drums a big hit

The founders of the company - Silas Noble and James Cooley - didn't start their company to make

instruments for professional musicians.

When they founded the company in 1854, they set out to make high-quality toy drums and drum sets for children. And they became very good at it.

According to Jones, the great-great-great grandson of James Cooley, Noble & Cooley toy drums soon became a big hit.