Hi Group,  I have a Nelson Wiggen 4X with a snare drum that is not
the same as others I have seen.  It is difficult to hear it over the
piano.  I wonder if it is original.  If you own or have access to
a 4X I would like information on its snare drum.

My drum is 10-1/2" in diameter by 4" deep.  It is wood with a dark
stain and high gloss finish.  It has only one head made of skin.  It
has four chrome tension clamps.  The snare coils are mounted on the
back of the head and the tension adjustment sticks out the back of the
drum.  The beater mechanism is mounted to the top of the drum and then
to the channel board that runs across the top of the case.  The beater
ball is about one inch in diameter and there is only one.

I have seen two other 4X instruments in the area and their drums have
synthetic heads held in place by a chrome ring.  They also look to be
two or three inches larger in diameter than mine.  I have not looked
at all of my mechanical music books, but those I have checked have
curtains drawn behind the glass so that I cannot see the drum.

Thanks for the help.

Jack M. Conway
Los Angeles, California, USA