Trixon Drums
Encyclopedia
Trixon was a drum and percussion instrument manufacturer, founded on September 18, 1947 by Karl-Heinz Weimer in Hamburg
, Germany
. Trixon drums are remarkable for their innovations in drum construction, including conical and ellipsoidal shaped shells, and unique designs in mounting hardware. Their product line eventually included vibraphones, xylophones, conga
drums and many unique stands and fittings.
drummers in Europe that the company opened a factory in Hamburg/Bramfeld, which produced Trixon drums from 1956 until 1965. Trixon quickly gained popularity with American jazz drummers of the 1950s and had several major artist endorsements, including Buddy Rich
, Gene Krupa
, and Lionel Hampton
. There are photos of Ringo Starr
of The Beatles
playing Trixon drums during the band's early days in Hamburg, before his endorsement of Ludwig
drums in 1963.
Trixon began exporting drums to the United States in 1965, which required a new and larger factory, opened in 1966 in Hamburg/Reinbek. In 1967, Trixon began producing drum sets in collaboration with the Vox
Musical Instrument Co. bearing the Vox logo. To meet demand, Trixon opened a new facility in Dublin, Ireland
, near Shannon Airport
, under the name Trixon, Ltd. in cooperation with the Irish piano company, Rippen Ltd. When Rippen collapsed in the early 70's Trixon was also closed down, due to intense competition from Japanese drum manufacturers.
After the company was dissolved, Karl Weimer continued to provide repair service and spare parts through his music store, Music City in Hamburg, one of the largest dealers of music instruments in Europe. Karl Heinz Weimer died in 1997, after handing over the remaining Trixon business, including the warehouse containing the remainder of unsold stock to a partner, Arthur Oeschger. Oeschger tried to rebuild the Trixon brand and produce custom instruments with the remaining stock and molds, but a fire in 1998 destroyed the entire inventory, ending all production of Trixon instruments. Arthur Oeschger died in 2000.
Trixon also pioneered the development of fiberglass
drum shells, introducing the "Jet" series in 1968. These single-headed drums featured an internal parabolic baffle which radiated the sound through concentric openings.
In drum hardware
, Trixon developed the "Speedfire Rack", a single bar that passed through the shells of up to five tom-toms, supporting itself on two mounting brackets on the bass drum. This design eliminated separate tom-tom stands and made it possible to move the bass drum and all five tom-toms as one unit. This was the forerunner of the modern "drum racks" used by many drummers today. Trixon was the first drum manufacturer to use ball joint
s to mount drums and cymbals on the bass drum shell, another innovation later copied by other drum makers. Trixon also produced a "double" hi-hat
stand, that allowed two pairs of hi-hat cymbals to be operated by one pedal.
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Trixon drums are remarkable for their innovations in drum construction, including conical and ellipsoidal shaped shells, and unique designs in mounting hardware. Their product line eventually included vibraphones, xylophones, conga
Conga
The conga, or more properly the tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed Cuban drum with African antecedents. It is thought to be derived from the Makuta drums or similar drums associated with Afro-Cubans of Central African descent. A person who plays conga is called a conguero...
drums and many unique stands and fittings.
Early years
Originally hand built by Weimer in his Hamburg, Germany workshop, Trixon drums proved popular enough with jazzJazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
drummers in Europe that the company opened a factory in Hamburg/Bramfeld, which produced Trixon drums from 1956 until 1965. Trixon quickly gained popularity with American jazz drummers of the 1950s and had several major artist endorsements, including Buddy Rich
Buddy Rich
Bernard "Buddy" Rich was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Rich was billed as "the world's greatest drummer" and was known for his virtuosic technique, power, groove, and speed.-Early life:...
, Gene Krupa
Gene Krupa
Gene Krupa was an American jazz and big band drummer and composer, known for his highly energetic and flamboyant style.-Biography:...
, and Lionel Hampton
Lionel Hampton
Lionel Leo Hampton was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, bandleader and actor. Like Red Norvo, he was one of the first jazz vibraphone players. Hampton ranks among the great names in jazz history, having worked with a who's who of jazz musicians, from Benny Goodman and Buddy...
. There are photos of Ringo Starr
Ringo Starr
Richard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
of The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
playing Trixon drums during the band's early days in Hamburg, before his endorsement of Ludwig
Ludwig-Musser
Ludwig-Musser is a drum and percussion instrument manufacturer that is part of the Conn-Selmer division of Steinway Musical Instruments.The first product made by the Ludwig brothers, William and Theobaldner , was a bass drum pedal capable of playing faster beats than was typical of products of the...
drums in 1963.
Later years
Vox (musical equipment)
Vox is a musical equipment manufacturer which is most famous for making the Vox AC30 guitar amplifier, the Vox Continental electric organ, and a series of innovative but commercially unsuccessful electric guitars and bass guitars...
Musical Instrument Co. bearing the Vox logo. To meet demand, Trixon opened a new facility in Dublin, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, near Shannon Airport
Shannon Airport
Shannon Airport, is one of the Republic of Ireland's three primary airports along with Dublin and Cork. In 2010 around 1,750,000 passengers passed through the airport, making it the third busiest airport in the Republic of Ireland after Dublin and Cork, and the fifth busiest airport on the island...
, under the name Trixon, Ltd. in cooperation with the Irish piano company, Rippen Ltd. When Rippen collapsed in the early 70's Trixon was also closed down, due to intense competition from Japanese drum manufacturers.
After the company was dissolved, Karl Weimer continued to provide repair service and spare parts through his music store, Music City in Hamburg, one of the largest dealers of music instruments in Europe. Karl Heinz Weimer died in 1997, after handing over the remaining Trixon business, including the warehouse containing the remainder of unsold stock to a partner, Arthur Oeschger. Oeschger tried to rebuild the Trixon brand and produce custom instruments with the remaining stock and molds, but a fire in 1998 destroyed the entire inventory, ending all production of Trixon instruments. Arthur Oeschger died in 2000.
Innovations
In the late 1950s Trixon produced its most recognizable product, the ellipsoidal bass drum, dubbed the "Speedfire". Resembling a cylinder flattened on one side into a trapezoidal-like shape, the drum was designed to be fitted with two bass drum pedals side-by-side. The interior of the drum was divided into two sections, and the unique shape of the shell allowed each pedal to produce a different pitch. Another innovation was the "Telstar" series, which featured conical shaped tom-toms and bass drums, tapered so one end was narrower than the other. The tom-toms were played from the narrow end of the shell, while the bass drum was played from the wide end.Trixon also pioneered the development of fiberglass
Fiberglass
Glass fiber is a material consisting of numerous extremely fine fibers of glass.Glassmakers throughout history have experimented with glass fibers, but mass manufacture of glass fiber was only made possible with the invention of finer machine tooling...
drum shells, introducing the "Jet" series in 1968. These single-headed drums featured an internal parabolic baffle which radiated the sound through concentric openings.
In drum hardware
Drum hardware
Drum hardware refers to the parts of a drum or drum kit that are used to tension, position, and otherwise support the instruments themselves. Occasionally, the hardware is used percussively as well .-Drum head:...
, Trixon developed the "Speedfire Rack", a single bar that passed through the shells of up to five tom-toms, supporting itself on two mounting brackets on the bass drum. This design eliminated separate tom-tom stands and made it possible to move the bass drum and all five tom-toms as one unit. This was the forerunner of the modern "drum racks" used by many drummers today. Trixon was the first drum manufacturer to use ball joint
Ball joint
In an automobile, ball joints are spherical bearings that connect the control arms to the steering knuckles.More specifically, a ball joint is a steel bearing stud and socket enclosed in a steel casing. The bearing stud is tapered and threaded. It fits into a tapered hole in the steering knuckle. A...
s to mount drums and cymbals on the bass drum shell, another innovation later copied by other drum makers. Trixon also produced a "double" hi-hat
Hi-hat
A hi-hat, or hihat, is a type of cymbal and stand used as a typical part of a drum kit by percussionists in R&B, hip-hop, disco, jazz, rock and roll, house, reggae and other forms of contemporary popular music.- Operation :...
stand, that allowed two pairs of hi-hat cymbals to be operated by one pedal.
Revival
In late 2007, Jim Laabs, who was Aurthur Oeschger's business partner and financier before the factory fire, re-introduced the Trixon Drum name in the USA. According to company literature, the new product line includes cocktail drumsets and marching band drums, as well as more traditional drumkits, but as of early 2009 the newly reorganized Trixon has not revived any of Karl Weimer's more unusual drum designs.Notable artists who played Trixon Drums
- Kenny ClareKenny ClareKenneth 'Kenny' Clare was an English jazz drummer. He should not be confused with Kenny Clarke, whose band he played in....
(UK) - Davy De Decker (Belgium)
- Wolfgang DzionyWolfgang DzionyWolfgang Dziony was born in 1949 in Elze, Germany. He was a drummer and percussionist with the German heavy metal/hard rock band The Scorpions from 1964 to 1973.He appeared on:* Lonesome Crow * History Of German Rock 1972 - 1976...
(Germany) - Victor FeldmanVictor FeldmanVictor Stanley Feldman was a British jazz musician, best known as a pianist.-Early history:...
(UK/USA) - Lionel HamptonLionel HamptonLionel Leo Hampton was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, bandleader and actor. Like Red Norvo, he was one of the first jazz vibraphone players. Hampton ranks among the great names in jazz history, having worked with a who's who of jazz musicians, from Benny Goodman and Buddy...
(USA) - Gene KrupaGene KrupaGene Krupa was an American jazz and big band drummer and composer, known for his highly energetic and flamboyant style.-Biography:...
(USA) - Tony MeehanTony MeehanDaniel Joseph Anthony "Tony" Meehan was a founder member of the British group The Shadows with Jet Harris, Hank Marvin and Bruce Welch...
(UK) - Keith MoonKeith MoonKeith John Moon was an English musician, best known for being the drummer of the English rock group The Who. He gained acclaim for his exuberant and innovative drumming style, and notoriety for his eccentric and often self-destructive behaviour, earning him the nickname "Moon the Loon". Moon...
(UK) - Noel ReddingNoel ReddingNoel Redding was an English rock and roll guitarist best known as the bassist for The Jimi Hendrix Experience.-Biography:...
(UK) - Buddy RichBuddy RichBernard "Buddy" Rich was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Rich was billed as "the world's greatest drummer" and was known for his virtuosic technique, power, groove, and speed.-Early life:...
(USA) - Phil SeamenPhil SeamenPhillip William "Phil" Seamen was an English jazz drummer.With a solid background in big band music, Seamen played and recorded in a wide range of musical contexts with virtually every key figure of 1950s and 1960s British jazz...
(UK) - Martin SchneiderMartin SchneiderMartin Schneider , often just called "Maddin", is a German comedian, cabarettist and actor.- Biography :Martin Schneider grew up in Burgholzhausen, a district of Friedrichsdorf....
(Germany) - Ringo StarrRingo StarrRichard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
(UK) - Gerd Stegner (Germany)
- Sam WoodyardSam WoodyardSam Woodyard was an American jazz drummer.Woodyard was largely an autodidact on drums, and played locally in the Newark, New Jersey area in the 1940s. He gigged with Paul Gayten in an R&B group, and then played in the early 1950s with Joe Holiday, Roy Eldridge, and Milt Buckner...
(USA) - Pete YorkPete YorkPete York is a rock drummer who has been performing since the 1960s.-Early life:...
(UK)