ABOUT ASBA

One of the lesser-known brands on the vintage drum market is Asba. The French company went out of business in 1981 and left behind a legacy of innovation and quality that is becoming quite sought after in the twenty-first century. The Asba company was started by Alfred Boudard in 1928. Originally called "Alfred and Simone Boudard, Accessories", the Asba company worked from a site in Brevannes near Paris. Their drums were hand-built and over the years Asba produced a number of interesting - occasionally ground breaking - products.

Asba drums were made of wood, acrylic ("Altuglas"), steel, polyester (fibreglass?) or a wood-composite material they called "Fibrecel". The drums featured flick-type ("baseball bat" style) dampers on snares and smaller toms and adjustable felt-strip dampers on floor toms and bass drums. These dampers were fixed to the shell at one end and stretched with an elastic-band-controlled mechanism at the other. It worked a lot better than it sounds. Other interesting design features included air-holes that doubled as drum-key holders, straight floor tom legs and bass drum mounted boom cymbal stands. Finishes included cork veneer and a finish that I can only describe as the "curse of the thousand silver pillows".

Asba produced a highly successful line of stainless steel drums; it has been said that they were the originators of the steel kit. They also developed a method of applying coloured coatings to steel kits and produced a number of coloured metal kits. The picture below shows John Coghlan (Status Quo) proudly sitting behind his stainless steel kit.

One of Asba's most popular products was the Caroline bass drum pedal. Named after a daughter, the Caroline pedal was way ahead of it's time when it was launched in the 1960s and was used by drummers throughout the world including Mitch Mitchell and J.R.Robinson.

Asba produced a wide range of percussion instruments and were - before the LP brand began their quest for world domination - one of the best buys in this area. Drummers like Phil Collins (Genesis) and Micky Finn (T-Rex, left) used Asba congas extensively.

....some bloke called Ringo got in on the act as well........

Right up until the end, Asba drums were truly hand made with the twenty-strong workforce making the components and assembling the drums by hand. This resulted in drums of very high quality and very high prices. The market was changing and with the mass-production power of the Japenese companies, Asba was one of the many companies to fall during that period.

Very few Asba drums come onto the market today. I've often assumed that this simply reflects the fact that there aren't many of these drums around, but since I became an Asba owner myself, I've realised that there is something very special about these drums. Sitting behind an Asba kit is an experience you never forget.

Information about the Asba company, their products and their players is somewhat sketchy. If you can help with any information, please get in touch.

Last updated August 2004