For professionals,
by professionals.
Who We Are
We aren’t salesmen. We are a team with specialties in every area necessary to bring out the best in your instrument. From degrees in engineering and mathematics, to years in skilled labor specializing in high-end restoration work across multiple disciplines, we have the skillsets to not only know how to best perform the work on your instrument. We know why it is the best, every time.
And, of course, we are professional musicians. We don’t just build and sell; we play. We work hard to practice what we preach, and stand behind our work.
So will you.
What We Do
Our custom instruments are just that: custom. We can produce shells with multiple species of hardwoods, hardware machined and tuned to each drum, bearing edges of any kind, and kits with professional finishes and wraps.
Our vintage restorations are museum quality. No other shop does more to preserve authenticity and originality while breathing life back into your vintage instruments. We specialize in the hard to find, the unique, the rare. But we are equally at home with your prized 1960’s Slingerland or 70’s Ludwig.
You won’t find a better craftsman-oriented shop.
About Chris Mattoon, owner
Chris Mattoon is in demand locally and regionally as a drummer and percussionist. A student of R&B legend Bernard “Pretty” Purdie and former Boston Symphony Orchestra member W. Lee Vinson, Chris has a diverse educational background. His academic studies and experience include degrees in mathematics and mechanical engineering, concentrations in physics, Italian, and chemistry, and 15 years experience running one of the largest wooden boat restoration shops on the east coast. He has performed with the Berkshire Theater Group, the Schenectady Symphony Orchestra, Barry Goudreau and Matt Beck, Donna McKechnie, Chip Zien, Another October, Keri Lynch, Tony Lee Thomas, Jack Waldheim, A Sign Before, and many others. He is a teacher and published author; articles by Chris have been featured on the Vic Firth Educational Team’s website and he is a contributing writer for Drum! Magazine and Drumhead Magazine, both major publications with nation-wide distribution. 2014 Teacher of the Year at the Grand Rapids Academy of Music of Grand Rapids, Michigan, he was also the co-director of the Young Musicians Workshop’s Rock On! Band Camp in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, for 18 years. Chris currently performs across the midwest with Main Street Dueling Pianos and Great Scott.