1976 Chris Brady first made drum sticks from Brown Mallet. He began testing the local timbers for drumstick suitability and became engrossed in exploring their adaptability for musical instruments.
1980 Chris Brady produced a Solid Wood Shell snare drum from a section of a Jarrah tree. Chris was told that this method of construction was not possible - but he went ahead and did it anyway. There was no join, no seam, no glue, literally a solid section of tree hollowed out using an axe, a chainsaw, a chisel and finally a lathe, then drilled and fitted. We now only make these on a customer order basis.
1982 Chris began producing Block Shell snare drums and Fibreglass drum kits. Chris was perhaps the first to produce snare drums of 10" and 12" diameter. These drums now constitute about one third of our annual production. 1986 Modern Drummer interview "A New Approach to Drum Making" with Chris Brady, March issue.
1989 Development and production of Jarrah ply drum shells for snare drums and drum kits. This has become the greatest proportion of our production.
1994 Association with Timber Mill established helping to control supply of timber.
1996 Chris designed and produced "Dry Timbre Series Wooden Lug".
The West Australian Newspaper: Article featuring Chris Brady and the pursuits of the Brady Drum Company titled "World Class West Australians", September 27th.
1997 Brown Mallet Veneer Ply Drum Shell successfully pioneered by Chris Brady & Craftsmen.
1998 Brady Drum Company picks up 4 awards in the Telstra WA Small Business Development Awards.
1999 New tongue & groove Block shell constructions utilising Australian desert hardwoods, superb for their overall strength and striking natural grain patterns.
2000 The making of the world first Wandoo Solid Drum. Development and manufacturing of low mass lug design for toms and bass drums.
2001 Development of first Jarrah cross-laminated ply shells.
NOVEMBER 24, 2015
It is with sadness that we announce our decision to close Brady Drums. In recent years, our founder and master craftsman, Chris Brady has battled a number of serious health concerns, including a mild stroke. Thankfully, the stroke left no serious damage, however Chris still continues to battle two other chronic conditions.
Subsequently, regulations set forth by the Australian Corporations Act 2001 (Sect. 201(A)) required us to look at alternatives to our business structure and operations, including but not limited to, the possibilities of moving overseas, or an acquisition to a larger manufacturer or moving operations to another entity. Ultimately, none of these options would ensure that our vision for our instruments and how they should be represented would remain intact so we have chosen for the BRADY brand to have a graceful exit from the marketplace at this time, effective immediately.
The Brady family continues to retain ownership of the BRADY trademark. As his health permits, Chris will continue to develop new concepts and even handcraft the occasional BRADY drum from time to time, however we expect this to be sporadic and small-scale in nature.
We are truly, deeply humbled by the way that our fellow drummers around the world have embraced our handcrafted instruments with the same fierce passion we have had in creating them. As Chris was handcrafting his very first drums in garage of our home in Roleystone, Western Australia in 1980, he never could have imagined that his curiosity to seek out new sounds for drummers would have resulted in a worldwide reputation. We are proud that our unique BRADY sound has pioneered acceptance in the international marketplace for instruments crafted from exotic and indigenous species by other superb Australian companies like Sleishman, Fidock, Metro Drum Co, Red Rock Drums, Evetts Drums and SIA Drums.
We would also like to give recognition to the small handful of talented individuals who have worked alongside the Brady family to bring our instruments to the world.
No words can adequately express our gratitude to you all for your 35 years of support. It has been a magnificent journey.
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