The company was founded by Mike Cherny, an instrument builder from Ocala, Florida. He has spent the past seventeen years and thousands of dollars pursuing his dream to build the world's first playable snare drum with a drum shell made from 100% crystal.

The key to creating this playable crystal snare drum is Mike's patented Hardware Mounting System (HMS). The final version of the HMS, a one piece solid aluminum frame, is ready to be mass produced but needs funding. That's why Mike has launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise $48,000.

About Nolan Page's Hardware Mounting System
The HMS puts all the hardware on the system and not the drum shell. With all of the self-contained hardware, it then fits over the shell and connects to the shell with only four pins allowing the shell's natural tones to resonate without being dampened. This system enables the 100% crystal drum shell to be heard at its full potential and works just as well with any other conventional wood or metal drum shell.

About Crystal Drum Shells
The process to manufacture the pure crystal shell is one that is quite time consuming and complicated. Crystal, unlike glass, is a very hard substance. The temperature for glass to just start to melt or reform is close to 1800 degrees while crystal is more like 5000 degrees. These shells are very hard.

Each hole made in the shell, or the bearing edges being cut, or even the snare beds added to the shells, all need annealing: a process of hardening material and also a process of fusing. The decals on the Nolan Page Drum Company shells are made of porcelain and 22 Karat gold. They go on the shell like a sticker and then are put in a kiln and they fuse themselves within the crystal. Says Mike:

"Something that is really cool about these shells is that I can have 1 or 100 shells made in a roll and the pitch and note of the crystal will always be the same. I can, with a small change in the manufacturing process, change the pitch and note as well."

Each Nolan Page Crystal Snare Drum, retailed for $5,000, will come with a custom crafted travel case.

If you believe in the world's first fully playable 100% crystal snare drum and want to back Mike's project, please visit his fundraising page on on kickstarter.com.