History of PAGE DRUMS and the Original Cable Tension Design

Christopher David Page – Founder of PAGE DRUMS

(June 12, 1936 - November 27, 2025)

PAGE DRUMS creator and drummer David Page passed away peacefully Thanksgiving Day, 2025 at his home in Oceanside, CA. Born June 12, 1936 in Dublin, young David began his musical career on the accordian. His father, David Page Sr was All Ireland Uilleann pipe champion circa 1940’s. At age 14, David, along with his older brother Tom, moved to England working menial jobs with hopes of moving their parents to England from their native Ireland, where better opportunities existed at that time. David started playing drums around age 15 and eventually joined the Queen’s Guard (Irish Division) and served 7 years as a Guard’s drummer. After leaving the Guard, Page began his drumming career playing in several jazz bands around England, honing his craft. He also played with popular English acts of the time such as Frankie Vaughn (Green Door), etc. Married with 2 young children, David moved across the ocean to the states in November of 1969 to Chicago where he immediately found work with acts such as The Arbors (where Page formed a lifetime bond with renown pianist and composer Randy Waldman) and a stint with Tom Jones. With big band jazz losing popularity, David dove in to more contemporary styles such as pop and rock music (which he originally found quite challenging coming from a jazz background). In 1976, David and his family opted for the warmer climate of the west coast and moved to San Diego, CA. It was during this time that Dave became a Pearl Drums Endorser. Having divorced, David married his soulmate, Sandy in 1979 and remained married until his passing in 2025.

Having never forgotten the traditional rope tension drums he played while in the Queen’s Guard, Page always wondered why a similar design couldn’t be incorporated into an entire drum set. One who loved a challenge and obsessed with an engineering mind, Page started making rope tension drum set prototypes in the 1980’s. He designed and scrapped countless drums until he eventually developed rope tension drumsets that achieved the look and sound he sought. Deciding that certain factors could hinder the durability of rope, he envisioned something more durable and stable. Having custom lugs tooled on a lathe that would allow for a steel cable to be used in lieu of a rope, he once again embarked on tweaking his design. David premiered PAGE DRUMS in 1992 at the Anaheim NAMM show and has been twice nominated for Best Acoustic Drum. What made PAGE DRUMS so unique was that the drum allowed Page's custom tom mounts (now common with companies like RIMS), attached directly to the counter hoop and the lugs free floating, his design was a shell free of holes and hardware, maintaining equal tuning at all times, and thus giving his design an incredible resonant and beautiful tone. And his design could be tuned by the simple turn of a single tension rod. Randy Waldman of Zebra studios, (Barbra Streisand, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston & many more) claims that "Page Drums are the most unique and innovative design on the market today. The studio sound is incomparable." Evelyn Glennie, Europe's most celebrated percussionist, has owned many custom Page kits. PAGE DRUMS were played in the London show "Cats" and "Phantom of the Opera". Famed Irish troupe Celtic Thunder toured for years with their custom PAGE setup. PAGE DRUMS have been featured in all the major drum publications and played by drummers worldwide.

Christopher David Page…father, husband, Queen’s Guard, professional drummer, teacher (private and world percussion at USD), drum builder pioneer, and dear friend is no longer with us but his smile, unique humor and charm, his brilliance, will never leave those of us who were fortunate enough to know him. He lives on through his children, grandchildren and his incredible legacy of PAGE DRUMS, the original cable tension drums, which continue today to be built for drummers worldwide.

My mentor, partner and friend.

Jeffrey Hudson. PAGE DRUMS

Page Drums and Hudson Custom Drums

I met David Page around 2003, when he was opening his Page Drum Store in San Diego, CA. Originally from south Mississippi and after numerous years living in Los Angeles I relocated to SD. Being a weekend warrior drummer in high school and later playing in bands in L.A., when I first saw Page Drums I didn't know quite what to think. I saw a tiny kit (10" tom, 12" floor tom, 14" bass drum and 13" piccolo snare) with wires. I honestly thought it was a weird kids set but when I sat down and played it, the sound coming out was fuller and more resonant than my Premier power tom set. I was blown away! I started spending lots of my free time in David's store, getting to know him and his wife Sandy and learning more about his amazing design. Within 6 months I donated my Premier kit to my L.A. Church (I knew I would never play another kit except Page), bought into his drum company and my drum building journey began. We built drums, attended drum shows like NAMM and The Hollywood Drum Show, and got featured in all the drum publications. We built many prototypes for new hardware that would accentuate the Page cable design. Several years later, David and Sandy decided to move back to England and being a boutique drum company, we wanted to avoid confusion and I kept the US market under Hudson Custom Drums, still utilizing the Page design (and sharing credit with Dave) while he handled Europe. Returning a couple of years later, David decided it was time to slow down. My wife JoAnn and I relocated to Pensacola, FL in 2016 and still co-owning Page Drums with David, I kept the design going with HCD until around 2024 when I began bringing back the Page brand. David Page was a brilliant creator and incredibly innovative. Though his design has been copied and marketed by other companies, there is only ONE original cable tension drum...PAGE DRUMS! Accept no imitations!

Jeffrey Hudson

Crafting Drums with Innovation

Our Legacy

Page Drums are the Original cable tension drum design by drum pioneer David Page. Designed in the 1980's and premiered at NAMM Anaheim in 1992. Played by drummers worldwide.

Why Choose Us

At Page Drums, every kit is built custom for you, featuring our original cable tension system PCTS™ for unmatched sound and durability.

Don't settle for imitations, play PAGE!