I had an opportunity to visit the Vic Firth factory outside of Boston. While there, I was shown the sound/testing room – when I entered the room, there was a set of Ringer timpani set up. I asked about them and YES, they were Vic Firth’s drums that he used with the Boston Symphony for those 50 years! They even had his original stool. I was able to play on them and they sounded great! Also, there were a couple of interesting snare drums and a wonderful plaque with former members of the BSO.