Dave Peterson started building drums in 1976. His first drum ever made was a marching drum. Dave's original company, Marching Music Ltd.-APT (Advanced Percussion Technology), was officially chartered in 1976, and sold in 1997. Mr. Peterson was contracted as a supplier of marching hardware and as a marching products consultant to the Slingerland Drum Company in Niles Illinois in 1980. In 1989, Dave was contracted by HSS marketing to produce Slingerland marching percussion and accessories, plus other vintage and classic reproductions produced in Dave's southern Illinois production plant (Advanced Percussion Technologies). HSS was the worldwide distributor of Slingerland products through an exclusive licensing agreement with Fred Gretch until 1992 when the Slingerland brand name was sold to the Gibson Corporation.