Really nice drum with an interesting history. Does it have a stamp identifying it as a NYC Bd of Ed drum? I have a 6.5" Rogers luxor that carries the NYC Bd of Ed stamp and wondered if it was common for them to stamp their instruments. Whoever ordered drums for the school system back in the day, seemed to prefer deeper snares.

It's my understanding that only 200 of these were made for the N.Y.C. school system. I was very lucky. I found the drum in the basement of a buy & sell with torn heads and it was filthy. I got it for $20.00. Where the luck comes in is; most of those drums had the schools name scratched into the shell. Mine had been marked with the Brooklyn, High School's name using red nail polish. It came right off with a little nail polish remover on a cotton wad. The drum shell was clean as a whistle under all the dust and grime. It polished up beautifully.

To this day, I kick myself for having sold it.

John

Too bad the drum is gone out of your hands. i know first hand on the sick feeling that you get when you just sold a drum and you know you are going to regret it for a long time to come .

I feel your pain, as I've done the same thing! As others on this forum have told me, try not to be too sad, as there will always be the "next greatest drum" just around the corner. You know, they're right! Take heart, my friend!

A friend of mine was always borrowing the snare for gigs or for recording. Back in 97'/98' he was returning it to me and he offered me $500. for the drum. I said, no, I really love the drum and he upped the ante to $600. It was -outrageous- money for the drum at the time. I had about 8 or 9 other snares, so out it went. But I felt the sting of sellers regret immediately. I thought it would get better over the years with passing time. But no, every time I think about it, my stomach goes into a knot. Never should have sold it. Lesson learned.

John

Hey John, I've GOT one of those. If I ever get to my storage space anytime soon, I'll dig it out a take pics. Mine has 10 IMPERIAL lugs, and is a B/O from the early 70's, with "NYC Board of Ed" hand-engraved on the inside. Not selling it!!! :D Essentially, it's an unplated Supra.

The reason that these drums exist, like so many other Ludwig oddities is the school bidding system. The NYC Board of Ed, for example, would say "We need 500 metal snare drums for x-amount of $$$" and Ludwig would strip the drum down accordingly. No plating, as in my case, would reduce the overall per drum cost, times 500. The cost could be reduced further by using Classic instead of Imperial lugs, which cost more because they require a more complex buffing procedure, with their multiple levels of art-deco lines. Ludwig was very open to special-orders like this back in the Chicago days, when they basically owned the American drum business.

Knowing how popular they are, I'm really surprised Ludwig hasn't re-issued these unchromed deep-dish Supra's/Acro's. It's a great drum, they'd make a killing with them. Call them the N.Y.C. Board of Ed Re-Issue.

John

Only us Noo Yawkahs would appreciate the name John, and perhaps Bermuda Schwartz. ;) However, realizing that there are several of the Supra permutations out there leaves the door open for a lot of experimentation at Ludwig. I've been busting their cajones for years for a copper Supra. As a bonus, copper is SUPER easy to plate if desired.

I've heard you and others laud the merits of copper before. I really need to check one out. I honestly don't think I've ever played a copper shell snare drum. Which ones/models do you recommend, John? Next time I go to the drum shop I'll hunt one down and give it a listen.

John