According to catalogs I've seen on this forum, the '78 models do not have a knurled looking center bead and were avail. in both steel and COB. The same with the '73 and '75 models (avail. in both steel and COB) that do and do not (both styles) have a knurled looking center bead. Although the knurled looking center beaded drum was not signified/considered a Jupiter? It seems only the ones considered Jupiters were COB with parallel strainers? Also on the '78 pics of the snares, they have the close-ups of the strainers, a and b, under the full snare pics crossed? Not certain if there is a way to visably signify the difference. I would be intersested to find out myself.

Jupiters had parallel strainers.-----and I thought only brass shells, 10 lugs. The model most common was the 4814------ 14 x 5 " . there was a 14 x 5 1/2 earlier on ( 1973) and a 14 x 6 1/2 for the entire run. I have a nice 14 x 5 if you are interested. -----has the triple flange hoops; you could also get diecast.

Well....according to the catalog scans on the main website, the Jupiter was available with the "Gladstone" style throw-off as well. And there were two model numbers that looked similar, one being a brass shell, the other a steel shell. The scans are not large enough, however, to tell if they both had the "knurled" or "ridged" center bead or not, or if it was just one style that had the "knurling".....

I know the magnet test is the best way to tell, but as I said, these were on ebay and the sellers are clueless about the magnet test. So I was just hoping one of you Pearl experts out there may know for sure with just a visual check.

Where is OsakaBop when you need him?? :p

On the '78 catalog scan, the a and the b pics are crossed. You can see the parallel strainer on the full snare pic but it has the Gladstone style throw pic below it. You can see the knobs of the parallel strainer on the full snare pic above. Also, it only has the word "Jupiter" next to the COB's with parallel strainers. I'm not sure what's what here.

[IMG]http://i330.photobucket.com/albums/l407/olimpass/Pearl79.jpg[/IMG]

See what I mean? Its rather confusing.......I had assumed that the Jupiter was a brass shell drum, available in 5x14 and 6.5x14 sizes with a parallel strainer OR a Gladstone style strainer. Whereas the steel shell drum is only available in 5x14, also a 10 lug, but with Gladstone style strainer only. I guess my question is still, does that knurling around the center bead of the shell have any significance to the type of shell material used?

According to my experience, and in the '75 and '78 catalogs (which I have "hard" copies of both), the Jupiter SDs were only available with the brass shells. And yes, they have pictures/descriptions flipped in the '78 catalog which does cause confusion.

The Jupiter model was only available with the parallel strainer. Their "other" model snare drum (with the gladstone type strainer) was available in either steel or brass. Both of these SD types came with 10 lugs.

They also had another, non-pictured 8-lug version available.

Now, hopefully not to add confusion, but I'm talking American market here. They also had their Japanese/Asia market, a European market, and I've run into some evidence that there may have been a seperate Austrailian market. So, who knows what may have been available in the other markets and if those drums landed somewhere else at some point in time. Oh well...

One more thing... I bought a new, 6.5 x 14 Pearl Jupiter snare drum in 1978, and still have it! I've always been very happy and satisfied with it, and have no problem comparing it's quality with Ludwig's Supersensitive models...

Bill

Ok, well to clarify the snare drums that I am specifically looking at purchasing, they would be the 10-lug 5x14 chrome model with the Gladstone-type throw-off rather than the parallel action type. I would prefer brass, rather than steel. So, with that said, without using a magnet, is there a VISUAL way to tell the steel shell model apart from the brass shell model? Again, does the "knurling" on the center bead have any significance specifically to the type of shell material used?

:confused::confused:

Ok, I think I've finally answered my own question by finally finding a decent catalog scan. The steel shell 10-lug drum has two "lines" or "ribs" if you will all the way around the drum and the center bead of the shell had the vertical "knurling" that I was asking about above. The Brass shell drums have NO "knurling" and have three "lines" or "ribs" if you will all around the shell. Also, in the catalog scans I found, they were calling the drum in question a "Deluxe brass model" and NOT the Jupiter as I had originally thought. The Jupiter is the parallel action strainer model ONLY. Thank you to those that did clarify that earlier in the postings.

So now I know what I'm going to be bidding on, and hopefully manage to win. BTW, two of the sellers responded with "I'm not sure what the drum is made of, but it sure is heavy." One would think that would be a tip-off, however, steel is rather heavy too compared to a supraphonic snare.......

Hey, good catch on the visual difference between the steel and brass shells! I've only had the brass ones.

BTW, I did have one with the gladstone type of strainer once, and it was the 5x14 size. I know a lot of guys won't agree with me, but I thought it was every bit as good sound-wise as a Supra, which I've also owned several of down through the years. Pearl, as hard as they tried, never attained the level of recognition they deserved, IMO... when they entered the "high-end" market with their FG & W/FG shells of the 70s they did produce high-quality stuff, but I don't believe they will ever command the attention and value of vintage Ludwigs.