So, I think I have a good deal on a 1965 Ludwig 5x14 Supraphonic Snare, in MINT condition. All original. Can I ask everyone what they think the going rate for one would be? It's beautiful. What is the going rate around here?

By the way, the Supraphonic is seamless aluminum.

Joe Mama,

I had a floor tom in need of brackets last year and spent quite a bit of time checking eBay. It sure seemed to me like the going rate was right at $17 per mount. If I recall, that was vintage and new stock. A set of three was generally between $50-$60. Of course, things change. Even new stock Ludwig mounts would look better than the Mapex mounts.

As to the one sided indentations, I bet someone was running that tom as a single headed drum and over tensioned the batter. Since those lugs are more or less designed to be equal tensioned, it would have pulled the lug up and into the shell.

You are doing a great job. Since you will apparently have some fitting issues if you choose to wrap, then I would definitely opt for the oyster pearl because it is a cool look and the wrap is thinner. Some things you can do besides simply trimming the wrap all the way around:

- Trim the overlap at the bearing edge. That gets rid of the double thickness of wrap. That is pretty common even on new builds.

- If you only have issues with the reso head, consider Aquarian American Vintage heads as they are oversized. I have one kit with a problem child tom and that solution worked well.

- Check out the new Evans heads as their 360 design often fits a little looser.

- With tight head issues, some guys will use a Dremel tool with a cutting blade to slice the drum head hoop in 2-4 locations which will allow it to open up. Kind if a pain, but not unheard of amongst the Gretsch faithful.

Wow - I had no idea that people would, or could cut the heads rim? That is very interesting. I think you nailed it on the head with the single headed drum. That is exactly what happened, now that I look at it. I just received my samples from Jamm'in Sam's. They are nice, but thicker. I may have no choice in the end with color. I am going to run some tests. Find something of equal thickness, and shove it in there for a test run.

We'll, I went for. It sounds as good as it looks.

One of the best of the best snare drums on the planet

I'm excited to record with it!

Frustrating. This black stuff, some of it is not coming off easy. Enough wood filler on this bass drum to create a whole other one.

This will take a few nights.....I think.

Any suggestions on what I could use to get a hard, clear glue off of wood? Without ruining the wood.

You want to try Klean Strip VS-3 Premium Stripper. Use it in a well ventilated area and Wear gloves and eye protection like it says.