I love his little " We all know about string " what do we know? I prefer snare cord as opposed to the plastic strap. Can't tie a knot in plastic! lol

Got to try one up close at my local music shop when it came out, and they weren't exactly flying off the shelves. Only reason it got my attention was because it looked cool with the anodized green shell..My buddy who works at the shop says it was crap, but sounded nice. He was right. It looked flimsy..You would think that a long time Ludwig endorser like Palmer would give his seal of approval on something of good quality. I had the same problem with a 4x14 Supralite snare drum, and i returned it the next day because it was an absolute piece of garbage..When i was adjusting the tension on the strainer, (and i like my tension at medium loose, where the snares still buzz and you get sensitivity, but are not choked.) i had tightened the drum key screw that holds the strap in place, and it snapped right off. Tried to tightened the other side and it snapped off as well. I know my own strength when it comes to tightening, and NEVER over tighten any screw on any of my drums. Whenever i reach a resistance point, that's where i stop. The Supralite had so much potential, looked and sounded great, but that hardware..3rd rate.. None of Ludwig's new throw-offs look good or function well.. The only ones that ever worked are the P-85 and the old P-83. Even the new Atlas throw-off looks like it could snap at any given time and doesn't look sturdy at all.. It also looks like some early 40's bathroom fixture..The P-86 is very poorly designed as well. Ludwig should seriously address this problem. I've already got 3 originals of some of their most famous snare drums, and that's enough for me. Another hardware issue i had with Ludwig was with their classic bass drum diamond plate. The original i have on my kit now is built like a tank, while the replacement i picked up had that little piece that tightens the post to the plate pop right out after only a few turns. I tried the same thing on the original and it tightened all the way, even to the point where it actually hurt a little to tighten any further.

No doubt there'll be more horror stories to come from the Ludwig camp in the future if there quality control continues to falter.. I hope you get justice for your frustration.

Just got this email from Ludwig this AM

Dear Sir,

You recently contacted us concerning a design flaw with a Carl Palmer Venus snare that you purchased. First, I want to assure you that we take customer feedback very seriously and will do our best to turn your negative experience with our product into a positive one. I have watched the video you supplied and I agree with your assessment that the current throw-off design does not provide sufficient clearance of the wires from the bottom head when disengaged. Our new design engineer xxxxxxxx is investigating this issue and may contact you with additional questions concerning your experience and/or for your thoughts on design improvements. Your email indicated that you have returned the defective snare to the dealer for refund/exchange. If this is correct, I would like to contact the dealer and arrange for some type of additional compensation for your frustration with your original purchase. Please provide me with your name, address and phone number, as well as the dealer you purchased the snare from, so I can make that arrangement. In closing I would like say that at Ludwig we understand and appreciate that our customers are our most valuable asset. Your candid and honest feedback, although humbling, is an important part of our efforts to continuously improve our products.

Sincere regards,

Well, that's a big, giant step in the right direction. Hopefully they'll make it right, at least for you. How many other drummers bought one of those drums? Will they make it right with all who purchased it?

However, this is still an example of how not to run a company, drum or otherwise. Several drummers, Ludwig employees or others, should have given the drum a thorough workout before its release. If they had done this, a glaring issue such as this would have been found, and hopefully addressed, before they started selling it. That it was not says a lot, and none of it good.

Not sure if it was CP's management that got the response or the email

I sent the CEO of Selmer.

If Ludwig just had a feedback section or customer service contact on their web pages ,maybe this would have been solved long ago.

Great response and I hope things work out. We all make mistakes. I love my Palmer snare but that's just my opinion.

In terms of cosmetics and sound ,it's a very nice snare.

But from a usability standpoint ,it's like buying a sports car with forward and no reverse.

I've seen at least two on YouTube that don't have that issue.

Since it's an OEM built snare ,the possibility of differing vendors screwing things up is a distinct possibility.

But there is documentation from at least 4 years ago that this was a problem.

Do you have the contact information for the person at Ludwig that you emailed?

Yes,just didn't post it

Could you PM the email contact info.

I'm trying to get a replacement for my Venus snare drum and left phone messages. The website has no email for customer service.

Thanks.

Dave