I put down a holding deposit on a Supraphonic Super Sensitive. It has the BO cut badge, and felt noticeably heavier than the other super sensitive I own (fingers crossed for brass). It doesn't have the B stamp.
The issue is the price. If it's brass it's a great price, if it's aluminum it's double what I want to pay for it and then I have two super sensitives.
Thoughts? Pull the trigger and regret later?
The additional weight will be the determining factor. A brass drum is going to outweigh and aluminum one significantly. The only way to make a 'for sure' determination would be to scrape a lug hole with a pen knife. Yellow metal = Brass. Do the magnet test...
John
Thanks Purdie!
Magnet didn't stick, I confirmed that on site
Hey fellow LA Drummer.
The magnet will not stick to any Supra.
Brass and aluminum are non magnetic.
If it did stick, it would be the rare of rare, mythical "STEEL" supra.
That may not exist.
I hope it is brass.
If the seller was in town,
do you think he or she would let you remove the rods, rims, heads, a lug and scrape the hole?
Lot of work.
Probably not....but maybe.
Purdie knows the weights.
Check back with him on actual pounds and ounces.
I bet you he knows what they weigh out at.
A cut badge doesn't necessarily indicate brass. I got very excited when I saw a cut badge on a 1970 Supra in a music store but it was a Ludalloy shell all the same. At the time they were transitioning badges they had some aluminum shells already punched for the Keystone badges so they had to cut the B/O badges to fit...but you never know. Good Luck to you.
Brass shells were only used certain years, K.O. is correct the most likely possibility is that the drum is Ludalloy. The "extra weight" you may be feeling when you pick up the drum is probably from the super sensitive mechanisms. They are bulky on 70's drums. The 60's version of the strainers was much lighter and smaller. If it is brass, it'll be a very rare find and valuable. It is more likely that that isn't the case. Don't knock it if it is Ludalloy it's still a superior snare drum. How much you're willing to pay for it is up to you.
John
If you could remove all hardware, you'd find the 5x14 COB shell to weigh a bit over 3 pounds. The Ludalloy shell would be under 2 pounds. So, we're only talking about a difference of maybe 1.5 pounds at most. I doubt the seller will let you completely disassemble the drum! John is correct that much of the weight you are feeling could be coming from the SS mechanism. I had one of these and it certainly was heavier than my Supra!
-Mark
If you could remove all hardware, you'd find the 5x14 COB shell to weigh a bit over 3 pounds. The Ludalloy shell would be under 2 pounds. So, we're only talking about a difference of maybe 1.5 pounds at most. I doubt the seller will let you completely disassemble the drum! John is correct that much of the weight you are feeling could be coming from the SS mechanism. I had one of these and it certainly was heavier than my Supra!-Mark
Is it really only that little a difference? I picked up a COB LM400 last week and couldn't believe how much heavier it was. It made me think that everyone who's questioned if theirs is brass or not has either never handled a regular Supra or is just leading themselves on.
I'm an expert at the latter. :)
If I'm not mistaken,the brass SS had a welded seam and the Lud was a spun aluminum shell.
No seam,probably not brass.
I've weighed many of my vintage metal-shelled snare drums over the years. Here are those that I've cataloged. All hardware removed, except for badges and script logos, and weighed on my industrial-class Pitney Bowes scale:
Ludwig Standard Acrolite 5x14 1lb 11.5oz
Ludwig Acrolite Black Galaxy 1lb 12.5oz
WorldMax NOB 5x14 2lb 15.5oz
Gretsch COB 6145 5x14 3lb 5.5oz
Rogers COS SuperTen 5x14 3lb 6.5oz
Rogers COB Powertone 5x14 2lb 13.5oz
Ludwig 1970 Supraphonic 5x14 –my drum 1lb 13.0oz
Rogers Dynasonic 5x14 5-line 3lb 3.0oz
Rogers Dynasonic 5x14 7-line 1966 3lb 4.5oz
-Mark
