Hi
I'm looking for some advice with regard to a Ludwig b/o badge 'Classic' snare. It has the P87 snare throw with a P34 butt plate which takes the L1110 band of individually tensioned snare wires. However, the butt plate is cracked and I'm wondering about replacing it with something more modern which will take a standard snare band. The butt plate itself fixes to the drum with 3 bolts; essentially I'm asking is there a butt plate that will fit without having to redrill the shell?
Thanks
Scott
scottser,
I tried searching here for an earlier "Coliseum" post where I talked about the simple modifications you are inquiring about... but I couldn't find it, so here I go...
I have a Ludwig L483 that I ordered with the P-87/P-34 combination. I really love the throw but hated the butt after I got it. The individually adjustable snares sounded like a good idea at first, but become a PITA, especially if you wanted to experiment with different snares.
To get around this issue, I just removed the P-34 an added a new P-32. I re-used all three mounting screws - two for the P-32 and one to fill the remaining P-34 pre-drilled hole. I also currently use snare cord for this butt although I know I have used tape (plastic strip) at one time or another.
[IMG]http://www.vintagedrumforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=45446&stc=1&d=1341509040[/IMG]
[IMG]http://www.vintagedrumforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=45448&stc=1&d=1341509117[/IMG]
I used tape (plastic strip) on P-87 throw end, and re-used the P-87 snare hardware. The simple mod was to put a hole in the tape and bolt it back together.
[IMG]http://www.vintagedrumforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=45445&stc=1&d=1341508862[/IMG]
[IMG]http://www.vintagedrumforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=45447&stc=1&d=1341509088[/IMG]
The newer P-33 looks better than the P-37 I used, but I'm not sure of the fitment... as an option these go new for under $20. I think you may have to mount this one "upside down" as I have heard of issue with the head touching the butt. Mounting upside down buys a bit of real estate.
If you just gotta' have a P-34, you can find for a good price like this $10 offering:
hey hoppy, thanks for that. i've actually replaced the butt with a more generic one but to no avail. the p87 doesn't pull the snares up to the head, the action is more 'away and back' due to the roller mechanism. i've even since put a p85 onto it and still can't get her sorted; the snares just don't want to rest against the reso, so even at maximum crank i get nowt from the snares. i'm going to replace the p34 with an original unit to see if i can get it to work that way - i'll let ye know how it pans out.
Hmmm.... I get a nice sound outta my rig - even tension / lay-up (even with that cheapo wide set of snares I have on there) across the bed.
well, i put on the new p34 butt plate and rigged her back up. it now sounds like a cheap snare/biscuit tin. i've a feeling that the snare wires themselves may have been overstretched because they are pulled as far back as they can go and still don't rest on the reso head. it's got to the stage where i can slip a modern snare band between the ludwig set and the reso, sort of using the ludwig set to keep the modern one in place. it's only marginally better and not ideal in the long term. i've now ordered a new set of L1110s in the hope that this will sort it out; the drum will be back to full original spec. if this doesn't work then i'm going to get snare beds cut into the shell and go with a modern set and a trick throw. i'm getting sick of this damn drum!
Let us know how that return to "normal" works out. I get a good snare sound out of my modification, it's a drag that didn't pan out on your rig.
For Taggart... Here's a catalog shot of the 14" x 10" beauty!
