Hi,

Here's a weird one from eBay, I got this drum last week and this is going to be fun. I think that I found a missing link/transition drum. Be sure to weigh in if you have any thoughts, information or opinions as I always enjoy your input. The photos are of the drum as I received it in un-restored condition as I am anxious to get the your thoughts...photos of my restoration will follow soon.

1935-36 Ludwig & Ludwig 6.5x15 8 lug nob Anniversary Standard Model...with some leftover mid-1920s-ness

There is a lot going on with this snare drum so here we go.

Let's start with the shell. This looks like a mid-1920s 6.5x15 two-piece heavy brass shell but this shell has the 1935- L&L white enamel badge that is in the same area (one panel over from the strainer and above the bead) where the airhole would be on a mid-1920s 8 lug heavy brass shell. The badge and grommet look to be intact with no sign of any alteration. An interesting observation is the fact that there is no "Ludwig Trade Mark" stamp in the same panel as the strainer as you would see on a 1920s heavy brass shell. There is a standard (1932-) tone control, normal butt plate and this shell was drilled for a P338 strainer. There are no extra holes near the strainer or anywhere else on the shell. Now the fun begins. There are 8 Anniversary (no inserts) Imperial lugs that are machined for the hex bead of the Anniversary-era shells but this shell has a rounded bead ala the 1920s shells. The Imperial lugs fit nicely and do not compromise the round bead in any way. I took all the lugs off and noticed that the 2" lug hole patterns on the shell have not been altered which is moot since the L&L tube lug and the L&L Imperial lug both have 2" center to center hole spacing. Here's the cool part; as I've mentioned and as you can see by the photos, this is a 6.5x15 shell so the normal lugs for this shell would have been the longer 3.5"-spaced tube lugs! So what we have here are traces of a 1920s shell along with traces of a 1935-36 Anniversary-era shell. The top and bottom rims are the double flanged rims with 8 "ears" that you would see on the Standard Models of the Anniversary-era and for years to come. Was there a 6.5x15 8 lug heavy brass two-piece shell just lying around at the L&L (C. G. Conn) factory for 10+ years during the 10 tube lug-era? Ok, then how do you explain the absence of the "Ludwig Trade Mark" stamp on the shell? The 6.5x14 and 5x14 Anniversary snare drums (hex bead) both used the same size Imperial lugs so is this a left over shell from an earlier era? Was a shell specially made for a customer? Splain that to me Lucy... John Aldridge thinks this drum was a special order. Drum companies of that era were very accommodating so the "special order concept" does make sense. What do you think?

Mike Curotto