You know what? I would do it if my ears weren't so phuqued from sitting between an Ampeg and a Marshall stack for so many years. I honestly don't think I'd be able to hear any real difference in how the drums sound based on hammering pattern alone.

I would imagine, if anything, one drum might sound drier than the other. That's all hammering a metal shell accomplishes, it just dries them out.

... and thanks for the offer, slick! lol

Actually, that baby is going to clean up to be a real treat for you. Scare up a tone control and swap out the strainer for a Millennium, you'll love it death. I'm nutz about mine.

John

I think that'll be my winter project, cleaning up my snares. It was clean at one time.....:rolleyes:

I have the tone control, I just removed it and stuck it..... somewhere.

I don't mind the p85. I've only ever had one break and to be honest, I don't flip the snares on or off very often.....

I DO love mine, but I have LOTS of choices....

I bought one of these used off someone a few years ago and the serial number is 3112586.

On mine there is a B stamp above the muffler control but it is a straight B and not a backwards one-any signifigance to that?

I have not touched the drem other than to put a new vintage emporer head on the top and I dont believe the original owner touched it as it has the original ludwig head on the bottom.

What do people recommend to clean the shell?

Picture of drum that I referenced in previous post

Our snares are real close in serial number serquence... just under 100!

Not sure about the "B" so yours is in the same position as mine but in an upright or "normal" orientation?

(mine is pictured earlier in the htread)

Yes mine is in the normal position

The "B" is upside down on my EARLY 1982 Ludwig Hammered Bronze Supraphonic. Always thought that was interesting... then I saw Hoppy's, so you have to figure the first run shells were all stamped upside down... until someone caught the "mistake" at Ludwig and corrected? Regardless...

GREAT playing/sounding snares!.. and this from a devout Rogers guy!! Here's a pic of mine, and again, note how SHALLOW the hammering is on the first run shells. These particular drums sound like nothing else, especially with the shallower hammering.

Tommyp

what do you use to polish the shell?

coley!...

I'm going to assume.. ( and that is a word I normally HATE to use! LOL! ) .. that you are asking about my drum, yes? If so, here's a thumbnail sketch as to what/how I did it:

This drum being a 1982 was COMPLETELY tarnished when I found it.. ( the bronze turns "copper" like an old Lincoln penny ) .. and we all know that OEM bronze should be like brass/gold in color. PLUS, and this is the killer part: Ludwig CLEARED these shells with something, which I thought might have been clear lacquer, but that didn't seem accurate as it was a BEAR to get off so I could actually polish the shell back to original. I still don't know what was on mine for a "clear", but there was something there. The funny thing is, THAT was supposed to help in preventing the tarnish/finger prints, etc. Maybe it did work, for a while anyway, but the drum IS 30 years old now. Anyway...

Nothing I tried by hand worked... none of my tricks... nothing. I just couldn't get through to the tarnish so I could polish it back. I had to go to other methods, and that is the result you see here. I sent the drum out to a professional metal polisher that specialized in brass, bronze, and copper. They used a special compound/rouge in conjunction with a buffing wheel to cut through the tarnish. The speed and friction/heat of the wheel in concert with the rouge/compound did the trick! The shell was returned to OEM with absolutely NO DAMAGE, burns, scratching, etc. The shell was perfect! Then...

They sprayed on a waterbourne "clear" in a semi gloss finish with a UV inhibitor which will HOLD the drum shell from tarnishing for decades. Paint/clear technology has indeed changed since Ludwig built this drum back in 1982, and that is for the better in this case! There were no waterbourne products back in 1982 of course. The results are as you see here... gorgeous!

It was worth it to me to have done, especially after I had exhausted all the methods that have worked for me in the past. This one was TOUGH! Goes without saying that I completely disassembled the drum including badge/grommet, which all had to be put back after buffing/polishing. Everything on the drum is original as it left the Ludwig factory.

Hope this was of some help/information for you!

Tommyp

PLUS 1 TOMMY Clapping Happy2