do something good with the sale

I'd just play it the way it is. you could contact Ak drums he can fix it but it will cost.

I know the feeling you describe and I don't blame you. It makes you happy, and you'll probably keep it forever.

I've used these to cover holes before: http://tinyurl.com/pv6phb7

Get a "flat head" brass (or chrome) screw that fits into the washer, and for the inside, a flat washer and nut. It'll look good, and best of all, it'll blend in.

Worth every dime. Clapping Happy2

man, that's a great drum. sure don't see many of them either. i'd hit the hardware store for a round head/flat back brass machine bolt and install it in the hole if it bugs you. would love to see a pic of it with the die casts when you get them. enjoy it!

mike

You bought a nice player's drum, had a great time playing it for many years as your favorite rock snare and now you want to replace the oddball parts that came with it with the kind that Ludwig would have originally shipped on it?

If that is "irrational" then I must be a total fruitcake.

I don't see anyone around here expressing the notion that only pristine pieces are worth fixing up; if I did I would never have stuck around.

Yeah, that guy got a fantastic deal. $45 because Guitar Center didn't know what they had.

And you paid $300 for a drum that played so nice you used it to create years of priceless memories for yourself and others.

I'll take the years of enjoyment for $300. An instrument that has whatever that special something is that inspires me is rare indeed.

My favorite snare is a 70's Acrolite with surface scuffs and the name of the school program that dumped it vibro-etched into the top rim, and I went to the trouble of putting together a blackface P-85 from junk box parts to stick on it. And I'm one of those people who thinks the P-85 is a poor design. The made in China one that was on there fit perfectly and worked more smoothly. But putting an "original" strainer on this beater student snare drum made me happy.

To paraphrase Clint Eastwood, "rational's" got nothin' to do with it!

Put a round head brass rivet in the extra hole.

Mike is right about how to fix the extra hole, and Eric and Clint are right about "rational".

You can't always worry about the "investment value" of things you enjoy. I have more than one snare that I have put far more into than I will ever get out (I also have a couple of cars that fall into that same category), but I love the way they look and sound. I enjoy playing them and showing my snare collection to friends. Consider it an investment in your happiness. (My wife always uses that "rational".)

I don't know anything about that model but I'd have thought it would be worth more than $500 in Aussie?

I'm always looking for bargains but I also can't stand an unfinished project so I've been known to spend too much just so it can be complete again. Take my recent Trixon Telstar purchase - the bass drum, snare and FT were cheap, and considering the difficulty finding the missing ride tom would entail the sensible course of action would've been to part them out. But I just can't do that. Instead I've managed to locate the correct tom and in the process pay significantly more for that one drum than I paid for the rest of the kit. It needed to be done though - I just don't know why:)

Thanks for all your words of encouragement. The rims are on the way and I have a few bronze cymbal rivets which might do for the hole - although I am not bothered by it myself. Looking forward to having it 100% Ludwig again!