Some of my babies past and present...

A few more with a WMP transition badge re-wrap.

‘84 mahogany cortex.

I have ONE Ludwig drum. It's a Blackro snare It cost me $30 and is the best Ludwig drum I've ever played. I owned a Ludwig Standard Red Strata set for a couple of years that I picked up for very little money. It was the best playing and best sounding Ludwig set I've ever played. That set was kept around for trade bait. It served me well in that capacity.

Awesome additions to this thread!! Let`s see more!!

Cheers

Nice kits!!! That blue sparkle (drumfx) reminds me of the legendary Hal Blaine and the mahogany cortex really speaks to an era gone by.

New Downbeat in sky blue pearl

Guitar Center closeout

Here's an oddball prototype snare, an "Imperial Jazzfest." I changed the original heads - intending to play it (and I kept the original heads) - but then I found a common Jazzfest that matched my kit, and so this snare went into the closet. Here is the story behind it, as related by Bun E. Carlos:

"In about 2006, Jim Catalano (Marketing Director at Ludwig) got a few inquiries about wooden shell drums with Imperial lugs. Ludwig had made them back in the 30's-40's when Conn owned the company (and retro stuff was then coming into vogue again). So Jim had an idea.

He had the factory make two prototype snare drums, a 5" ten lug Jazz Festival and a 6.5" ten lug Super Sensitive to see how they would look. The only Imperial lugs they had were made for beaded metal shell snare drums, so they used those....Finally at least 10 years later, Ludwig decided they're a good idea, and had flat back Imperial lugs made."

Bun E. purchased both prototype snares from Ludwig, later sold the 5" to Donn Bennett, and I purchased it from Donn when I was looking for a Jazzfest in a neutral wrap that would look good with any kit. This wrap is a smooth shiny black.

I've since heard on this forum that the "Millenial" throw-off is weak, but it seems plenty sturdy to me. But I haven't put much pressure on it.

Enjoy, MB

Love the signature by Bun E.

Say, in regards to that black prototype snare, it has some grime and old fingerprints on the wrap that I'd like to clean off, but I'm wary of using any kind of abrasive that may scratch or otherwise damage the smooth wrap.

We've all seen the COA snare drums that have been cleaned with the wrong solution or the wrong cloth, and you can see all the swirly scratches in the finish....I'm thinking of just using some warm soapy water and one of those little cloths that the Optometrist gives you to clean your glasses.

Does anyone have a "safe" solution for minor cleaning of a drum wrap? Thanks in advance, MB