Yes there is a slight difference in sound, but this is not why they changed from brass to aluminum, or brass to bronze. Costs were cheaper for the aluminum shells, period. It was a manufacturing cost issue. Save a buck a drum.....multiply by.......see where I'm going here?

Yeah, I hear ya L-D I was just addressing one of his questions to how would someone feel if they were to find its a ludalloy shell and not a brass shell!

Thanks for explaining the sticker ... but no need to blow a gasket Dude.

Listen I get the move to Al for economic reasons, I also get that people like shiny inspite of the fact that Al has one of the highest reflective qualites of all metals.. Just didn't make that much sense to put chrome finish on if it pitted so easily as it did on the ones I had in the past. But it is there to stop the galvanic corrosion inherent with Al-Cu alloy. But I'm putting it to rest and will never mention it in the thread again... especially as none of us are privvy to managment decision made tens of years ago.

There is some tangible quality associated with brass, many are willing to pay the premium for it.... sonic quality aside... purely from the mystic of Ludwig brass angle. Does the value change if it's not brass?

What's known about Ludwig metal shells from a material stand point, what was readily available and advertised in the past 40-50 years? I'm gathering 3 primaries: Brass, Bronze, and Aluminum alloy.

What if there are other copper alloys? Does that even matter to a collector? It sure seems to matter here is my impression, that the vintage owner is in possession of "brass," so what if it aint that copper alloy but another, is that going to change the value or is the badging suffcient to claim some of these prices I've seen?

Rarity is what drives the prices of these drums more than materials they are made out of. A chrome over brass shell from the early sixties is not a supraphonic snare drum, but a super-ludwig model snare drum. They didn't make them long and are rare because of this. The supraphonic is the aluminum shell, they kept it chrome to infer this as the same model drum as its predecessor, the super-ludwig. (Both had the same catalog numbers to make things more confusing to collectors over the years) In the late 1970's they came out with a chrome over brass shell again, and yes they do bring a little bit higher price over a standard supraphonic, but again, more due to rarity than materials made of. The bronze drums never command as high a price as the standard supra....never understood that as they are more rare as well, just not as popular I guess. Collectors are fickle is the only way I can explain it.....

Now with all that said, a vintage chrome supra that has no pitting or flaking will command a premium over one that has those issues. They are rather hard to find in perfect condition.....and if it's a 6.5" deep model....all the Bonham guys have to have it, so that drives the price up too......

One more thing......a similar condition supersensitive snare brings about two-thirds what a regular more simple supraphonic model brings. Why? Again, collectors are fickle. I own both and actually prefer the supersensitive for most of the gigs I play. Its a bit too buzzy for rock though....thats when the supra comes out.

Thanks for the reply L-D. I really didn't want that kind of info and opinion to get lost in the thread. I wanted to pose that last question of mine as a separate thread to get a pulse on the community. But I think the've checked out on this thread.

I really should have had a better follow-up question early on and maybe flagged my rhetorical questions (i.e. chroming) so it didn't divert what I'm driving towards. For instance my follow-up question simply should have been:

"So.... Ludaloy alloways refers to the aluminum alloys and never the copper alloys?" then reviewed the response and let the thread die and start that other one.

There are ways to determine the acutally composition of the metals found in these drum shells and I have access to it (proprietary knowledge be damned!!!). I have determined the composition of my Black Beauty and my Hammered Bronze and can do these for any other metal shell.

This is the knowledge base I would like to help the community build. But if it of zero interest and that kind of knowledge serves no purpose here then I can simply be happy knowing what I know! flower