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- From the early 1980's this is a Ludwig 5x14 L-600 snare drum! Badge has rounded corners, so it was a later release especially judging off of the serial number; Serial# 3135XXX. Overall is very clean condition! Shows signs of use with scratches and minor pitting in the shell and hoops/hardware.
- Here are links to the different Ludwig Drum Company History sections on this web site that will help you pin point the year and type of Ludwig drums you have. I would probably start in the. Ludwig Drum Set Catalog Pages and the. Ludwig Snare Drum Catalog Pages since these cover many years of Ludwig History.
The Ludwig Supra-Phonic is said to be the “most recorded” snare drum of the 1960s and 1970s. I don’t know if that is true but it is plausible, and why not? The Supra-Phonic is a great drum and Ludwig sold a lot of them.The modern version of this snare drum went into production in 1958 as the “Super-Ludwig.” The first drums named Super-Ludwig with the original Art Deco lug design were made available in 1936 using wood shells. The 1958 Super-Ludwig was made of one solid piece of rolled brass that was formed into a circle and welded. By 1962 Ludwig changed the name to “Super-Ludwig 400” (the significance of the number 400 is not known—likely added as a marketing gimmick?) The next major design and name change occurred in 1963 when Ludwig switched from rolled brass to a spun aluminum shell, calling it the “Supra-Phonic 400.” The aluminum shell has no welds and Ludwig introduced it as the “Acousti-Perfect” shell. At first look, the Super-Ludwig and the Supra-Phonic can be mistaken as the same model drum, yet there are significant differences. Here are some specific features to look for if you want to identify a Super-Ludwig from a Supra-Phonic.
1. As already referenced, from 1958–1962 the Super-Ludwig was made from a rolled brass and welded shell. After the brass models, the Supra-Phonic shell material was made of spun aluminum with no welds. The evidence is seen in the bubbles, pitting, and excessive peeling of chrome from the surface of the early Supra-Phonic snares. Chrome just does not adhere well to an aluminum surface but it works really well on brass. Another obvious characteristic of brass is that it is much heavier than the Acousti-Perfect Ludalloy (aluminum) shell. The Super-Ludwig weighs about 10 pounds.
2. The bearing edge on both brass and aluminum shell models is 45º, these are created by rolling the top and bottom edges inward to form a collar or “flange.” This also serves to strengthen the shell and help support and maintain the shell’s circular shape. However, on the Super-Ludwig models, there is a second shorter flange at the final edge that curls back and slightly under the primary collar.
3. The famous Ludwig Keystone badge on the brass Super-Ludwig and Super-Ludwig 400 never had a serial number. Conceivably, there may be a very few early Supra-Phonics produced in 1963 that have no serial numbers? But since 1964, all Ludwig snare drums have a serial number on the badge.
4. The Imperial lug casings. This attractive Art Deco design originated in 1935 to commemorate the 25th year “Silver Anniversary” of the Ludwig company. The Super-Ludwig lug casings are heavier than the Supra-Phonic lugs. In addition, the design of the Supra-Phonic Imperial lugs was altered very slightly.
If you view an Imperial lug from the side profile you will notice that there are three flat plains or levels that appear as though they are almost stacked on to one another. They create ridges between each successive level so that the top or out-most shape is smallest, the middle level beneath is larger, and the third and final surface is the largest and it forms the bulk of the lug’s shape.
The Imperial lugs on both models are the same overall size, but each of the three ridged plains of the lugs on a Super-Ludwig is smaller than they are on the Supra-Phonic lug. The Imperial lugs on a Super-Ludwig have a smaller inside cavity and shorter spring resulting in more metal mass and lug weight.
5. The counter hoops of a Super-Ludwig are chrome over brass. The counter hoops of the Supra-Phonic are chrome over steel. A magnet will attract to the steel hoops but not to the brass hoops. The magnet test is not useful to differentiate the shells because neither brass nor aluminum will attract a magnet. However, it is possible to find some very early Supra-Phonics with one or both of the hoops being chrome over brass. It is possible to occasionally find an early Supra-Phonic with some or all of its Imperial lugs of the Super-Ludwig style. That is because when Ludwig made a design change, they gradually used up the leftover inventory of previous models resulting in some overlap of components.
6. The snare beds of the Super-Ludwig are crimped. The snare beds of an Acousti-Perfect shell appear less severe and not as obvious because they are gradually tapered away from the snare wire center position and there is no visible crimp to the bed.
7. The strainer on the early Super-Ludwigs and Supra-Phonics was the P-83 model and later models received the P-85 strainer. The oldest P-83 strainers were stamped “WFL” and they were gradually replaced with the same strainer showing the script style “Ludwig” logo. The butt plate (opposite side of the strainer) was also stamped “WFL” on the older versions and they also were gradually replaced by the script “Ludwig” logo.
How do these two iconic variations of snare drum compare where it really matters, that is to say, in sound and playability? In the opinion of this drummer, I would say both perform spectacularly well, I resist using terms like “warm” or “bright” but I will say the stick response of both shell versions is excellent from the outmost edge of the head surface to the center. I attribute this in large measure to the fact that there are ten tuning rods per head.
Both drums have a good range of tunability from the low end of useful head response up to a high and tight tuning. I do recommend that if you have an early Super or Supra that you will realize the best feel and tuning when using a single ply, coated drum head.
One characteristic of these drums is that the snare wires are quite “buzzy.” Not just from sympathetic resonance from other instruments but also in solo performance. The buzziness of the Supra-Phonic is easier to control with bottom head tuning than the Super-Ludwig. I think this may be because of the Acousti-Perfect snare bed design which is more gradual and less deep than crimped snare beds. The deep snare bed of the Super-Ludwig requires that the rods on each side of the snare beds need more torque in tuning to eliminate wrinkles in the snare head.
I have experimented with a variety of snare wires on both drums including standard Ludwig snare wires, Puresound wires, and the Rhythm Tech “Active Snare System” which is sort of like a fake Dyna-Sonic snare bridge. Each of them have performed well, the differences are subjective but in my opinion, the Rhythm Tech does help dry up some of the buzziness on the Supra-Phonic. I only use Ludwig wires on the Super because those are the snares the drum would have been designed to use and I want the most authentic sound possible.
So, if you do not own a Super or a Supra and you find yourself with an opportunity to get one in good condition, you should do it! The Supers are relatively rare and if they have not been abused or neglected they hold up extremely well. Even a 1960 Super can still look like new and if well maintained it will continue to look good and serve well long after we are all gone.
The Supra-Phonic can look really terrible with the bubbling chrome finishes but that has absolutely zero effect on the sound and playability of the drum. Once upon a time, I considered that to be an ugly flaw and symbol of an inferior drum design but I am no longer so prejudice of their appearance. In fact, I think the pitting and bubbles lend a special character to those drums that is just cool. This may even work to your advantage as a buyer because most folks want to own the “pretty” drum. Another bonus of its distressed appearance is that you don’t worry so much about picking up a few extra scratches, making this drum a perfect workhorse for gigs.
Thank you for taking the time to absorb this tiny slice of Ludwig drum history. I am by no means the highest authority on this subject. I happen to own these two drums and as a valued part of my collection, I conducted some personal research to better educate myself as to what I actually have. This brief article is all I can report with confidence and accuracy. Now go play your drums.
It was continuously used in to the 70's on black catalogued outfits. This mount was configured on Hollywood and Blue Note outfits up until early It was then replaced by second generation Ludwig script bracket. Drum mufflers Ludwig drums had mufflers installed on all drum but the bass number.
Serial Guide
The modern badge muffler had black felt and existed until around From then on, the felt pad was standard. By , Ludwig introduced the round muffler pad installed directly black to the badge on a drum. Rail mounts and bass castings Ludwig used varying bass drum mounts and rail mounts that coincide with the change of the shell mounting brackets on tom toms or floor toms. Standard generation rail-consolette catered to the diamond bracket mount.
Ludwig number drums that complimented a standard tom post was fixed onto the PD bass casting. This bass casting would change form at around Dating badges were apparent on bass drums from - speed dating chilli club bremen By , the gull wing spurs were introduced with two variations including either first generation Ludwig script bracket or second generation Ludwig script number. In the end, all of the numbers and variations of Ludwig drums translate to a chronological progression, while depicting number and advancement in design. Ludwig Drum Co. The change of the Ludwig logo, from the script to the stricter square logo, was a sort of foreshadowing of just that. This time headed by William Ludwig II.Send Email. My Collection. Other Collections. Reference Books and Catalogs. Badges in Progress. Identify Drum Number. Snare Drums. Drum Badges. Drum Hardware. Drum Finishes. Serial Numbers. Company Time Line. Slingerland Drums.
Cleaning and Restoring. How to Refinish a Drum. Fix a Kentucky. Is my drum COB. Yellow WMP.
Types of Drum Hoops. Measuring a Drum. Vintage Drum Forum. Vintage Cymbal Kentucky. Vintage Drum Guide. Search our web numbers! Photo courtesy Harold Lee Yen. Early 's. The image shows the black of Ludwig Snare drums and the badge above. Not sure where I got this badge! This web site is dedicated to the history of modern drums.
This badges was behind the strainer. Courtesy Adrian Kentucky. Rim Stamp from a 'number Snare Drum. This is the Universal Model stamp on the rim 's.
Ludwig Drum Dating
Universal Badge from a marching snare drum 's. Ludwig and Ludwig Drum Company. This is a wood burn on an internal rienforcement ring. Stamped oval badge from the early 's Kentucky Tazzie. All brass.
Kentucky Model Snare Badge 's. WFL Lyre Badge F Ludwig President around vent hole. Photo Courtesy: Ed Mileti. F Ludwig President 's. Aluminum badge from the 40's. Courtesy of Alan. Paper tag on a set of bongo drums.
Serial Number/Badge Styles
Same badge as below, but it was installed on a drum with an aluminum grommet. WFL aluminum with sticky serial drum badge. I would consider this the hardest to find badge since it was a peel and stick transition badge. It was probably used just at the beginning of the war until the one below was put in production. I can't confirm the color on this one, but it is from the standard era as the two before it. It dating just be a yellowed aluminum badge. The Ludwig Drum Company.
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These numbers have been found on drums from the 's. There is no serial date of when they stopped and switched to the serial badge - there are cross-over drums. These were on badge cases, and were never on drums. Pre-serial Kentucky Keystone Badge Early - Mid 60's Keystone Badge. The serial number guides do not work on these numbers. Not sure of the year, but I would guess close to the badge above it.
This badge was on lower level vistalite shells and black level drums. Supraphonics with this badge have shown up and they have been brass badges courtesy Classic Vintage Drums.
Started in and carried into the late 70's Blue and Olive Badge. Blue and Olive Cut Badge with rounded numbers. This was on a Black Beauty Snare Drum from the late 70drum. Started using this serial 70's due to complaintes from the standard badges above getting caught on numbers and bending. An earlier serial version. No box around modern number.
Ludwig Drum Serial Number Identification
This was a transition badge and you will see it with and without a serial number it is modern to and during the move to Monroe. This badge was covered by the hoop and normally is not cut on the top.