Ludwig Black Beauty?

[veggyboy]

Has anyone played or owned a Ludwig Black Beauty?

I just purchased the 14x5 (LB416T) and must admit...man I can hear the screams of blasphemy now!...I wasn't that impressed. And I'm a fan of metal snares. IMO, it sounded pretty thin.

I have the snare-side head pretty tight - about an 1/8" "give" if you press the center with your finger and the batter head about the same, maybe even a little looser. The overall pitch of the drum is around "A". I like my snares somewhat tight to where they start sounding "thicker", but controlled the more I tighten them.

It still has the stock heads (Ludwig coated medium batter/Weathermaster snare-side), so I'm hoping a Remo coated CS will really improve the sound. I've been using that batter for years on all my snares and have always had excellent results, regardless of the snare I put it on.

Any tips or thoughts?

[veggyboy]

Am I wrong to assume a Black Beauty is better than the Supraphonic?

[fezzasus]

The Ludwig weathermaster heads are notoriously thin and hollow sounding. I definatly suggest switching to Remo CS coated with a Remo snare side diplomat (this will make the snare sound more crisp, sensitive and less boxy)

The best tuning I have found for the Ludwig metal shell drums is to have the snare side loose, just past finger tight yet keep the batter side tight.

The Black beauty is in my opinion better than the supraphonic but at the end of they day they are just different sounds, the black beauty is warmer and less harsh when compared to the supra

[Aries07]

The Ludwig weathermaster heads are notoriously thin and hollow sounding. I definatly suggest switching to Remo CS coated with a Remo snare side diplomat (this will make the snare sound more crisp, sensitive and less boxy)

The best tuning I have found for the Ludwig metal shell drums is to have the snare side loose, just past finger tight yet keep the batter side tight.

The Black beauty is in my opinion better than the supraphonic but at the end of they day they are just different sounds, the black beauty is warmer and less harsh when compared to the supra

Yeah what he said, and get a 42-strand.... :D

[fezzasus]

Yeah what he said, and get a 42-strand.... :D

Actually i've found a properly tuned snare with generic 16 strand snares often sounds better than one with 42 strand snares.

[thetrooper]

I'd try a thicker head, something like an evans g2 coated, with the normal snares. Then again, some people just don't like metal snares, but that thick brass is tough not to like.

[DrummerEH]

I love Black Beauty's, but I can see how someone wouldn't and how they wouldn't work for every kind of music. The old ones are the best IMO.

[TempesT68]

just like any snare how good it sounds is in the ear of the beholder. just because it costs more doesn't automaticly make it better. sounds to me like a classic case of you blindly ordered something and are unhappy with it. but like mentioned i would get the stock heads off right away. stock heads that come with really any drum are usally horrible.

[thetrooper]

just like any snare how good it sounds is in the ear of the beholder. just because it costs more doesn't automaticly make it better. sounds to me like a classic case of you blindly ordered something and are unhappy with it. but like mentioned i would get the stock heads off right away. stock heads that come with really any drum are usally horrible.

Actually, this is not true as high-end pearl, mapex, and dw kits come with remo ambassadors (or the specially made remo dw heads), and starclassics come with evans g2s, which is actually why it suprises me that a drum as expensive as a black beauty doesn't come with a descent head.

[thetrooper]

By the way tempest, what kit do you play? I remember it being awesome, but I just can't picture it.

[veggyboy]

"you blindly ordered something and are unhappy with it" -

Well, one of my first snare drums was a 70's 14x5 steel Tama Imperialstar with a parallel strainer and it was awesome. Unfortunately, the strainer fell apart and Tama discontinued making them.

I still play a Tama 14x6.5 steel and Pearl 14x3.5 free-floating brass piccolo and think those drums are great, so...I didn't think the Ludwig 14x5 brass BB would be that much of a jump in sound without first playing the drum.

To be honest, I have rarely played a snare or entire kit before purchasing it, other than playing a bit on what's available in my local retailers' drum rooms, and we all know what shape those heads can be in. One of the major reasons is that the average joe (me) doesn't have the luxury to swap out the heads I actually use and tune the drum(s) up in the store. I pretty much make my decisions based on experience (knowledge of shell material/demensions, head selection, playing other peoples' drums, what equipment I've seen other drummers use that I liked the sound of, etc.). Fortunately, I've never had to return anything after working with it at home.

I'm pretty confident that the BB will be to my liking once I swap out the heads (I'm assuming mostly the batter). Come to think of it, I have NEVER ended up leaving the stock batters on ANY of my snare drums for this very reason - I've always ended up putting on a coated black dot and left the snare-side alone. They either came with a coated Ambassador or a coated G1. The BB came with Ludwig's coated "medium" batter.

The funny thing is, my sales rep said he tuned the drum before I picked it up and thought it sounded "killer" (his word). When I got it home, I thought the tuning was near "tea kettle" land (very high-pitched).

I'll spend some time working with it. If all fails, I'll try the very loose snare-side tensioning ("just past finger tight") that someone mentioned, even though I thought that sounded kind of radical. I've never had a snare-side head that loose. I can't see how you could get any snare response.

[eyedrum]

Hey Veg,

I personally love the sound of Black Beauties and I'm currently looking for one to compliment my 6.5x14 Supra. The stock Ludwig batter head is not that great but it is decent. The reso head is very nice and very thin. I really like that head.

I'd switch out the batter to a head of your choice and tune it somewhere around medium to medium/tight. These are warm sounding drums and with the more rounded bearing edge than both of your metal drums, you may not want to crank it quite as high.

Good luck and nice grab on the BB.

[ZildjianEvans]

Wow I have never heard anyone give a Black Beauty a bad review. I have played a black beauty and it was the best snare I had ever played. Leave the stock reso and get Evans Genera HD Dry and leave the snare it came with. Bllack Beautys only use certain snares. Ok then tune the head kinda lloose not very tight, cuz this is the snare you want to sing. Tighter than a tom head but lighter than a snare head, tune it just in between those two. After this you should have the snare singing beautifully.

[veggyboy]

Well, here's the latest my fine-feathered friends:

I must admit, this drum is really starting to open up, even with the stock heads (Ludwig coated medium batter/Ludwig weathermaster snare-side).

I do plan on putting on a coated dotted head (either Remo or Evans), which is what I normally use, but IMO, with the stock heads, the drum seems to sound best with the snare-side head a little tighter than the batter head. The overall pitch of the drum is around G#.

The drum has a nice, slightly dry crack with a beautiful brassy controlled ring, especially when hit between the edge and center. Although this is true with any snare drum, it just seemed to be even more noticeable (in a good way) with this drum. I absolutely loved playing this snare with brushes and ProMark's Rods.

Sorry about the initial shock of my "negative review", but with a little tuning right out of the box, I still stand by my statement that I wasn't blown away. Maybe the stock heads just needed to seat for a few days.

[philthy]

some people look for a particular sound whether it be a fat, wet pop or quick high picthed crack and there are snares on the market which can articulate those sorts of sounds. the BB in my opinion is a versatile snare for all around use which is possibly a reason why you weren't "blown away" - I don't believe that it possesses any overly distinct sound characteristics like above.

[veggyboy]

"The drum has a nice, slightly dry crack with a beautiful brassy controlled ring" -

I meant it sounds this way NOW with the way I currently have the stock heads tuned.