My 1962 Ludwig Jazz Festival factory failure. Joke's on me I reckon.

[daledrums]

Based on something I recently read somewhere, in this post I think I may be pointing out some not all that uncommon construction anomalies with my 1962 Ludwig Jazz Festival snare that’s been in my possession for well over a year already(!)

I hope I am!

After disassembling a bit to do some cleaning I noticed that my bowtie lugs are visually offset towards the snare side, as is the vent hole.
(Well I actually noticed it prior to disassembly)
We’ll get back to that…

I could also never get a good fix on shell depth in the assembled state. Wasn’t 5” but it also didn’t seem to get out to 5.50” either.
So, with rims, tension rods and heads out of the way, I had some measuring to do, right?

My shell is indeed 5.25, or ~1/4” (.25) short of 5 1/2” and it appears lug mount and vent holes were positioned and drilled for a 5 ½” shell.
Measuring the distance from both bearing edges to the end of the lugs the difference averages, call it .40.
Suffice to say that, roughly, were the shell the full 5 1/2", I wouldn't be submitting this post.

What I had read on another forum is that during the transition in the early 60s from the 5 1/2 length to 5" some varying length shells were flying around on the production floor. In my case drilling was setup for 5 1/2 shells when my "shorty" showed up.
And my shell HAD to have been built a 1/4" too short as there is no evidence to suggest some other post shell lay-up weirdness went on.
For instance, both of my reinforcement rings are of equal width.

The error IS visible in the attached shots, sadly from the Reverb sale from which I bought.
Maybe I'll write Ringo and he'll give me $25,000 for it eh? LOL!!

[3pearlkits]

Interesting!

I don't get though why you feel the joke is on you?
The "error" is noted and seems well enough documented to be able to find, and your snare fits in with what's being said.

Does it play fine?
Does it sound "odd"?
Did you pay to much?
Did you not get what you thought you were getting?

[Rotarded]

I'll throw in my two cents here. I have a couple Transition snares (1958 and 59). I am also familiar with the WFL drums that came before. One thing that struck me after seeing your post it that your drum was made right at the beginning of the introduction of the shell interiors being painted white. Prior to that all the shells were labeled by size with chalk on the interior (picture attached). It doesn't really surprise me to think that the change would create some anomalies. Also, I do know that there are many drums with off center badges as well, indicating the lack of use of a jig. Since your shell falls in between the "standard" 5 and 5.5, my guess is that there was little chance that it was going to be drilled correctly.

[dale w miller]

Wow. Could this be a fake?

[Rotarded]

Wow. Could this be a fake?

As a seasoned Ludwig Collector, and part time historian, I see nothing at all that would lead me to believe that this is not a from the factory authentic drum.

[daledrums]

The only “joke” I’m implying is that I bought an incorrectly manufactured snare, failing to see the error with photos right in front of me that showed it.
Since I’m more or less stuck with it, it’s beginning to grow on me.
;-)

[3pearlkits]

The only “joke” I’m implying is that I bought an incorrectly manufactured snare, failing to see the error with photos right in front of me that showed it.
Since I’m more or less stuck with it, it’s beginning to grow on me.
;-)

That's a pretty cool outcome then.

How do you join the PDF in 2003 and only make 13 posts by 2020 ( and 2 of them are in this thread)?
That's not even 1 per year...

[daledrums]

I’ve actually heard this before(!). Which is kind of funny (too me at least).
I guess I only come back as Pearl information may be needed,...and though I HAVE gigged on Pearl drums (mainly on an MHX kit I’m selling) with just a bit more frequency that my old Slingerlands, newer Ludwig Custom and Legacy Classics I’m obviously not exclusively a Pearl person.
Lastly I find that like any group or “club”, forums have a way of becoming cliques with self-appointed experts wondering about dispensing their “expertise” (many times from Ma’s basement) to the rest of the group, which is always a struggle. You see, I’m a bit older and so need that crap like a hole-in-the-head if you catch my drift.
So, respectfully as possible, I get in, say hello, ask what I need to, and get out!
;-)

[dale w miller]

I’ve actually heard this before(!). Which is kind of funny (too me at least).
I guess I only come back as Pearl information may be needed,...and though I HAVE gigged on Pearl drums (mainly on an MHX kit I’m selling) with just a bit more frequency that my old Slingerlands, newer Ludwig Custom and Legacy Classics I’m obviously not exclusively a Pearl person.
Lastly I find that like any group or “club”, forums have a way of becoming cliques with self-appointed experts wondering about dispensing their “expertise” (many times from Ma’s basement) to the rest of the group, which is always a struggle. You see, I’m a bit older and so need that crap like a hole-in-the-head if you catch my drift.
So, respectfully as possible, I get in, say hello, ask what I need to, and get out!
;-)

You figured that out quickly and early on.

Seriously, I’ve seen what you’re talking about and I’ve seen it evolve a lot over the years. The energy of this place was much different then. The maturity level in particular is what I’m talking about. It was more amusing then, but it was also extremely aggressive and uncomfortable at time.

[3pearlkits]

I’ve actually heard this before(!). Which is kind of funny (too me at least).
I guess I only come back as Pearl information may be needed,...and though I HAVE gigged on Pearl drums (mainly on an MHX kit I’m selling) with just a bit more frequency that my old Slingerlands, newer Ludwig Custom and Legacy Classics I’m obviously not exclusively a Pearl person.
Lastly I find that like any group or “club”, forums have a way of becoming cliques with self-appointed experts wondering about dispensing their “expertise” (many times from Ma’s basement) to the rest of the group, which is always a struggle. You see, I’m a bit older and so need that crap like a hole-in-the-head if you catch my drift.
So, respectfully as possible, I get in, say hello, ask what I need to, and get out!
;-)

Haha, I wasn't really expecting an answer, it was more like an observation out loud.
I get it, I'm in my late 50's.

More often than not, I'm only found in the vintage section, trying to help people...