There is currently a good thread going about a Downbeat kit and the subject of Downbeat snare drums came up. I recently acquired my first ever Downbeat snare drum and I am deeply impressed with it. This drum has it all including great feel/response and real sensitivity. Awesome woody tone and it has an authoritative crack and volume for such a shallow drum. It caught me by surprise. I figured it would sound like a J-Fest with no balls. Boy, was I wrong! This is an excellent snare drum. I'd really like to hear reviews of the drum from others who own, or have played one of these killer little snares. Please feel free to post photos of your drum along with your personal thoughts/review.
Here is a blurb on the history of the drum:
"The Ludwig Downbeat Snare Drum had a varied and short life in the history of the Ludwig Drum Company. But despite it's short life, this drum has a very interesting pedigree. The origins of this beauty really began with William Ludwig and his WFL company.
In the late 40's, Be-bop was the rage and drum companies scrambled to add endorsers to their rosters. Smaller diameter drums became very popular, perhaps as a counter balance to the big kits that were used during the height of the big band era. There were Be-bop big bands, but most of the bop ensembles at the time had fewer musicians and didn't require the volume that bigger drums provided, or at least, that was the thinking.
In the late 40's, William Ludwig signed Buddy Rich to be his top endorser. Slingerland had Gene Krupa and Bill felt that he needed Buddy to compete in the marketplace. Ludwig promptly "married" Buddy with the Be-bop phenomena and in 1949, the Buddy Rich Be-bop Snare Drum was offered in WFL catalogs. The drum came in two sizes, 3 x 13 and 4 x 14. In 1951, the name of the 4 x 14 was changed to the New Compacto Snare Drum. In 1956, the drum was dropped from the Ludwig line up completely.
But in 1960, the 4 x 14 you see pictured above reappeared in the Ludwig catalogs. Called the Downbeat model, this little cupcake delivered " the goods." In production until 1970, the Downbeat was surprisingly versatile despite its smaller size. The wood shell was composed of a 3 ply mahogany/poplar/mahogany mix. At the same time, the 3 x 13 reappeared as the Jazz Combo model. This model lasted until 1970 when it was replaced by the Ludwig Piccolo Drum ( See blog dated Nov. 30th).
This particular Downbeat is wrapped in the very desirable Black Oyster Pearl covering. This, of course, is the same finish that Ringo had on his Ludwig Super Classic kit. The wrap alone increases the value of this drum immensely. But regardless of the finish, the Downbeat Snare Drum remains one of the finest 4 x 14 drums money can buy.
The book on these 3 x 13 and 4 x 14 snare drums is "still open."
Here is a shot of mine! Black Galaxy sparkle! I'm really digging it.
[IMG]http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n632/PurdieShuffle/db1_zpsc8b22b81.jpg[/IMG]
Show us your Downbeat! I'd love to see what's out there.
John
