They seem rare enough around my neck of the woods....question for anybody who has played both: which sound and or play mo better ?...Ludwig standard 8 lug metal shell snares or the wood shell versions?

Hello! And pleased to make your acquaintance.

Well, I guess Bronze Strata's are 'kinda' rare, its just that I despise the 'rare' tag unless something truly is. So, 'kinda' rare to me equals 'scarce'. Which to me is a much more appropriate descriptor.

But then, what do I know! :)

As far as the Standard snares go, I own and have played both. Which would 'sound or play' better would kind of be up to the player. To me (and my aging, decrepit ears) the metal Standard snares sound very similar to an Acrolite... maybe a tad less punchy. The wood Standard snares, to me, sound like a cross between a Jazz Festival and a Pioneer . Maybe just a bit dryer than the Jazz Festival, but punchier / sharper than the Pioneer. Of course, that is with similar heads, snare wires and attempting the same tension. A lot of folks have called the wood Standard snares 'poor man's Jazz Festivals' with good reason.

Someone once told me their metal Standard snare sounded better than a Supraphonic. You may want to do what I did on that occasion. I grinned, nodded, and walked away...

Okay, I give up... here's some pictures of the Bronze Strata's. The lighting is lousy.

Fishwalz salutations! From one Greybeard to another ...I have owned so many kits ( perhaps 100 )that I cannot remember them all...many I have bought and sold on Ebay and Craigslist over the past 15 years and I will probably continue to be a trading fool until my demise. Last week I scooped a 5 piece kit of Sonor Swingers including the flat based cymbal stands for $300 and last month I found a nice blue mist 4 piece Ludwig standard with bass a drum cymbal-holder for $350. This is a good time of year to buy low. I seem to be more of a cymbal freak lately. Also I recently bought a used complete set of abused Giant Beats as well as a complete set of new Istanbul Agop Traditionals 14 hats,16,17, 20 heavy...and I have acquired 3 cymbals that were owned by Elvin Jones including a pre-split Istanbul 19" crash-ride and an early K Zildjian 20 Jazz ride. Elvins cymbals did not come cheap but they have the mojo that inspires me to spend more time on the tubs which is where we all really belong

Ahhh... mojo. That's like the smell of brewing coffee on a cold morning.

more time playing drums, yeah man, i am all about that with great brass, its a breeze

'they cal me the breeze'

ahh yes coffee ...the very reason to exist....and now out into the windy day for a walk along the river....u r right that the metal standard snare is no match for the supra, but I will go you one better. In the 6.5 inch size , the hammered drum (standard metal version ,not bronze or anything fancy) smokes the regular deep supra ....ever tried one?

Here is my recently acquired blue mist standard 13 16 22 with chrome snare...I added r new skins ( it came with the original 45 year old very dead heads) and re-glued some blue mist inlay on one hoop .that's all..... its missing the floor tom badge and has 3 replacement claws ...BUT it sounds great ... that nice round and bouncy Ludwig + British invasion sound ....the only annoyance is that the internal dampers rattle when disengaged ...but its nice to have them on so I stop and tweak the knobs every once in a while or just play louder [Attachment: 66903]

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[Attachment: 66907](-: ...oh yeah and I bought the whole kit with Ludwig flat based snare stand , hat stand, cymbal L arm and a smooth old speed king for $350...which was the full asking price!!

Those are nice drums! I have a set and IMO, they sound great! after removing the dampers. What is the kit lurking in the background?