Dear Ludwig drum company,
Let’s be very clear. There is no more important and influential drum company than you, Ludwig. Are there more modern, streamlined companies? With a wider range of sizes, material, finishes and hardware options? Possibly, I suppose. But more recorded, emulated, revered? Hardly.
By my estimation Ludwig has made it’s legend on the backs of four particular snare drums. The Supraphonic 5X 14 (Blaine, Mitchell, Baker, Watts, e.g.), the Supraphonic 6.5x 14 (Bonham, every other rock drummer ever) and the Black Beauty are the go-to, boilerplate snares for a wide range of drummers, live and studio, amateur and professional. It’s been said that if you’re only going to own one snare drum then one of these three would certainly be a wise choice. Old one, new one, doesn’t matter. They’re extremely consistent and I would bet almost any amount of money than in a blind test very, very few drummers would be able to tell the difference between a vintage Supraphonic and a brand new one. One in a hundred maybe. (I’m hedging a bit here because it’s my personal belief that absolutely NO drummer could tell the difference between the two in a blind test.) Ludwig has been building these three drums with little or no design changes for more than 50 YEARS. That's how good they are.
But there’s a fourth snare drum that you, Ludwig drum company, seemingly refuse to acknowledge. It’s like you’re trying to pretend that the single most important drum you ever produced does not even exist.
In May of 1963 Ringo Starr took possession of his first Ludwig kit. The snare he got with that kit became his favorite snare drum. He changed kits a few times, changed cymbals now and again, maybe even changed the heads occasionally (no one really knows and if Ringo knows, he ain’t talkin’) but he used that one snare drum always. It is THE most consistent musical element in the entire Beatles catalog. The other three changed guitars and amps year to year. That one drum was on every album (save the first, Please Please Me, which was recorded with his crap Premier kit) every single, every tour, every movie, T.V. appearance, promotional video, rooftop concert, all the time everywhere always.
And so I would argue that just as the entire late 20th-century revolved around the music of the Beatles, so the music of the Beatles revolved around Ringo’s Ludwig snare drum.
And what was this AMAZING drum? It was a 5.5x 14” 3-ply shell (mahogany, poplar, mahogany) with maple reinforcing hoops as was standard on Ludwig drums of the time. It had 8 tuning lugs (as opposed the modern standard of 10) and a simple throw-off. And that’s basically it. A 5.5x 14” 8-lug, wood shell snare- in my estimation THE single most important drum that you, Ludwig, have ever produced. John Bonham’s bass drums might be second, third and fourth. Blaine’s 5x14" Supraphonic might also come in second, but by a distance.
Now, can Joe Drummer, who just wants their own version of the most important snare of all time, get one? Absolutely. He can go on eBay and, like I did, wait for a 5.5x 14 mid-sixties Ludwig snare to show up and then drop upwards of 1200 bucks and it will be all his. And good luck. It only took me about three years.
And neither he nor I, an actual Ludwig artist (my name is on your artist roster- Ira Elliot, go check) can buy a drum like this from you today. You don’t make one. You haven’t manufactured a drum with these specs since the mid-sixties. You can't special order a 5.5" shell, I've tried. Maybe if I were Bun E. Carlos or someone like that you might, I can't say. But I doubt it.
Sure, you make a “Fab 22” kit. and let's not even get into how unlike Ringo’s kit the modern version (that you likely sells a **** ton of) is, all off the good name and legendary status that Ringo and Ludwig achieved together. It’s ridiculous. Curved spurs and a shell-mounted cymbal arm? Really?
And yet there is no Ringo-style 5.5x 14, 8-lug Legacy Classic snare. It’s a travesty. It’s like you give **** zero about the legend and legacy of a man who single handedly changed the fortunes of your company virtually overnight. (That night of course being February 9th, 1964- the date of the first Ed Sullivan performance). I can't think one of one drummer who would not consider owning such a perfect instrument were it made available.
So my question is this, Ludwig drum company- What the **** is wrong with you?
Ira Elliot
Nada Surf, Bambi Kino
Ludwig endorser/fanatic
