Mine certainly has the Damen Ave. address. Thanks for that info! I was sure it was a late 50s.

Thanks for sharing the pictures.

That is also a very nice snare, of course the other one looks brand new and you probably won't find many in that condition, but I say they are both quality snares.

WFL Looks like nickle hardware and earlier than you thought. Mike thanks for enlightening me on the WFL badges. learn something new everyday.

Enjoy Cuellar23

Wayne

All Ludwigs (WFLs) of the era used the same shell. There really wasn't an "upper line" as much as an overall line. The differences were in the finishes and the number and type of lugs. A Jazz Festival (and the pre-cursors which were essentially the same drum but under a different name) was a nominally 5" deep (but ranging from a 5" to 5.5" depth) that had eight double ended "bowtie" classic lugs and a P-83 throw off with a the regular open butt. The same shell with six lugs was called a Pioneer although earlier Pioneers had slightly different throws as well.

Jazz Festivals were available with chrome or nickel hardware and in painted or wrapped finishes. The painted drums would have a maple outer ply. A wrapped JF would usually have a mahogany interior and exterior ply but either could be maple. The center ply was always poplar.

The Jazz Festival model evolved over time so there are lots of minor variations over the years. This applies to all Ludwig drums.

Now if you're asking how the Jazz fest compares to the upper line drums of other companies then that's a whole 'nother discussion which could eat up a lot of time and space.

The drum in this thread looks like quite a find. Certainly not a lot of original boxes have survived to this day.

Thanks for detailed reply!

I don't have the original box, though):

Oops, I misread that.

It's so nice I assumed it was basically new old stock in the original box.

Nice snares. I'm pretty sure the muffler knob on the WFL Super Classic is not original. Love the BDP finish, especially with nickel hardware. That WFL will clean up nice with some effort. maybe novus & car polish on the wrap, & Cape Cod cloths on the nickel........marko

What makes you think the tone knob/muffler isn't original? It does seem shinier than the nickel lugs and rims. It sure is a great sounding drum, I love it. Frankly, Ive never been much of a collector, I love old players drums. This '63 is so clean Im afraid to take it out of the house!

cuellar23, the interior shot shows what looks like a WFL/Ludwig muffler, but what you said about the knob is true--it's not nickel like the rest of the hardware. But the location is suspect, to say the least. Others may disagree, but I don't think they ever intentionally installed a muffler over the snare butt. Maybe it's there by mistake, but seems more of an owner installation. doesn't look like an original knob either, but I could be wrong........marko

I think I might of added to the confusion but I think the Jazz Fest is all correct. It is the WFL that they are talking about in which I ask to see pictures of also. 2 different snares.

Wayne