I almost dare not ask, but are you talking about the snarebeds? Those are pretty normal, for a snare...

But I'm not 100% sure what you mean with the rim being flush with the bearing edges... I have an idea (of what you mean), but I'm not sure I'm correct.

Can you upload some pics?

Oh, and I'm not sure whether I'm allowed to say this (being a newbie myself), but Welcome :D

Its the bearing edge on the snare side (bottom). The bearing edge is even except where the snares cross over the bearing edge, on the strainer and butt sides. Where the snares/holder strings cross over the bearing edge, there is a dip in the bearing edge where it is lower than the rest of the bearing edge. When you tighten the drum head, the drum head does not initially make contact with the bearing edges in those spots. I makes for uneven tension. This is the first time I have seen this. All other snares I have seen did not have this dip, and had an even bearing edge all around the snares side of the drum.

Some snares don't have snare beds at all, but it surely is not a defect. Lots of them actually do have them.

Here's a picture I found (Google, who else :P) showing a snare bed that's quite profound:

http://mikedrums.com/tuning/snare.html

If this (or something like this, different companies use different widths and/or depths) is what you have, it's nothing to worry about. Snare beds are a good thing.

That's called a snare bed and it's a characteristic of almost every snare drum out there. It creates a slight curvature to the bottom head so that the snares can maintain good contact all the way across the head.

On some vintage drums, the snare bed is narrow and deep, making it visually obvious. (My 1950s Slingerland Radio King also has deep, narrow beds.) A lot of newer drums have more subtle snare beds that you might not notice unless you set the drum shell down on a perfectly flat surface and looked carefully.

It might take a little bit of time and tension to stretch the bottom head so that it conforms to your snare bed. Keep it fairly tight over a number of days, tightening periodically to take up slack as the head stretches, and that slack at the snare beds will go away. Once the head conforms, you can back off on the tension a little if desired.

Dude,

You are the man! I thought I had a defective drum, but instead I learned something. Thanks for the information and welcoming me. I am really new at discussion forums, so I still have to learn how to upload pics.

Info about my drumset:

I have an odd-shaped 18X20 50's Ludwig Aqua Sparkle 3-ply bass drum, the snare I just bought is a 50's 8-lug 5.5" X 14" Aqua Sparkle 3-ply wood snare. Both have mahogany inner plies. I am using vintage 70's Slingerland 8X12 and 9X13 toms, and a knock-off 14" floor tom. Vintage and modern zildjian cymbals. Eventually I want to replace the toms with 50's vintage ludwig toms. That era and aqua sparkle are hard to find though.

What are you playing and who inspires you?

Like Skydog says, those are snarebeds. On later Ludwig snares, they're not very pronounced--more of a gentle slant towards each end of the snare wires. Sounds like they are a bit more noticeable on your early Ludwig. Also sounds like you've got a batter head that is either a bit over sized or old & stretched--might try replacing it....marko

Hello,

Try a. Ludwig thin snare side head which has very little "collar depth" they are almost flat, which should give you some extra tensioning without pulling the hoop down so far.I have used them on deep snare beds with success and you have a Ludwig so it's a win win. Also,I haxe seen guys tension the bottom head ten use a heat gun or hairdryer ....carefully... Warm the snare bed area to help form the plastic. Good luck!