Weren't those Dept.of Ed. drums unplated ludalloy and not chromed?

Steve B

Yes Acrolite. as long as I have been around I should know better. Anyway I am picking up the drum in a couple hours and will post a pic. This guy got this stuff from a estate sell and really doesn't know what he has. He was so focused on the snare and bass drum that when I was there yesterday I got late 50's early 60's era 19" Avedis Zildjian Crash/Ride, 16" Avedis Zildjian Crash, 14" avedis Zildjian Hi hat cymbals. all in great condition. He was calling them, no name cymbals. So I just sat them aside after I saw the stamps on them. 2 unkown cymbal stands, snare stand, old Gretsch Hi hat stand which I posted in another thread. Going to sell that if anyone is interested. A cow bell, brushes, music stand, old practice pad on stand, old throne, and nice fibre trap case. Basically the trap case and it's contents. I didn't go for the snare and bass drum yesterday but decided to go ahead and pick them up today. Also a speed king.

Here are some pics. The only thing on the inside of the drum is a round blue Ludwig sticker that says, Reliable playing process, then Ludalloy, and Corrosion Resistant, then Anti Galvanic Finish. The Ludalloy is spelled in the 70's logo style. Silver and gold keystone badge with no serial number.

I am thinking 70's now because of the Ludalloy spelling and the snare throw off and round muffler and knob. Maybe later? It's a nice drum. Just never saw a chrome 10 lug 6 1/2"x14" Acrolite.

[IMG]http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l37/1vibes/CYMBALS%20%20Misc/IMG_3854.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l37/1vibes/CYMBALS%20%20Misc/IMG_3856.jpg[/IMG]

Very nice! I think it would more accurately be termed a Supraphonic rather than Acrolite, regardless of the lug type, due to the chrome plating.

I suspected it was a later model after I got it home and really inspected it.

I wonder why they did not use the Imperial lugs? But it is a Supra then. ohhh on a sad note remember that nice old radio king tom I had. Sold it on ebay to a guy that it matched his set, and it was crushed and destroyed by USPS on it's way to California. Said it probably got caught in the conveyer. Both the buyer and I were really upset. Thank goodness I insured it, for not near enough, but what a waste.

my eyes arent the best. but, right before the move to monroe,84 or so, they produced some supras with bowties and chicago keystone badges. the badge looks to read chicago when i blow it up. this is most likely one of those drums.

mike

ps-i also think they were no serial numbers on most of those badges. i have read that it was some type of anniversary drum but i cannot verify that.

i suspect a 80's snare due to the badge and the muffler. i think someone switched the lugs too.

i just might be interested to buy or trade if it will clean up well. shell looks pretty scuffed. keep me in mind.

Uncle Mike is as right as rain on all counts! I had the 5" version of the same drum. (A 'super-sensitive' with 10 bowties) They only made those in 1984 right before the move to Monroe. (see photo of my snare...)

If I had known the "keystone" badge was Monroe style and not a 60's keystone, we could have solved this mystery sooner! As you can see, I own one of these. I thought we were talking 60's keystone... I was thinking the same way Mike Curotto was; that the drum was an oddball NYC Board of Ed model. I was in the wrong decade!

John

Yes, after looking closely it does say Chicago U.S.A. at the bottom of the badge. So you think 1984 and some type anniversary model. Like I said I got this from a guy who had bought a lot of stuff from a estate sell. The name on a old drum bag was Ed Cama. anyone heard of him?

Drummerfish it is just the pic. Had smudges and fingerprints on it. A few slight little scratches but not through the chrome. It is actually in very very good condition. It's going to clean up beautifully. No dings,rust, or anything I can see on the shell. There is just a touch of rust on the bottom rim but that will be gone this morning with a dab of my cleaner. I will take it apart and give it a proper cleaning when I can. I did not own a deep shell snare so may hang on to this one. Not sure. Thanks Mike and all for nailing this drum down. The seller was telling me it was a 60's model so I may have said that at first, then when I got it home I realized that was not the case but still this is a really nice drum.

Also upon some more research this morning I read where a person bought a Ludwig Anniversary Set in 1984 and this exact snare came with the set. All the other drums had serial # but like this one his snare did not. Had the Chicago badge, Chrome,bowtie lugs,Ludalloy, and was 6 1/2"x14". He was trying to find info on it in 2007.

Vibes if it will help this is a 6 1/2 x 14 snare that came with a Phaser Eleven kit I ordered from the 75yr Anniversary Ludwig Catalog.Page 17.

This snare has a large Keystone badge with "made in Chicago" at the bottom of the badge but no serial#s. All other drums have large keystone badges with serial#s and made in Chicago on them so I can only assume these kits were a last batch of badges used while moving to Monroe N.C.

I have been researching this snare for a long time and have come up empty. I would Hold onto this snare as it seems to be a fairly uncommon 6 1/2x 14 Supraphonic snare 1984 with Bowtie/Acrolite lugs with no serial numbers.

This snare sounds really good playing classic rock. TOM