Many drummers are either; not at all familiar with, or intimidated by, the SS mechanisms. I think that's what accounts for fewer sales of SS snares. Nothing to do with quality, they're excellent drums. It's just picked up a reputation for being finicky (it's not,) and difficult to maintain (again, not!) Bad press mostly I think.

John

Shhhhhh! Don't let that get out. I love SS drums. They aren't finicky, sometimes the snare mechanism is hard to position in a kit.

john-I think youre right on the mark as far as reasoning behind it.

for you all that own both, do you hear a noticeable difference between the two drums? I do realize there are other factors that come into play as well. ive owned two super sensitives. sold john my blue olive model and I still have a keystone model. just wondering your thoughts on sound difference..

mike

I have a beautiful early 70's SS and love it! Yes, I really think that many drummers get intimidated by the SS mechanism and don't give it a fair chance. Once you understand how it works and how to adjust it, the drum is incredibly sensitive and sounds great! The perfect analogy is knowing how to properly setup a Rogers Dynasonic. It takes time, but really pays off! One big issue is finding a SS that hasn't been dropped and bent the mechanism! Another point to seriously consider is that if you're going to invest in an SS, then you also need to invest in a proper case to protect the drum. The best case for this drum is the 5x15 SKB. Yes, it's a bit more than $100, but will protect your SS!

-Mark

I think beyond the probability that many drummers are intimidated by a SS, you have brought up a good point. That is that the mechanism is fragile in it's design making it often problematic to travel.

The Supra has a snare bed, the Super doesn't. They play and sound a bit different to me. I played a Supersensitive for 12 years, then switched over to a Supraphonic for a few years.

I am with Bun in the opinion of they have a sound difference. I prefer the supra to the super.

May I chime in?! I have two SuperSensitive's and two Supraphonics, all of which reside in my Buddy Rich snare drum collection. Buddy played ALL of them, but preferred the SuperSensitive model, and started with the chrome, but went over to a Hammered Bronze SS, and stayed with that 'till he left Ludwig for the third and final time in 1982. I have to agree with BEC/VM2000... there seems to be a slight difference in "sound" between the two models. John is also correct in that.. set-up correctly .. the SS is a killer snare drum!, and can certainly be played/gigged every day. I have an early 1982 SS in Hammered Bronze.. ( a la BR! ) .. and have to say that after my 1967 wood/WMP Rogers Dynasonic, the Ludwig HB/SS is my 2nd favorite. Fabulous snare drums!

I'll attach a pic of my 1982 Hammered Bronze Super Sensitive. Take note of the EARLY hammering... very subtle/shallow, unlike a lot of later models where the hammer marks look like the dimples on a golf ball. Absolutely incredible sounding/playing drum!

Tommyp

I owned a 410 for a number of years, a '65 model if I remember correctly. It wasn't finicky, to me anyway, and the snares stayed put. Which is one of the cons I've heard folks mention. I think those folks either didn't have it set up correctly, or the snare mech. was worn out.

A year or so ago, I traded it away. They do indeed have their own unique sound, and it just wasn't 'me'. I prefer a number of different snares, and sound-wise, the SS just wouldn't produce it.

They are fantastic snares, don't get me wrong, it just wasn't what I was looking for. If you have an opportunity to snag one, grab it and try it out.