StaggerLee
Silver Member
Ok so the title seems pretty open ended but I want to know, what makes a Ludwig snare drum.... well a Ludwig? I mean when we say Ludwig snares most of us immediately rush to Black Beauty, Supraphonics and Acrolite, but are they really the only true Ludwig snares? Is it limited to only USA metal shell Luddys? Or even then what about wood? Aren't the pioneers and Jazz festivals very highly sought after snares? And then we go on to the Taiwanese drums they make, where even the lowly Ludwig Element snare (admitantly only during its 100th anniversary when they had the birch poplar combination which was toted as being amazing and punching far above its weight, those drums were amazing) got very favorable reviews on it's own. Not only that but we have the mysterious Carl Palmer snare that sounds FAR deeper than it's actual very shallow 3.7" depth, and the cheap but incredible sounding Supralites that are fast becoming adopted by the pros in lieu of FAR more expensive snares. Not only that, but the quality of the drums coming out from Taiwan are also suffering from FAR less quality control issues than the USA factory itself, and lets not forgot from Taiwan we are getting Black Magics, Supralites and the Artist Signature snares, all of which gaining VERY high critical acclaim. So is a Ludwig snare drum USA made, or is it the unique way that Ludwig approach making snares that makes it a true ludwig. Because from where I am standing, people can now own a genuine ludwig snare, with that special little extra something that Ludwig give its snares, for under $200 with the supralite. What do you think?