My 2021 Ludwig BB has 4 marks near edge?

D

Drum Guy

Member
Wondered what is Ludwig's warranty, 1 or 3 year or? I just took off the heads of my 2021 Ludwig Black Beauty and noticed these 4 marks (2 on one side, 2 on the other) near the batter side bearing edges as you'll see in pics...one or 2 are definitely peeling to reveal raw underneath...what are these marks?

This snare has been played maybe 4 times in my room since I bought it in Feb 2021 - never left non-smoking house, kept in climate controlled room in fleece snare bag .

looks like these are factory issues where the shell is held on a rack to dry or something?

Plus is it normal for an "A" stock to have all these internal scrapes on the nickel shell from Ludwig?

What do you suggest to do re: all this?
 

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yeah definitely looks like something that would be categorized as b-stock IMO. ..

Where did you get it ?
 
Does your drum have a keystone badge, or a blue/olive parallelogram badge?

Those marks are all things that would have a drum downgraded to B-stock status, so they're either a problem (if it's an A-stock drum) or to be expected (if it's a B-stock drum).
 
it's supposedly an "A" stock, the seller said this was done during the plating at factory...sadly 100% of all drums I buy are online, nothing near or even under 3 hours from me to view in person. This snare has the Keystone badge

so should I try to send it back, I've had it for 18 months, but Ludwig has a 3 year warranty - problem is most Black Beauties 6.5x14 are taking another year to order I see according to several dealers on reverb.
 
T_Kauff said:
Those marks are from the hardware used to hold the drum, during the plating process. sloppy workmanship. This is one of the reasons I tear down the drums I buy and inspect them.
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is it possible some BB's WON'T have these marks on them? And if I do keep this snare, is there a compound or something to spread over the raw reveal underneath a couple of the marks?
 
Those are arcing marks from the electrical contacts. All my black beauties have them to some degree. Not much you can do for those marks. Unless you take it to a professional plating house and have them replate it.
 
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T_Kauff said:
All my black beauties have those Mark's to some degree. Not much you can do for those marks. Unless you take it to a professional plating house and have them replate it.
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ahh, well thats helpful to know - so is there something I use to seal the exposed mark? Would even 3 in 1 oil rub over it be a good thing?
 
Auto motive touch up paint, industrial paint marker, model lacquer paint. Just enough to cover it. No oil, it wont rust.
 
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I did, they said thats the way all ludwig nickel plating is done, and they're asking the ludwig rep for me as to how best to cover the small raw exposed points
 
As a retired welder working with metal all my life I wouldn't even think twice about it. It's the nature of the beast
 
It looks like those places got scraped by the hooks that hold them in the plating process. If you look under the lip of a BB, you will see exposed brass from where the shell hung on the hooks.

Heck man, if it sounds good, keep it. I’d rather have a scratched up BB than just about any other snare out there in mint condition. I have two and I love them.
 
I've seen these marks on other Black Beauties for reasons others have mentioned. If these marks are not visible on the exterior of the shell, don't impact the sound of the drum, and present no problems with seating the head, then I see no need to file a warranty claim. I agree that at the price these drums are going for new, perfection is expected. But if many/most BBs show these marks because of how they are manufactured, I think it's not worth the trouble as long as you're happy with the sound.
 
It's on your bearing edge of all places, I'd be pissed. B stock prices are several hundred dollars lower, I'd consider this a cosmetic flaw and that peel will never get better...in fact, may get worst. I'd definitely push for at least a B stock price and that a coated head covered up the flaw for a start. From what I'm scanning, inside defects definitely count.
 
I bought an “A” stock pewter copperphonic online from CME. I inspected it as soon as it arrived and counted at least a dozen plating issues on the interior (a couple of them looked like serious issues that would result in finish degradation). I returned it with no problem and they sent a replacement with zero blemishes. The first drum looked worse than any “B” stock Ludwig I’ve seen in person. It shouldn’t have left the factory.
 
This is turning me off BBs I bought a new Supraphonic 402 which is cheaper than the BB and not 1 mark on it 100 percent visually perfect what WTF is going on with quality controll should of never left the factory my 2 cents worth Cheers.
 
Tiges said:
This is turning me off BBs I bought a new Supraphonic 402 which is cheaper than the BB and not 1 mark on it 100 percent visually perfect what WTF is going on with quality controll should of never left the factory my 2 cents worth Cheers.
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They could possibly have a different outside plating vender for the LM400 series me thinks ?
 
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