It is the same shell, Mike, right down to the Mahogany interior ply. Here are some original markings from inside, which I won't touch. I understand the shell size (had the same thing under the wrap of a '62 parade snare I stripped and refinished), and the date stamp. Wondering when the masking tape note was attached, with the head type (he still has the calfskin head) and hardware indicated, and I wonder what "908 L" means.

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"Give him some options with the pros/cons (i.e. reduced value vs. usability) and let him make the final decision. Show him some pictures of natural and mahogany finished Jazz Festivals too."

Great advice, Tim. I will certainly do that!

yep, you can see the mahogany now. that 908L is the Ludwig part number for the drum. very neat! haven't seen one of those labels before. here is a pic from the 60 catalog that shows the drum and that part number. got to love the price!

mike

Definitely neat, Mike! What are the odds that piece of tape was stuck there in the factory as instructions for the finishers, and someone forgot to remove it before it shipped?

I haven't seen any before, so its hard to say. I would guess that it might have been put on there for the purpose of the calf heads. this was right during/after the transition from calf to plastic heads. most of what ive seen from this era that was said to be original has been the plastic heads. that would certainly explain the label's purpose. either way, its neat and I would certainly make it stay in the drum.

mike

If it were my drum....i'd play it til all the paint fell off then strip it down, clean it up and repaint as it was.

Same here!

Please leave it .

My experience is that refinished shells rarely look original, stained or not. I'd strip it it & paint it. Pretty easy to get a paint job that looks like authentic duco. Black with nickel goes with everything............marko

This might be a good idea. I remember seeing some videos on how to spray a duco pattern on shell. It involves using a lazy susan and a mounted sprayer. Blue and silver or black and gold would look great and still make it look some what original.

-Tim