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1960 ludwig Transition Badge Pioneer. Last viewed: 23 hours ago

Posts: 444 Threads: 82

Hey Guys

Just picked up a transition badge Pioneer in WMP today.

I was only able to play around with it for a few minutes before I had to leave the house but man is it cool! First impression is it is very mellow and not loud which is what I have been looking for.

I bought it from the original owner. The gentleman went with his Grandma to the music store to buy it for his birthday when he was in 5th grade. It has a few dings on the hardware but considering it is almost 60 years old and lasted him all through his school years it is in great original shape. The WMP has just a slight amount of yellowing. It has been sitting in the canvas carry case it was bought with for years. The WFL stand was also part of the original purchase.

It is stamped Sept 20th 1960 inside and also has 5X14 written in what looks like maybe chalk. Not sure as I did not take the heads off. The throw off is very positive and smooth. I think it is chrome hardware instead of nickle. A magnet does not stick to the top hoop. The magnet didn't stick to the bottom hoop on the flange away from the drum but did stick to the part of the hoop that covers the drum head collar. Weird, maybe the bottom head collar is steel and attracted the magnet through the hoop.

The gentleman said the heads are original. I do not know what head is on the batter. It has stripes in it and the logo is faded. The snare wires are original and in great shape.

More to come as I play it and look it over more.

Posted on 8 years ago
#1
Posts: 444 Threads: 82

A couple of pics.

Notice the stripes in the top head.

Posted on 8 years ago
#2
Posts: 617 Threads: 7

Nice looking drum! It appears the original owner took good care of it.

Posted on 8 years ago
#3
Posts: 6170 Threads: 255

Beautiful drum. It does appears to be all original from what I can see. Those would have been Playon plastic heads. That date is a late one for a transition badge drum as well. To my eyes, the hardware is nickel. It appears to have that golden hue. I've had a few trans badge snares in which the nickel was so nice, it was hard to distinguish from chrome.

Posted on 8 years ago
#4
Posts: 1725 Threads: 135

I have a Jan 1960 Pioneer that came with the original 1959 Playon heads. I changed them to Remo Ambassadors and then changed them straight back. It just sounds more comfortable with the old heads even though the snare side one has a small tear. Also has the same "5x14" in chalk on the inside.

Andrew

Golden Curtain
www.myspace.com/garagelandnz
Posted on 8 years ago
#5
Posts: 2010 Threads: 19

Very cool drum that is one year and two days older than I am. I'd agree with Mike that the hardware looks to be nickel. That goldish hue vs. the bluish cast of Chrome.

Chrome is actually a sort of clear coat put over nickel plate that keeps it from tarnishing, nickel is the reflective silver you see in either case but the chrome also adds the bluish tint. When you look at the tarnished nickel on an old drum you wonder why in the world someone buying a drum would opt to save just a dollar or two by getting nickel plated hardware instead of chrome but when they were brand new (or when they retain their original sheen) the nickel parts didn't look that much different. The difference being that chrome typically holds up better over time.

My first snare was a 1957 8 lug WFL in WMP (I still have it) and it still had its original Playon Plastic heads. Unfortunately, in my case, those heads were shot but I never changed them so my drum never lived up to its full potential during the time I was actually using it (I was young and spent my money on more pressing needs than drum heads). I got a Supra after a couple of years and the old WFL went into the closet for quite a spell until the vintage bug bit me hard. Later when I finally did put new heads on it I found out what I had been missing.

Posted on 8 years ago
#6
Posts: 1094 Threads: 183

Pioneers are fantastic snares.

Every Ludwig kit I have has the matching version. Priced right too.

Enjoy your drum!

Posted on 8 years ago
#7
Posts: 91 Threads: 25

From mlayton

Beautiful drum. It does appears to be all original from what I can see. Those would have been Playon plastic heads. That date is a late one for a transition badge drum as well. To my eyes, the hardware is nickel. It appears to have that golden hue. I've had a few trans badge snares in which the nickel was so nice, it was hard to distinguish from chrome.

I have a WMP 16x16 with an even later date of Nov 30/60.

Posted on 8 years ago
#8
Posts: 68 Threads: 40

Very nice drum... and I love the backstory!

Posted on 8 years ago
#9
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