Dude....I dont think the drum was messed with. I think thats just how it got assembled at the factory. Sometimes, at the end of a production run, their parts estimation wasnt quite right, and they ran out of some parts and had extras of another. To make the last legs of the run, alot of companies simply used what they had, even if they werent "stock" for that particular drum. I've seen this happen time and time again, and with EVERY drum manufacturer.

Beautiful snare, Adam! Yeah...hard to tell if that is the way it left the factory or not, but you hear of stuff like that happening all the time. The strainer is a P-83, right? If you want to trade your chrome P-83 for my nickel P-83, I'd be into that. I picked up a 63 Acro with no strainer (but has factory crimped snare beds) and all I had was a nickel one, which works great, by the way. Just an offer...

Don't touch that drum. That Chrome Over Brass P-83 and butt plate is original to the drum. For my money, the brass P-83 is, still to this day, the best throw-off anybody ever designed. Simple, functional and reliable. That's about all any drummer can ask of a piece of equipment.

Your drum is original, you don't need to change a thing. Swapping out the original strainer and butt plate can only decrease it's resale value in the future. Once altered... no more 'original'.

Nice drum.

John

This is the most likely scenario. I would tend to the tension rods however. They might clean up but the bottom ones look quite rusty. I would try to get them replated. Mike Curotto routinely has hardware replated, even on really old drums and there is no ding on the value that I have ever seen.

I wouldn't worry about the strainer and butt unless you can find the exact strainer and butt in nickle. There were subtle changes in the p-83 over the years so you would want one that had all the same details and was in the same condition as the rest of the nickle parts so it would not be noticeable as having been changed. That might be hard to do so I would just leave it. If they are rusty then it might be worth replacing the correct part in nickle.

Yeah, rods need help. Im gonna see what I can do about that. Not sure that id pay to re chrome them. Other than that...cleaning/polishing the nickel, the interior, and the wrap will be all this drum needs.

Now. I got a clubdate 12/20 with this drum as well. Wait till you see the crazy condition those shells are in....and I don't mean good. The wrap+badges are near mint...the shells WOW. Walking dead zombie mold rot piles.

Ill need to start a new thread on this one. It's insane.

-Adam

nickle plating is cheaper than chrome plating. If you clean the rust off of them, they will be unprotected and will continue to rust.

Yeah....at that point I'd almost find correct rods on eBay or through the forum. What's a ballpark price for replating?

-Ad

Well, good news! The interior of the snare is awesome! It escaped the fate of the others somehow. The screws and washers have a healthy amount of rust, but nothing else does. The lugs are in killer shape so there is no need to remove them...Im just going to leave the interior screws and washers alone as a testament to what this thing has escaped! No re-ring separation. Shell as solid as (a plied drum) can be! The wrap looks new, and the throw and butt escaped the rust demons as well. I just novused the shell and wiped out the interior a little/gave the lugs a wipe down and it is lookin sexy. Stoked.

Got the rods soaking in coke. I think I am going to put them aside and keep them for a potential future buyer...maybe they'll wanna re-plate them...or maybe I will sometime if I get the chance..., but ill put some freshies in there for playing. New coated embassador is waiting to be put on. No rust on the hoops. Im lovin this thing!

-Adam

Oh yeah....it measures 5.5 deep too...which is pretty rad.

-Adam