The chrome on Supraphonics from the 1960's seem to hold up better than the ones from the 1970's I've noticed.....maybe there was a change in the chrome plating process or maybe there was a change in the plating company? Anyone know for sure?

The U.S was pumping out amazing stuff in the 50's and early 60's. It slowly started to calm down when it hit the 70's. I'm sure Ludwig was making so many drums by the 70's that the quality level dropped a little(Maybe spending less on certain things like chrome plating??). Who knows? All I do know is part of the reason why both 70's and pre-70's drums do so well. Is because they were made so well at the time.

I have two supras, one is a '66 5x14, the other is a 6.5x14 from the 70s. They're both in stellar shape (bought em secondhand of course). The one thing

I did notice is that on the bearing edges a little chrome has chipped off of both.

On my NOB 5x14 20s snare, on the other hand, the plating is immaculate, but maybe nickel has a better bond?

-C

I've owned three 70s Supra's and none had pitting. From what I understand, Ludwig had them plated by different vendors, who had their own methods. I've just been lucky I guess!

You hit on it, brass would be a much better metal to plate to.

That's also why a bunch of the older lugs get so much pitting because pot metal is just a blend of what they had to melt and cast, and even today, coming back and trying to plate those old things is a challenge.

You have to be able to run a certain amout of electricity through the part to get it to plate well, pot metal cranked too high will literally melt, I'm sure Ludalloy is the same way.

Ludwig-Dude - My best friends family was in the plating business for years, you could be right that they may have changed platers, or had such a demand that they used a few platers. In my friends shop, there was only a couple of guys that could run the lines to perfection all the time, they just had a feel for the parts. It's a science and an art at the same time for sure.

my 71 402 looks like the day it was made.. and i love it ..

Here are my Supraphonics. According to their serial numbers, the Keystone is from 1966 and the B/O is either a '78 or '79. The '66 has a P-83 strainer and the '78/79 has a P-85.

The 1966 looks like it has been through hell. There is so much pitting its crazy. That's not dust in the photo. The drum is actually pretty clean and rust free. Pitted to hell, though. It definitely wont win any beauty competitions, but it sounds perfect. I dont know if weather is a significant factor in the pitting of a drum, but in the Northwest it is usually humid and we get tons of rain. Maybe this drum would look different if it were located in another part of the country for the last 40 years.

The '78/79 has some pitting, but isn't quite as bad as the pics shows. Unlike the '66, much of the chrome is in good shape.

They should sound identical, but the '66 sounds so much better. It just has that perfect solid snare sound. No fussing, very easy to tune (and I never even really restored it - same heads and snare wires it had when I bought it, which likely hadn't been changed since the 70s or early 80s. And also, sometimes it sounds a bit like a wood drum, not shrill like many steel drums, but mellow and pleasing, and still bright. The only differences (other than the year) is that the Remo Amb on the '78/79 is new and it has an old Ludwig Rocker snare side head (the '66 has an older Amb snare side.)

I have two, presently. One came matched with my 1969 Jazzette -keystone badge and large rotary muffler knob and P-83. It's in very good condition after I cleaned it up. It has a few scratches here and there and a few bits of the usual Supra corrosion. Once it's cleaned, though, those corrosion marks become like pinholes -can hardly see them.

The other Supra is a pointy badge B/O from 1979 -the last year before they started rounding the corners. It was filthy when I bought it at the corner junk shop for $40, but it was all there. One of the snare wire strands is bent out of shape. Other than that, it cleaned up beautifully and looks almost brand-new now. The filth must have preserved the chrome finish! Even the badge doesn't have a mark on it and sits completely flat against the shell! It has the black-faced P-85.

To me there's a slight difference in tone between the two, but they both sound like Supras -no doubt about that.

I don't really know what it is about Supras I love so much...I've played quite a few Supras over the years and I always like all of them.

Gentleman,let me first congradulate you all for owning probably THE most versatile snare shells on the planet.They are regarded in the recording industry as must-haves.If you have a pair of supraphonics and black beauties in 5 and 6.5,then you are good to go! Throw in an Akrolite just for flavor and all that's left is something from the wood department to round out the collection.

I'm a little skeptical about two identical supras(but manufactured a decade apart)sounding soooo different.If Ludwig has used the same consistant shell processing on these models then things like heads/strainers must make up for the difference,no?

OK-just got the scoop on cn679s' comment on the difference in sound.He is using the SAME head since the 70s?Now were getting somewhere!BTW,during the recording of Third Eye Blinds' debut album,a particular snare was used that their drummer loved and is evident in the recordings.During the end of the album he drove the stick through the head.All attempts in replacing the head could NOT duplicate the original sound!The studio tech was ****ed as hell-and I don't blame him.He sold the snare.....If you love the sound-don't mess around.