Ludwig Supra, Keystone Badge, late 1967 to early 1968.

Your looking at mid 1968. your drum is a ludwig 14x5 supraphonic and in decent shape to boot. value beteween 275/325 it's mising it's baseball bat muffler. easy part to find. and with a good cleaning i would say around 400 i hope this helps

Not an era correct strainer, but a replacement that would have required no modifications to the shell. Universally praised as one of the greatest snare drums ever!

I'm questioning the authenticity of the date of this drum. Yes it does have the correct holes for a "baseball bat" muffler, but......those were all done in 1967, not 1968. Also, the badge grommet is not correct. Ludwig NEVER used a badge grommet like that. Seems to me that someone has replaced the badge at some point in its life, along with the strainer. This drum is probably older than we think it is, somewhere between 1964-1967. Look to see if there is an ink stamping on the inside of the shell with the date.

Still, its a great sounding drum and it IS a supraphonic, just not as late as everyone is saying it is.

Guys, this is how an original "correct" unmolested 1968 Supraphonic should look. This is one of my own snares and its been in my family since new. Note the style of the badge grommet, the large round knob muffler, the script style butt, the P-83 throw-off, the script style snare wires, and the chrome-over-steel hoops.

The drum in question above shows a wear through spot on one of the hoops that appears to be brass underneath the chrome. Ludwig stopped doing that in early 1967, so this drum is clearly earlier than 1968, and it has been messed with, like most have been over the years. Great gigging drum, but not much value to a collector unless all the issues with it are corrected, which can get expensive. P-83 throw-offs are going through the roof now and baseball bat mufflers aren't too far behind. And lastly, finding the correct numbered badge and grommet may take some time, not to mention the special tool needed to stake it properly using the sleeve on the back of the grommet for the thin shell.

Thanks to all who replied. I removed the badge at one time for shell cleaning. I guess I trashed the original badge/hole grommet while doing so. I replaced it with an aluminum hole grommet. I did not mess with the strainer. That is the way it came from the pawn shop. I payed $50.00 for this drum back in the 80's. I would like to find the correct badge/hole grommet to properly affix the badge to shell. Right now it spins around. It is the original badge from the drum. I made sure to keep it on the correct drum. I would like to find the original muffler and strainer parts to put in original shape. Appreciate any help with finding the original parts.

Thanks

This ebay seller is one that Jerry and I have used with good results. Here's the link to the grommet. http://cgi.ebay.com/Ludwig-Badge-Grommets-Brass-Keystones-/370451307950?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item56409e5dae

Darn good seller there............

AAA+++ !!!!

Luddie is correct the grommet is a slingerland repro, also the p-85 is not era correct as already mentioned also the top and bottom rims are different era's take a magnet and test the top is brass the bottom is steel ? just a guess? it's still a supra! one of the greatest of all time!