they were marketed as 5". ive seen them anywhere from 5 to 5.5 inlcuding 5.25.

mike

i seem to be at a impass with some people wanting my jazzfest when they find out it a 5.5 x14 they say oh did they make that size no thaks i dont want it.

so my question is how rare is a 66 5.5x14 in champagne pearl?

i think after that year no more i thought after 64 there were far and few in between!!! oh well wait till the nam show

Well it's true that they vary from 5" up to 5.5". I've got a 5.5" from 1963. You can point any doubters to our own page

http://www.vintagedrumguide.com/ludwig_jazz_fest.htm

which has one explanation of why the sizes vary (using the older shells). My own take on this is that the 5" in catalogs was only ever a "nominal" size. Things are were never "perfectly" accurate back in those days.

In addition to the stock of older shells there might be a more subtle effect appearing. Depending on how the bearing edges were cut there could be an extra quarter inch taken off to get them just right. That's why there are intermediate sizes between 5" exactly and 5.5". Maybe Ludwig even started with shells which were slightly more than exactly 5" in the later 60s just so they had wiggle room on those bearing edges. The general trend may be for Jazz Festivals to decrease in depth over time, but there is still individual variation.

Also Bill Maley (mlvibes here, and classicvintagedrums.com as a professional seller) has given an answer to this before which bears repeating

http://www.vintagedrumforum.com/showthread.php?p=120291

And last, the mahogany/poplar/mahogany shells are said to have lasted up until I think 1968 when clear insides marked the move to inner maple: mahogany/poplar/maple. But then just as with the 5.5" shells there were old shells in stock (probably a warehouse full of stuff we would really love to have today!) to be used up. So you can always find exceptions cropping up.

1966 is the last year I've run into a 5.5 Jazz Fest. They're rare in any year.

well i took it to church today with my bd and brushes with the new head i could not believe the sound it was awesome i forgot the ht, but did not need it everyone commented on the heartbeat i gave the choir ( my daughter sang in it also shes angelic ) so i'm sort of glad i did not sell it, as even though it has cos (first run the right mil thickness ) that extra 1/2 in. on drum is awesome now when i compare it to my 63 with cob hoops same color actual 5 in. jazz there is a variation enough of one to make a big difference i think im going to put same heads wires and exact tension to see variables, hoops too! this will be interesting enough....

I once owned a 5.5" Pioneer; don't remember the date, but it was mid-60s. Lovely-sounding drum.

That one sounds like a keeper. If you do sell it, wait until you find someone who knows what a rare-bird it is, and who is willing to pay a fair price for it. You had it out for $400. I wouldn't take anything under $550 for it.

Glad to hear you're enjoying playing it. Bottom-line is, pleasing sound is what it's all about, not the $. I have recently acquired a 63' SBP pre-serial 5"x14" Jazz Fest and it makes the little hairs on my neck stand up straight every time I play it/hear it. Wonderful wood drums.

John

John thats says it best ty Gary