I'm not a Supraphonic or Super Sensitive expert. I have a 1966 Supra and I actually just picked up my first 1965 Super Sensitive last week.

Based on my limited exposure to compare the two, I can initially say wire choice makes a big difference. My Supra has Puresound Super-32's and the Super Sensitive has original Ludwig 10 strand individual adjustable wires. My Super Sensitive has a very dry sound, but it's very "sensitive". The wires extend over the entire resonant head surface and can be individually adjusted to just touch the head surface. Plus the individual wire adjustment allows you to tweak any single strand that is tighter or more loose than the other strands.

The Super Sensitive was marketed towards orchestral musicians, because of the many wire options, the ability to fine tune the sensitivity and the easy of quickly changing between snare types. There were multiple types of snares available; 10 strand wire, 15 strand wire, 18 strand wire, 24 strand wire, 10 strand gut, 6 wire/4 gut strand, 9 wire/6 gut strand, Nylon strand and Nylon-Wire strand.

I'll defer the rest to the experts.

-Tim

I think Tim hit the nail on the head with his assessment of the Supersensitive snare drum. I've got a very nice mid-70's SS, with all parts in excellent condition and great alignment. Just changing from the original wires to Puresound makes a very noticeable difference in tone.

The only real downside to an SS is that it doesn't take well to rough treatment...especially during transport. The drum will only sound as it should when the SS mechanism is setup properly and nothing is damaged or bent.

Mark

Thanks, idrum4fun. I've been thinking about getting some of the PureSound wires too.

Yes, the Super Sensitives can be tricky, if the plastic cam bushings are worn, the entire mechanism is out of alignment or the drum was dropped.

Here's a thread/discussion that explains how to properly setup a Super Sensitive snare: http://www.vintagedrumforum.com/showthread.php?t=29519

-Tim