Just This Moment I Have Purchased A Black Beauty

Bruce M. Thomson

Gold Member
Just noticing that there is no serial number or any type of sticker inside; it is a 2012 model. Should I be concerned? This was a private sale and the seller drove 60 miles south to deliver it to my work place, I paid extra for this, anyway it was a wham bam thank you mam kind of process. I'm sure it is OK but when you part with that kind money you always have a few concerns.
Other than that I can't wait to take it out on my jam tonight.
 
Just noticing that there is no serial number or any type of sticker inside; it is a 2012 model. Should I be concerned? This was a private sale and the seller drove 60 miles south to deliver it to my work place, I paid extra for this, anyway it was a wham bam thank you mam kind of process. I'm sure it is OK but when you part with that kind money you always have a few concerns.
Other than that I can't wait to take it out on my jam tonight.


Awesome snare. As long as it is real, I wouldn't sweat the sticker. Which badge / lugs are on it? Don't forget to lube the P85.

Peace and love.
 
Awesome snare. As long as it is real, I wouldn't sweat the sticker. Which badge / lugs are on it? Don't forget to lube the P85.

Peace and love.

Tube lugs; gold, very tiny badge.
Looks real enough and in mint condition.
I am very happy. Thanks for the tip on the P85, I should do the same for my Venus model as well.
 
I believe the stickers were implemented in late 2012, they were definitely in place by 2013. The retro badges were introduced on the metal snares at the same time, they were basically leftover Legacy badges after the cast badge was introduced for that series.

The small badge is a great old school look, especially on Supras, although a bit out of place on Black Beauties, which didn't exist during the period that particular badge was "current" in the '60s.

Bermuda
 
I believe the stickers were implemented in late 2012, they were definitely in place by 2013. The retro badges were introduced on the metal snares at the same time, they were basically leftover Legacy badges after the cast badge was introduced for that series.

The small badge is a great old school look, especially on Supras, although a bit out of place on Black Beauties, which didn't exist during the period that particular badge was "current" in the '60s.

Bermuda

Thank you Bermuda; It is in mint condition and the price was very good for these parts and it was worth paying the extra to have it hand delivered to me. I like the look, very clean.
On another note I have been applying one of your suggestions on my other snares; newspaper; works very well. Such a simple thing to do.

Cheers
 
Ummm, newspaper? Not me...

Bermuda
 
First off I would make sure there is no weld on the inside of the shell.
Did you pop the hoops and see if there is any damage to the bearing edges? (Batter and resonant)
third did you sit the drum on a flat surface with the hoops off to see if it sits flat and it doesn't rock? very important, if it doesn't depending how out of true it is, it will make tuning very difficult. If all this checks out its a good buy. congrats and God bless.
 
Ummm, newspaper? Not me...

Bermuda

Sorry, must have been something I saw in a thread. I put a square piece of newspaper on the snare, it gives a nice fat sound.
You recommended buying a new head and cutting it out in to a 13" circle to also achieve a unique sound. It must have been from that thread.
 
First off I would make sure there is no weld on the inside of the shell.
Did you pop the hoops and see if there is any damage to the bearing edges? (Batter and resonant)
third did you sit the drum on a flat surface with the hoops off to see if it sits flat and it doesn't rock? very important, if it doesn't depending how out of true it is, it will make tuning very difficult. If all this checks out its a good buy. congrats and God bless.

Thanks, it is good to go. Early Christmas for me.
 
Sorry, must have been something I saw in a thread. I put a square piece of newspaper on the snare, it gives a nice fat sound.
You recommended buying a new head and cutting it out in to a 13" circle to also achieve a unique sound. It must have been from that thread.


On a BB, you can tame the offensive overtones by tuning it. If it howls, the top head is probably not in tune with itself.

I'd recommend picking up a dampening ring rather than using tape/paper/gel as the dampening is more uniform. Remember that the appeal of this particular snare is the overtone it generates. The other form of dampening for a BB is wallet dampening, since you probably paid ~ $500-ish. Simply place your now-empty wallet on the batter head.
 
The retro badges were introduced on the metal snares at the same time, they were basically leftover Legacy badges after the cast badge was introduced for that series.

That makes me curious though. Did none of the Legacy Keystone badges have s/n's?

The only non serial number BB's I was aware of were the B-stock drums with the cut B/O badges. Man, Ludwig sure don't like making it easy for a guy to figure out exactly what he has.


Confusion aside, excellent sounding drums. Absolutely love my BB. I'm confident the OP will too. Enjoy!!
 
I would tune top head and bottom even pitch, tighten the snares a bit and make sure you wear a bib. You will get a snap just off center. And it will crack when you hit a bit further away. That's how i tune my 6.5" Bronze sensitone and it sounds awesome. It really gives when I tune it like that.
 
On a BB, you can tame the offensive overtones by tuning it. If it howls, the top head is probably not in tune with itself.

I'd recommend picking up a dampening ring rather than using tape/paper/gel as the dampening is more uniform. Remember that the appeal of this particular snare is the overtone it generates. The other form of dampening for a BB is wallet dampening, since you probably paid ~ $500-ish. Simply place your now-empty wallet on the batter head.

Ha Ha..... I played it last night with a bit of gel and without; good all around.
The newspaper thing is a trick they used on R & B sessions, it creates a different tone, a fat sound.
 
I would tune top head and bottom even pitch, tighten the snares a bit and make sure you wear a bib. You will get a snap just off center. And it will crack when you hit a bit further away. That's how i tune my 6.5" Bronze sensitone and it sounds awesome. It really gives when I tune it like that.

Cheers; love the range of tuning.
 
Thanks for all of the comments; I kind of feel like I have now joined a club or something. I played it last night and one surprise for me; besides all of the obvious benefits ,is that it kind kept me in reign. Not that I flail all over the place usually but it I felt more in control over the whole kit and it also made the kit sound better. Sort of like if you hit once, why hit it again unnecessarily.
I am very pleased, and oh yea, it defiantly is a Beauty.

Cheers
 
I want one...............

.
 
I want one...............

.

It is so worth it. The stores here in Toronto, and I checked, are out of stock so when I saw this on KIJIJI I knew I could not hesitate. The price was so good that even the extra $50 I paid to have the seller deliver it to me made sense.
With the Canadian dollar taking a dive and then the shipping,duty and tax, shopping from EBay is not an option. I got lucky for sure.
 
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