Ludwig Gold Triumphal Snare

[LM201]

It's for Ludwig's 100th anniversary.

Anyone thinking of buying it?

http://www.goldtriumphal.com/

[Alex949]

I'll take a shot in the dark and say that it'll run around 2K minimum. Looks too pretty to play, but it'd love to take a whack at it.

[bilkay]

All I can say is WOW!

[LM201]

I would kill for it.


I'm surprised this ISN'T GETTING MORE ATTENTION!!!

[rmandelbaum]

I saw it at PASIC, very pretty,

A collectors piece for sure

[zambizzi]

Oohhh...that's purdy. That's a collector's snare. I wouldn't buy something like this simply because I couldn't haul it around and play the crap out of it.

The web site is great, I really enjoyed reading the step-by-step production process.

[GRUNTERSDAD]

Unfortunately it will stay on the shelf with the 125th year Gretschs that I drooled over.
As I said in another post I don't know why they make people be millionares to celebrate their anniversaries.

[KarlCrafton]

Wooooowwwww...
What a drum.
*heavy sigh*.....

[Chonson]

Originally Posted by Alex949

I'll take a shot in the dark and say that it'll run around 2K minimum. Looks too pretty to play, but it'd love to take a whack at it.

Word on Drumsmith was that the list was about $7000 with very little margin for discount.

If you really want an AK drum (they are phenomenal; I have a Craviotto Diamond Series and it's also an AK shell) you should go through Adrian direct and save some money.

[KarlCrafton]

That Craviato Diamond snare is AMAZING!
One I drool over.
I was heartbroken when I was told the price....not saying it's not worth it, but man....

[drumtechdad]

Originally Posted by Chonson

Word on Drumsmith was that the list was about $7000 with very little margin for discount.

If you really want an AK drum (they are phenomenal; I have a Craviotto Diamond Series and it's also an AK shell) you should go through Adrian direct and save some money.

You don't save much! Amazing drums, as you can see, but don't look at the price list.







A brief pause, now, while everyone goes and changes their underwear.

[Jeremy Bender]

Wow...too bad they didn't release an anniversary snare that was actually affordable to more than just 1% of us drummers. The diamond Craviotto is less but still very expensive. I guess that's why I keep dreaming of someday owning my dream snare instead of just having it as my avatar !

[Shedboyxx]

I don't know if anyone else noticed this but....

the Ludwig Gold Triumphal has it's own web domain: http://www.goldtriumphal.com/

Sheesh.

Yes the price has got be prohibitive for most players (like me). But more than that, as another poster pointed out - where would you feel safe gigging with it? Probably just a recording session in a nice studio with heavy security. Then hardly anybody sees this wonderful piece of audio-visual jewelry. Will it sound like a $7k drum?

It's like being married to Halle Berry, dressing her in a bikini and bringing her into a bar, expecting no one to make a move while you aren't looking. The word that comes to mind is 'ostentatious'.

Beautiful drum but only of ultimate value for the Nigel Tufnel drum collector ("You mustn't touch it...NO don't look at it") :)


Jim

[Chonson]

Originally Posted by drumtechdad

You don't save much! Amazing drums, as you can see, but don't look at the price list.

The Black Beauty lists for about $900-$1000 (USD) less than the street price of the Diamond Series. (And yes, I did convert EUR to USD...)

If we're strictly going off list price the list of an AK Black Beauty is about 50% or so of the Diamond Series list.

So yes, you do save a fair amount of money -- nearly 30%.

No one ever said high end snares are cheap though. ;) (... which is why the only real model I own in this range is the aforementioned Craviotto)

Originally Posted by Shedboyxx

I don't know if anyone else noticed this but....

the Ludwig Gold Triumphal has it's own web domain: http://www.goldtriumphal.com/

Sheesh.

Yes the price has got be prohibitive for most players (like me). But more than that, as another poster pointed out - where would you feel safe gigging with it? Probably just a recording session in a nice studio with heavy security. Then hardly anybody sees this wonderful piece of audio-visual jewelry. Will it sound like a $7k drum?

It's like being married to Halle Berry, dressing her in a bikini and bringing her into a bar, expecting no one to make a move while you aren't looking. The word that comes to mind is 'ostentatious'.

Beautiful drum but only of ultimate value for the Nigel Tufnel drum collector ("You mustn't touch it...NO don't look at it") :)


Jim

You and I are entirely in agreement.

I think the 'collection' philosophy artificially pushes prices to an absurd degree. 60's Zildjians being a prime example of this, but in the guitar World, it's even more absurd. People pay £15,000 for a guitar that is ONLY fifty years old. My brother's girlfriend plays the 'Cello. Her 'Cello is worth around that sort of money, but it's well over one hundred years old - and it's an instrument she plays every day and whilst she certainly looks after it very well, it's not held in a case and never used.

Instruments are made to be played - and if they're not then - to me - there is simply no point in producing them at all. It's like the Stradavari violins that lie in display cases, but are still regarded as some of the finest ever made. Why display them? Surely they should be played? And fortunately, many of them are. When drums get into this sort of price range, I hear money hike and I hear ridiculous. I cannot justify it to anybody.

Personally I think it's an ugly drum. When I look at it I feel absolutely nothing. If I was at someone's house and they took it out to show it to me I'd feel rather embarassed for them. Big deal. I'm in no way impressed.

[RogerLudwig]

I'd love one of these, but I just read that they are going to go for 10,000 euros or about $13,000! Even after I sold my maple Dynasonic I didn't have enough to buy one of these puppies. Only 100 are being made, each one engraved with a different year for the100 years of Ludwig history. Pretty sweet if you ask me.

[bonzolead]

The snare is beautiful no doubt but it's a snare drum........PERIOD that price is way out of

line and you would not want to play it it's like a old Ferrari or Duesenberg beautiful cars but

you don't. want to drive them because they're so collectible $7000 for a snare, $15000 for a

guitar they're beautiful but they're instruments. you gotta have more money than brains IMHO

Bonzolead

Originally Posted by jay norem

Personally I think it's an ugly drum. When I look at it I feel absolutely nothing. If I was at someone's house and they took it out to show it to me I'd feel rather embarassed for them. Big deal. I'm in no way impressed.

With you there, I think they're incredibly ostentatious.

[kbconsul]

I wouldn't buy it unless I could play it first. (And, of course, had won the lottery.)

[chungiemunchin]

I saw a price tag of $7,500.00. For that price and the limited number of snare drums being made, they might as well have sent out personal invitations to the rock stars like Charlie Watts and Ringo Starr exclusively. It (the Ludwig Gold Triumphal) was certainly not meant for the struggling artists/musicians of the world. This is a snare drum, for all its' craftsmanship and price tag, meant for the elite. Don't even mistake its' target audience for anyone else but the well off.

Kind of makes it a snare drum NOT to be coveted.

Hmmm.. the gold triumphal has a poor looking throwoff.

Again, the artificiality of the price for "collectors" reasons.

Maybe if Buddy Rich used the snare for at least a half dozen appearances, or it was used on tour with Bonham.

[Chonson]

Originally Posted by trkdrmr

Hmmm.. the gold triumphal has a poor looking throwoff.

Looks to be a reproduction Ludwig Professional strainer, appropriate given what the drum is trying to recapture. I know you're a fan of the Trick strainer but it'd look way out of place on this drum. (The Dunnett would probably be a little more in tune with the vibe but not by a lot.)

Really, I don't see why this drum bothers everyone as much as it does - there's nothing about this that would have made it seem targeted at or appropriate for the average drummer:
- Brass shell by Adrian Kirchler (you're at about $1000 with that alone)
- Hand engraved
- Limited run of 100 (the sum of the last three are roughly equal to the Craviotto Diamond series - you're at $2500 now)
- Gold plated
- Vintage-style hoops
- Company 100th anniversary drum. I can't think of an "anniversary edition" drum of late that was anything but overpriced. The Pearl drum of the mid-90s was not a special drum sonically at all, and it was $1000. The Pro-Mark drum was ridiculously expensive, and they don't even make drums, just sticks... now one of the most celebrated manufacturers ever (and certainly one of the best snare manufacturers ever) does one? It's a no brainer that it'll be expensive.

$7500 is definitely pricey - market value if this wasn't an anniversary edition (but still limited) would still probably be in the ballpark of $2500-$3500 though, given Kirchler shell + engraving + gold plate + vintage-style accoutrements.

Of course it's a collector's drum. Of course it's pricey - it's targeted right at those people for whom "Ludwig, 20s-style 100th anniversary drum, shell by AK" is alone enough to guarantee a purchase, cost is no object. And I'm sure they'll move all of these by the end of the year. Really, if there are more than a handful still floating around by August I'll be very surprised.

For the rest of us, take that $7500 and spread it out... on the kit of your dreams, a couple really top-notch snare drums and some great cymbals.

(I still say - AK shells are something special, but you should go direct to him anyway and get a drum customized for you. Just be ready to wait until 2010 probably.)

[Michael G]

Sadly, these kinds of things can happen under the current management of Ludwig. It's all run by non drummers now that weren't with the company during its more drummer friendly days. The only guy left that has any connections from the old days of Ludwig is being pushed down the ladder and out of the company due to his age.

I can safely say, this is the worst anniversary snare ever made.I really hope anyone who actually CAN afford it, does not buy this beautiful piece of trash.

Originally Posted by Michael G

Sadly, these kinds of things can happen under the current management of Ludwig. It's all run by non drummers now that weren't with the company during its more drummer friendly days. The only guy left that has any connections from the old days of Ludwig is being pushed down the ladder and out of the company due to his age.

I can safely say, this is the worst anniversary snare ever made.I really hope anyone who actually CAN afford it, does not buy this beautiful piece of trash.

At least it's not as hideous as the Remo anniversary snare.
BLECK. (double bleck on the throw)


A snare that sounds, works and looks beautifully is the stunning pro-mark snare. I could almost justify $3,000 for that.
Sheer beauty.


I am not sure in this economy, a $7,500 snare is what is really needed. And IMO, the term "collectors item" indicates the value will shoot up over time. Somehow I can't imagine that luddie fetching $10,000 in 20 years. But if it gives you a warm fuzzy and you have deep pockets....go get one now.

[bermuda]

Originally Posted by chungiemunchin

I saw a price tag of $7,500.00. ... This is a snare drum, for all its' craftsmanship and price tag, meant for the elite. Don't even mistake its' target audience for anyone else but the well off.

That's correct, it is a "specialty item" according to Ludwig's GM and is not intended for everyone. The selling price of the drum is in the $7500-8000 range, worldwide (assuming that any go outside the U.S.) and dealer cost is pretty high. Unless you know a dealer who'll cut you a break - don't even expect 10% - everyone pays that price.

I've held the 1909 drum (the one in the photos) and it's a real work of art. But to be honest, I wouldn't take it out and play it. It's a collector's piece, and is intended for drummers who'll display it proudly (Bun E Carlos, Mike Curotto, etc.) and don't have to justify the expense for a drum that will see little or no use.

Bermuda

[shoedaddy]

It certainly is a, um, noticeable snare drum, but most non-drummers probably still wouldn't notice it, just as I can barely tell one guitar from another, whether it's $300 or $3,000. As a Ludwig fan, I'm all for them celebrating their past and was pleased to be able to get a new set of Vistalites last year to fulfill my own nostalgic needs.

What I'd really like to see Ludwig do, though, is start looking more toward the future. To me, they have a yawning gap in their product line between the Accents and the Classic Maples. I'm not going to spend $7,000 for a snare or even $3,000 to $4,000-plus for a Classic Maple or Legacy kit, but I might spent $2,000 for a modern Ludwig kit. I'd like to see them come out with something to compete with the Tama Starclassics, Pearl Masters, Yamaha Oak Customs, and Mapex Saturns. I had a Centennial kit briefly before I traded it back for the Vistalites. Nice kit, but still not at the level of those others. Modern features like die-cast hoops, Trick-influenced throws (as Trkdrmr pointed out--and welcome back home, by the way), and so on would be nice to see from Ludwig.

[DaveB]

I've reviewed the Remo and Promark drums and neither of them did it for me at all. The Remo drum was THE biggest PoS I've come across in seven years of reviewing drums. The Promark drum was pretty but largely impractical for day to day playing.

I have an AK gold drum sitting in my front room. It's a lovely drum, sounds just like it is intended and was $4,000 cheaper than the Ludwig model for nigh on the same thing. I did pay $4,000 for my drum and I can say for sure that I cannot see where the price is on these drums other than Ludwig getting greedy.

[Deathmetalconga]

I usually do not hold Ludwig products in high regard but that snare is one of the most stunning musical instruments I have ever seen. I thin an entire set in that style would be outrageously beautiful.