What makes Ludwig snares so great?

JimmyM

JimmyM

Diamond Member
I don't mean that in a snarky way, either. The title was total clickbait. I am in love with Ludwig snares just like most of the free world. I thought I'd be so cool showing up here a couple months ago with limited skillz and a killer vintage Standard to make people think I knew something, and everyone on here has at least one killer vintage Ludwig, and some of you have a couple dozen. Oh well...

But what amazes me is how in every single category of snare across the board, everyone has fantastic snares, but there are only a handful of snares that have woken me out of a stupor...all Ludwigs. King daddy of them all was a 6 1/2 x 14" newish Black Beauty with whatever type of shell's the most common. It was supplied on a road gig a few years back, and you get some good snares from backline companies but never a BB. It's the only snare I've ever heard that was as good as mine, and I prefer wood shell snares. And it doesn't seem to matter when they were designed...for my money, they've consistently made the best sounding snares in every shell category, and in most price categories. Price of admission to the club isn't bad at all if you're a smart shopper. I got mine free for Christmas when I was 7. Doubt you'll do that well out there :D but there's bargains.

YMMV, and I'm sure it does, but at the very least, we can agree that they've set many standards for snare drums and they're almost required when you show up to a bigtime master session for hire. So what is it about the construction of them that makes them stand out so much? What's the secret sauce? Is there a certain tonality they try to get out of every drum? I don't know if bearing edges have a lot to do with it, but other companies use their bearing edges, too. Often very similar construction methods, too. They make some great snares, but Ludwigs just have that little something. How do they get to it?
 
I don't rightly know.

It could be imprinting beings as Ludwig were among the first commercially available snare drums.

Like if CB700 steel snares were first, would we be chasing that tone? I'm going with yes. Imprinting is powerful.
 
larryace said:
I don't rightly know.

It could be imprinting beings as Ludwig were among the first commercially available snare drums.

Like if CB700 steel snares were first, would we be chasing that tone? I'm going with yes. Imprinting is powerful.
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That could very well be.

First mover advantage can be critical in the business world. It would enable companies like Ludwig to establish strong brand recognition, cost efficiencies and customer loyalty before competitors enter the arena. Over the span of decades that advantage wears away a bit but it’s still a factor.
 
What makes anything so great? Desirability, promotion and the cool factor.

Imagine if Ringo and Bonzo had played Gretsch or Rogers.
 
The same coolness factor that got us a Gretsch Catalina and a Ludwig Black Beauty for church instead of a Gretsch Renown or equivalent and COB snare for the same price or less than we paid. In fact, the Ludwig snare was so cool it grew legs, danced around the church, stuck its tongue at us and went out the door when we weren't looking, leaving us with the Catalina snare. That Catalina kit fell apart fairly fast once everyone started moving them around.

Yeah, I lost that battle bad. Okay, maybe I'm still a bit sore over that ordeal!
 
I think they've just been doing it long enough that they've found designs that sound great, and just kind of work.

More technically, I think it has a lot to do with their snare bed design. It's pretty wide, and not terribly deep, but not shallow either, and it's just right in the sweet spot where the drum is super responsive, but the head doesn't have to stretch so far that it no longer makes a note (I'm looking at you, Ronn Dunnett). So you get a super fat sound since both heads are able to resonate without choking, and there's enough curve in the bottom head to make the drum incredibly sensitive.

I've played a whole lot of snare drums, but there's just something about a Black Beauty that's just kind of the best. Even my Yamaha Manu Katche isn't quite "it" even though it also sounds amazing.
 
I held off for many years as I thought it was just hype. Last year, I bought 2 in a week (BB & Supraphonic) They are everything & more that they are lauded as. It's not everyday when I think "that's a keeper for life" but, those 2 certainly are :)
 
So some of you guys think this is all in my head to a degree? You may be right. Really, as long as the drummer hits in time and knows how to tune them appropriately, I wouldn't care if they showed up with a $20 pawn shop snare. I would ask them to play mine on a session, though :D No, not really...all I'd ever do is ask them to try a lower tuning and a little muffling. Wouldn't even care if the head was old...I like old used heads.

Frosticles said:
I held off for many years as I thought it was just hype. Last year, I bought 2 in a week (BB & Supraphonic) They are everything & more that they are lauded as. It's not everyday when I think "that's a keeper for life" but, those 2 certainly are :)
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And then I read stuff like this and I think my ears are on point. I know it's not the same as getting to AB snares live, but every time I hear comparo videos with snares made in a similar way, all of them sound really great, but the BB version of it just has this little something that I love.
 
Supras and across are the most versatile off the shelf metal snares going.

You can do just about anything to them tuning wise and there's a situation it works for. Same with head and snare wire choices.

I find they really come into their own in a studio. There's a mojo they have in a mix.
 
Trigger said:
When you think of a snare drum sound, its probably coming from a song you've listened to. Drums sounded really nice in the 70s and everyone in the 70s played ludwig, so it's not that they sound amazing, its that they sound like what you think a great snare should sound like.
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I've heard people say the same thing about bass and that's why everyone thinks so highly of Fenders and Fender shaped objects, but it's just the opposite...they work for everything so people like them. The difference in drum world is that there's never been only one well-defined standard brand or style, so nobody's going to object to your snare(s) as long as it sounds good live, and probably not in most studio situations, either. Or rattles too much...that's about the only objection I've heard anyone raise, and most people don't care and some like it.

But it's not easy to have any piece of gear thought of so highly and sought after for so long, and so many drummers have them and use them on a regular basis when the competition is insane and deadly, too. That doesn't mean I won't turn on a dime when I get good enough and busy enough on drums to hit up my friends at Yamaha Guitar Group to please ask the drum division for a price on a set of RC's in Ringo sizes and a choice Yammy snare :D but it does mean you have to respect the enormous staying power of Ludwig snares. Even the cheap ones are sought after now. I believe there's a sonic reason, and I just don't get how that is in the face of so much stellar competition.
 
I just can’t bring myself to pay $1k for a snare when the throw off has to be replaced immediately. I guess it’s like some cars with coolness factor. Predicted reliability = 1 / 5, reports of problems a mile long but customer satisfaction = 5 / 5.

Probably why I don’t have a cool car either.
 
Slightly different take here, but I think the Ludwig special sauce is an ease of use thing. It’s not that they sound magically different and X times more amazing than other drums, in my opinion. It’s the fact that one can extract a shit ton of awesome sounds so quickly and easily from them, which adds great value, especially in a recording situation.

I’m a certified expert at making great drums sound like poo, but I can never seem to mess up any of my Ludwig snares. I’ve even deliberately tried, and they sound great no matter what I do to them. Can’t say that for too many other drums.
 
AzHeat said:
I just can’t bring myself to pay $1k for a snare when the throw off has to be replaced immediately. I guess it’s like some cars with coolness factor. Predicted reliability = 1 / 5, reports of problems a mile long but customer satisfaction = 5 / 5.

Probably why I don’t have a cool car either.
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I own a couple of Ludwig snares and I've never had to replace a throw off.
 
Ringo started it..Bonham..Dino..then all the parents who adored these wild hooligans told their kids that Ringo played Ludwig...i want that! Mom!..then it snowballed.
 
The OP's question is rather broad but I have to say Ludwig has made some killer sounding snares over the years.

When I watch old videos of Joe Morello soloing on a 5x14, or remember seeing Buddy playing a Bronze 5x14 supersensitive with his big band and how great that sounded I'm reminded of this. Then seeing Alan White with YES playing his hammered bronze was a real treat, what a monster player he was.

Lots of pros have used them and still do, just ask Bermuda!
 
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To me: flanged hoops, gradual snare bed, slightly rounded bearing edge, thin maple/metal shell, in that order.
Seems to be the polar opposite to the Gretsch sound: cast hoops, deep snare bed, sharp but gradual edge.
I've a copper Jinbao with all these Ludwig characteristics, and it sounds decidely Ludwig-ish to me.
 
Iristone said:
To me: flanged hoops, gradual snare bed, slightly rounded bearing edge, thin maple/metal shell, in that order.
Seems to be the polar opposite to the Gretsch sound: cast hoops, deep snare bed, sharp but gradual edge.
I've a copper Jinbao with all these Ludwig characteristics, and it sounds decidely Ludwig-ish to me.
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That snare does sound amazing. You came in with that for a session and I think any producer on earth would flag it as a favorite.
 
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