Black Beauty Questions

[Disco Stu]

I've been wanting a Ludwig Black Beauty for some time now, but I'm reluctant to pony up $600 for a new one. As I've been perusing eBay, I've noticed there seems to be a lot of "B-Stock" Black Beauties out there. In some cases, I think this is not disclosed by the seller. I think Ludwig is putting blue/olive badges on the B-stocks to distinguish them from the A-stocks. Is that true? Also, has anyone bought one of these B-stock Black Beauties? If so, how is it?

 

[dc2]

I've got one of the B-stock Black Beauties, and I absolutely love it. I've heard the same thing about the blue/olive badges being put on all the b-stocks, but I'm not sure that its 100% true.

Mine has the blue/olive badge, but after taking it all apart I cannot find a single blemish at all. I'm not saying that the b-stocks are all perfect, but mine sure seems to be. The sound is amazing. It is simply a great all-around snare, and I don't think you will regret purchasing one. I am curious as to what other drummers on this site have to say about the b-stocks. I'm really satisfied with mine though. Keep us posted.