RESTORING A 1970s LUDWIG SUPRAPHONIC SNARE DRUM

[@jordansobolew1661]

Thanks for the dawn bath idea. I have scrubbed drums and hardware to get gunk off until my fingers were raw. Doing a few dozen lugs and all the hoops is enough to make you hate life but and it looks like just letting them sit overnight in soapy water does a lot of the hard work for you.

[@ashtondrumworks2972]

Work smarter not harder!

[@2078H]

Wow, looks great. Good tips in here.

[@basementapefilms]

Love the dawn idea.

[@bobbyvalejr.1276]

I can't believe you got that result, Amazing.

[@ibleebinU]

WOW! That came out supra clean! Sorry, I couldn't resist.

[@ashtondrumworks2972]

😂😂

[@jemmace2586]

Great job! I have a 62' Supra, it's pitted really badly, I ended up just rubbing it down with a cloth after stripping the nut boxes, strainer and butt plate off, it's come up very bright but the pitting is no different all in all. I lean towards originality of the drum because it truly does sound unbelievable when played. Love my Luddy Supra. A benchmark for modern snare drums. 🎼🥢👍

[@ashtondrumworks2972]

Yes indeed!

[@deucemcallister13]

Hey Nick! I work with your dad, but am also a musician. Radical video dude. Keep up the good work and I'll commission you to fix some drums for my boy.

[@ashtondrumworks2972]

Thanks so much for the feedback, man! I'd love to do some work for ya boy.

[@boshlevison9341]

4 shirts later it’s all done

[@mellilore]

It's like one month in someone's routine.....

[@Teamcurtisbjj]

Wish you showed us the polishing process.

[@drumwhacker4601]

Hello! Very nice, quality video. One thing I would have liked to see was maybe a 30 second demonstration of you using the nevr-dull on the shell. Maybe on one of the rusted areas. I have a slew of share drums that need attention! Keep up the good work!

[@ashtondrumworks2972]

Hey there! Thank you for the feedback! I will be sure to include a Nevr-Dull demonstration in a later video. Thanks for watching!

[@a-dawg8711]

This is awesome! Sounds good and it looks fantastic. I wonder what the comparison would be for it’s current value over the retail value, it is quite an old piece.

[@ashtondrumworks2972]

Thank you so much Avery! In 1971, it retailed for $106... about $684 today (according to some very quick internet research)!

[@JoshPainterDrums]

Late to the party, wanted to ask if the Dawn bath will remove the date stamp inside. My still shows 1968 and don't want to lose it.

[@RyanStevensonDrums]

very interested to know about this also!!

[@alanduncan1980]

Not so much a restoration, but more of a cleaning video. What about the bent strainer? That would have been the interesting part to show. Anyone can disassemble, clean and reassemble one.

[@chrisc9300]

Looks great! I have gold drum rims on my Kit, Do you have any ideas to polish them ?

[@ashtondrumworks2972]

Thank you! Are your rims gold coated or brass coated? Either way, I would begin with a dawn bath like the video. I believe the Nevr-Dull will work well for other metals as well, since it will reinforce the clear coat on brass.

[@michaeleckert2818]

Nice work, brother. Could have used a little more detail on how you fixed the strainer!

[@ashtondrumworks2972]

Thanks so much man! Just put it on the work bench and carefully bent it back in place. Will include details like that in the future!

[@ARDrummer]

Great upload! Very nicely done

[@the_hero_inside]

Just put mine in the dish detergent.. Sunlight instead of Dawn tho. Thanks for the tips brother!!!

[@barberjeff67]

Blue Dawn is the way to go!

[@tomkelsey2303]

Did i miss something, how did u fix the strainer?😊

[@Mashf8Dom]

dude its wasnt clear for me the solution youve made. what is it that youve mix in the water? tia

[@TheRimshotDrummer]

Great content! Keep it coming!!

[@Toler8r]

Great video work. Nice job.

[@MahneFrame]

hey nick, does it gotta be dawn? i live in tokyo and can't find that brand 🥵 also interested in how u went about re stuffing the lugs. thks!

[@ashtondrumworks2972]

Hey there! Thank you for watching! It can be any dishwashing soap, to my knowledge. I haven’t tried anything other than that but can’t imagine the results would be too different. The lug stuffing process essentially entails taking the springs and swivel nuts out of the lug, then putting a cotton ball inside, putting the swivel nuts in first then the spring, and putting it back on the drum. Sorry I didn’t include that in this video-when I do it in the future, I’ll make sure to include it.

[@MahneFrame]

@@ashtondrumworks2972 got ya, thanks a lot. it's a tight vid, plz keep up the good work

[@krank2kold]

Never Dull works wonders! Did you use the polish on the tension rods?

[@ashtondrumworks2972]

Usually just putting it on the top portion will be enough, mixing it with the oily threaded parts doesn’t do much

[@saxoTuấnĐặng]

Xin chào , tôi có thể mua nó ở đâu , bạn làm rất tốt

[@grimplegrumble]

Hi i have similar ludwig snare but it has wood on the inside, what can i do so i don’t ruin the wood?

[@ashtondrumworks2972]

Hey! I wouldn’t soak it like I do in this video. Instead, take all the hardware off and wipe it down with a damp (not wet) non-abrasive cloth. Then clean only the metal part with a random orbital buffer. If it’s a shiny plastic, use Novus plastic polish (only numbers 1 and 2). If it’s actually metal, use the appropriate polish for that kind of metal. Let me know how it goes!

[@richardwilson3059]

What did you add to the water. Sorry, my hearing not so good.

[@ashtondrumworks2972]

Dawn dish soap!

[@todoparabateristas]

Is that dish soap a normal one? I am in Argentina and would like to find any similar solution. Thanks!!

[@rahmandjuned1125]

great job man

[@ronniek7748]

Great job!!! Wow!!

[@ahchv]

Nice!!! How do you avoid it getting rusty with the water bath!?

[@ashtondrumworks2972]

Thank you so much! The key is the Dawn dish soap. When it’s mixed in, you can keep it in there for a good long while without it getting rusty.

[@AaronChio]

@@ashtondrumworks2972 Oh wow really!? Will have to try it out then. Thanks Ashton!

[@nickashton33]

@@AaronChio you bet!

[@fatsoulcrew]

Hi, roughly how much washing up liquid (as we call it in UK) do you put in the water please. Might try this with an old tama I've just got.

[@josephmarchese8232]

would it be worth my time to use CLR instead of dish soap for the bath?

[@ashtondrumworks2972]

I’ve never used CLR on drum parts, mainly because I’ve been happy with the results I’ve been getting. If you aren’t happy with the dawn bath, it might be worth looking in to

[@just82much51]

Nice job on the resto Ashton! It's always a great thing to save one of these vintage drums. I have the same snare in appx the same year, but with some pitting, more that I would like on two sides. What are your thoughts on having it rechromed and how much might that cost? I appreciate any thoughts you wish to share!!

[@ashtondrumworks2972]

Thank you so much! I don’t have a lot of experience re-chroming, but I have heard auto shops can help with that (to my knowledge). I’ve also seen a lot of cool examples of people stripping the chrome plating a la Acrolite and doing cool wire brush patterns on the finish-that’s a really cool way to make a player’s drum really pop. Check out some people’s creations on the different Facebook groups about Ludwig drums, there’s a lot of awesome resources there! Let me know if I can help with anything!

[@mellilore]

Chrome plating does not stick to aluminium so your new expensive chrome plating won't last forever either. In your shoes I'd rather go for what is now called "Acrophonic".

[@distainsdomain6743]

@@mellilore you mean stripping the chrome and polishing the raw aluminum?

[@mellilore]

@@distainsdomain6743 Yep!

[@גינגלסלולר]

What's that on 1:11 ? Don disho?

[@elektrusart6900]

Hello nick and thank you very much for sharing your techniques! I'm in a bit of a pickle: Without researching the zoomatic strainer, I purchased a COB a few days ago that was missing the tension knob. I thought it was no big deal to replace but I'm really worried about this drum becoming a money pit. And I don't care about the looks. Any advice to make it playable? Thanks!

[@ashtondrumworks2972]

Hey there! I’ve had some experience with the Zoomatic and it’s always been tricky. Could you send some pictures to [e-mail]? I might be able to help you better that way.

[@jeffspitza]

@@ashtondrumworks2972 You bet. Thanks in advance for your help.

[@ashtondrumworks2972]

@@jeffspitza absolutely!

[@noahm.4001]

What is inside the water? Iam from Germany I couldn't hear it exactly! :P

[@ashtondrumworks2972]

Hey Noah! It’s Dawn dish soap. Thanks for watching!

[@noahm.4001]

@@ashtondrumworks2972 thank you!!

[@distainsdomain6743]

I just bought an identical '76 supra. Mine is in just as good if not slightly better condition. Gave $100 for it. Did you keep it or sell it? 🤔 Curious how much got for it if you did let it go.

[@ashtondrumworks2972]

I sold this drum recently for 320$.

[@youngtg5938]

nice bro grttings from arg

[@BenjyPortnoy]

I thought your glass table was a 30" Pinstripe for a minute.

[@badhabits25]

I got one yesterday. Inside it has a sticker the says ludaloy. Serial number is 1935787. I think its 1976, any way you could verify? Thanks in advance.

[@ashtondrumworks2972]

Hey! That serial number comes out to around 1978-79 range. If you have any pics, feel free to send to [e-mail] if you want any further comments on it (original parts etc). Thanks for reaching out!

[@drumrnva]

Nice restoration. Snare cord? Throw that away tout suite!

[@ashtondrumworks2972]

Thanks! Yeah, I wish those vintage P85s had more compatibility with something other than string.

[@drumrnva]

@@ashtondrumworks2972 Yes.....I'd get rid of the P85 too. There are tons of alternatives (including Ludwig items) that are far better. I'm not sentimental about drum parts in the least. 🙂

[@JulianFernandez]

thanks

[@BMP561]

Great video. Go Gators :)

[@marv5078]

What? Why not show us the sound of the drum in the end?? :'(

[@ashtondrumworks2972]

I’ve got some demos of this drum at a wide range of tunings with a nice mic, just a matter of getting the video together