Ludwig Black Beauty Snare Drum Demo 

Some slow, soft, easy flowing jazz. Or maybe something with a little more funk to it.

Just about anything.... I have a 6 1/2" and it's been used for Pop, Jazz, Rock and a touch of Country

I’ve got a 6 1/2” and it covers every base. An incredible snare.

ANY STYLE

what songs name?

Absolutely killer demonstrator

Thats exactly where I first came in contact with one and I instantly fell in love

what song this?

Those toms !!

Yeah do a video on the whole set. Man those toms.

That’s how I felt about the hi hats!

I have a set of pcp drums the floor toms bring tears to my eyes.

Meet to. Just did mine

They are so classy looking aren’t they? I hate to say the old strainers were junk but they definitely don’t hold a candle to the P-88.

I have the same DW drum, only its the 14x5.5 version. I've had dozens of compliments over the years on that drum, from sound engineers and producers both in live and studio settings. They love the sound of that drum! I've used in in many different styles of music. I do however want to get myself one of these Ludwig drums and thinking I'll go for the 6.5x14 since I've already got the 5.5" DW. This will certainly help round out my collection.

Hi Ramon. I have just got a new 8 lug version, I believe its a better initial overall sound than the 10 lug. Your are correct on the lug lock though. Its a must on the 8 lug version unfortunately. They last about 4-5 songs before having to re tune. Overall a better drum.

Yeahhh exactly...same for me

Guys I have a 5/14 Ludwig supraphonic.the snare drum is a killer.but my remo.6/1/2 by 14 is a monster.and it's old 1985. No joke.put a good falams head on it.thing came to Life.

It's the drummer not the drum.i got a remote 6/1/2 by14 discovery.sounds great.

So do you.dont sell yourself short.were all drummer's.

Thanks for checking it out! 👍🥁

Dw.pdp drums the floor toms bring tears to my eyes.and I have a 5/14 Ludwig snare.

I'll answer myself after getting the info from my Sweetwater sales engineer (he asked Nick directly). These hats are the 16inch AA Apollo's. Just in case anyone else was interested. Carry on.... :D

Some kind of rods. He calls them blast sticks. Looks like maybe Vic Firth rutes 505

Get some Remo Silentstrokes and silent cymbals bro

You will there full of sales hype !!!

Plenty of videos right here on RU-vid with very detailed assistance for tuning or whatever.. just search your topic

@@bacobill You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear !!

@@gretschludwigdrummer209 Prove it 😉

@@bacobill In all seriousness it must be me as I've had 4 of them in the past, all 14x6.5 two were early 70's and two were early 80's each time trying to find the one but never got on with them !! I've been through loads of snare's in the past you name it I've owned them from Craviotto to Pearl and I always end up going back to my old faithful Luddy 402 !!

Even with all the tension possible in the bottom side of the snare? hum... i believe that the tunning on the is not the best possible. Possibly a single lug that is tensioned on a very different way than the other. I tought that a larger snate would not have a high pitch, so i would not ring so much. Im not a pro on infos about snare, i saw every type of sound with any brand and any material.

@@hugorezende199 the deeper a drum, the longer the sustain.

Yeah I thought I was the only one who didn't like it. Too much...'boing' or whatever. Ring.

@@djevlhelvete I have the 6.5 8-lug and it sounds incredible when not tuned like a wet shopping bag.

@@gregchapman3519 wet shopping bag 😂

Hey, 1Lee. Thanks for your interest. Nope. That is a new line from Ludwig. All of the Black Beauties come in a 10 lug design, as well. Check this one out: www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/LB417--ludwig-black-beauty-snare-drum-6.5-inch-by-14-inch I hope this helps. Jason Thiele, Sweetwater Sales Engineer, (800) 222-4700 ext. 1391, jason_thiele@sweetwater.com

I have both BB and BNOB and I prefer the black beauty. Both are awesome snares but there not match for the BB on nickel over brass snares in the market.

I would not say the workmanship is “a bit better”. They’re very similar, but I would take the seamless black beauty vs the rolled dw

@@lukefreeman970 yeap...thats the main difference. 👌

@@lukefreeman970 it's because i had to send 2 bb back and finally got one where the outer finish was without blemish spots

@@johnnymerritt9544 that sucks, still bb to me every day

it’s also US made

That's got me questioning what he said in the video that it has a seam. I thought the BB were a spun shell and meant to be seamless. Is that a mistake on Nick's part?

@@Cvitandrums hes correct... it IS a spun shell.. not routed.

If you really can't spare the dough, there are many great snares out there with a similar construction.

time to switch instruments, fam

Me too, but I have one of these snares too which makes it even worse.

The cost to manufacture any product is usually unknown to the consumer and the company doesn't need to explain their costs or justify them. To simply add up your perceived cost of individual components won't always reveal the costs involved for that product to be produced.

Its selling point isn't its hardware, it's its sound, which Ludwig - and more importantly, enough consumers, otherwise it wouldn't stay at this price - consider good enough to be worth the price tag. Sure, maybe you could argue its being overcharged because people will buy it for the sound regardless, but even if that's the case, how would needlessly more pricy hardware make a difference? It would still be just as overpriced, its just now it would be $50 more because there's the new fancy hardware cost.. The seamlessness (as well as the sound obviously) *is* the justification of the high cost of the snare. Maybe the selling point of the Tama stuff is that it has the fancy throwoff etc, but that's not what the Black Beauty's is. You pay that much for the sound, and you get the sound, it's not as if it it's expensive for the hardware you pay for it with the plans of getting that hardware. Say the Tama stuff is $500: probably only $350 of that is for the shell and sound, the other $150 or more is for the hardware etc. Black Beauty is $700, and almost all of that $700 is for the shell and sound, the hardware is purely there as a means to get that sound, as long as it does that and doesn't fall apart then it's served its purpose. Like the other guy said, there's not much point missing out on the sounds a drum can give you just because the number you get when you add up the individual prices of the hardware doesn't seem high enough. Having more needlessly expensive hardware purely for the sake of having expensive hardware (to me anyway) seems kinda pointless, and would likely also end up driving the price up without giving any sound benefits. Besides, it's not like the P88 is a piece of junk, or that Ludwig has something better to offer that they for some reason don't put on it: the hardware on it is the best that Ludwig has to offer. Their entire brand is based on being classic stuff with a legacy, there's no need for them to over-engineer a throwoff or lugs (especially lugs since they can affect the sound and people buying the Black Beauty want *that* specific sound) for the sake of it being more costly when the current stuff works perfectly fine, and hardware isn't why their product sells.

It's the combination of the shell, how it's produced and hardware that make that Black Beauty sound. Is the hardware fantastic or just adequate? That's a judgement call. These are the X factors or intangibles that defined the sound that you can't replicate. Other companies have their version of a brass drum and I've played a few myself. The Yamaha is excellent but it's still different. I had a 5" deep BB previously and now have a 6.5". I find myself playing it more often than my 14"x5 Sonor S-Classix Brass. I have to give kudos to Nick because the sound captured in this video really celebrates the tone.

Listen to vinnie C’s snare in Stings’s Ten Summoners Tales album... even though he was a Gretsch artist at the time he used the BB. Listen to it and tell me it isn’t one of the best snare sounds you’ve ever heard.

A lot of processing there no doubt. Could be a different snare on every track and you would never know. Plus...his hands!

You’re missing the point. The more expensive a snare, the most sounds is should provide. That’s the thing about these drums. They sound great low and dead and high and ringy and anywhere in between. Not every musical situation requires 2 seconds of overtone after every snare hit.

Fight me