Ludwig Jazz Festival Snare Drum Restoration
At DrumPickers, we love restoring old and well-worn drums. It’s how we got our start. And while we spend a lot of time these days building new and custom drums, restorations will always be in our DNA.
This 5.5x14 8-lug Ludwig Jazz Festival snare was brought to us by a customer who wanted it restored with a Duco finish.
When we received the drum, it was looking pretty rough. A previous owner had removed the original hardware and repainted it multiple times. Fortunately there were no additional holes, but the drum was not in good shape.
It took a lot of sanding (and resanding) to get the layers of paint down to a usable surface for refinishing. You can see the green coming out underneath as the black top layer was removed.
The bearing edges had paint caked on them, which had to be sanded down before we could restore them to a nice rounded 45º.
The muffler on the drum was not original, but it was still working fine. Due to the time and cost of getting an authentic replacement, we agreed it was best to keep the one that was already on the drum.
After getting the shell all cleaned up and making sure it was rust-free, we refinished it with a sexy black and gold Duco finish.
The lugs that came with it were solid nickel, and we were able to clean them up. Then we replaced the broken hardware and badges, and put this beauty back together with a whole new identity.
For how spectacular this drum looks now, the sound is just as incredible! You can hear it in action here and here.
If you have any old drums that need some love, get in touch and see how we can bring them back to life!
