A Tip of the Hat to Mr. Aldridge

[richardh253]

Before and after...thank you Mr. Aldridge! An artist and a gentleman!

· Drumscratcher

 

[cworrick]

 

[Targalx]

Before and after...thank you Mr. Aldridge! An artist and a gentleman!

Tommy Aldridge does Ludwig snare engraving now?! That's the only Mr. Aldridge that I know of.

 

[Dumpy]

Tommy Aldridge does Ludwig snare engraving now?! That's the only Mr. Aldridge that I know of.

John is this guy’s name, I believe.

 

[richardh253]

hmmm, never thought to ask Tommy, but I suspect I might have gotten one of these

or these

So I'll stick with Mr. John Aldridge

· Drumscratcher

 

[Hop]

That 'dressed-up' quite nicely!!!

 

[studrum]

For those who know....

 

[JDA]

or weren't born yesterday..

How does he do that (I know by hand) but almost looks like...Has he developed new technique
and he freaking removed the badge?.. geez
Figure one error and he owns the drum but it looks (and I guess is) perfect

 

[Squirrel Man]

Tommy Aldridge does Ludwig snare engraving now?! That's the only Mr. Aldridge that I know of.

I slid down that hillside also.

 

[richardh253]

or weren't born yesterday..

How does he do that (I know by hand) but almost looks like...Has he developed new technique
and he freaking removed the badge?.. geez
Figure one error and he owns the drum but it looks (and I guess is) perfect

here's a nice interview with John courtesy of Bart VanderZee

a a short video of John doing his craft -

 

[old_K_ride]

 

[cinemadrummer2001]

Wow! Beautiful drums! Not so Modern Drummer was never the same once John was no longer running it.

 

[steambent]

Not so Modern Drummer was never the same after John sold it.

Correct

 

[steambent]

John engraved a LBB for me very early in his engraving career, maybe mid to late 80s. I cherish it and really think it is cool as it is not perfect but that is why I like it. To this day I have a really bad taste in my mouth because Ludwig sent that Triumphal model over to Europe some where to be built and engraved instead of having John do it. If that offends anybody I don’t care.

 

[afwdrums]

To this day I have a really bad taste in my mouth because Ludwig sent that Triumphal model over to Europe some where to be built and engraved instead of having John do it. If that offends anybody I don’t care.

if I'm not mistaken, Ludwig had Adrian Kirchler fabricate the Triumphal's, like the whole drum from scratch, not just the engraving...no offense to John Aldridge who is an absolute master engraver, but I suspect completely fabricating the Triumphal's from raw metal is well beyond his skillset...this is likely why Ludwig chose to go with AK...not sure how anyone can be upset about anything Adrian (or John for that matter) touches, but that's just me

 

[NobleCooleyNut]

Preaching to the choir here when you give kudos to John . John is one of my favourite people and I try and get out to dinner with him when we go to the Chicago Show .

 

[drumtimejohn]

And back to celebrating the OP’s drum.

The 8 lug format creates a nice large canvas for engraving. Beautiful drum!!!

 

[richardh253]

And back to celebrating the OP’s drum.

The 8 lug format creates a nice large canvas for engraving. Beautiful drum!!!

Thanks! John did a super job extending the pattern to fill the spaces on 8 lug drum.

I have had the attached framed photo from a Toronto Symphony Orchestra calendar of 1981 for 40 years...always wanted a replica of that pattern, which, it turns out as verified by Mike Curroto and John Aldridge, Ludwig only offered in 1929. And that's what John engraved for me on this current BB.

So I'm guessing the engraving on the snare in the framed photo here was maybe original? In which case I may have an approximate date for the drum from the poster. Can't tell if the shell was "gold" or that was the lighting used for the photo, but that sure must have been a sweet drum. Sorry for the glare.

And yes, for 40 years I've had company at our home ask (when there was no pandemic, anyway) "what is that a photo of?"

 

[drumtimejohn]

Thanks! John did a super job extending the pattern to fill the spaces on 8 lug drum.

I have had the attached framed photo from a Toronto Symphony Orchestra calendar of 1981 for 40 years...always wanted a replica of that pattern, which, it turns out as verified by Mike Curroto and John Aldridge, Ludwig only offered in 1929. And that's what John engraved for me on this current BB.

So I'm guessing the engraving on the snare in the framed photo here was maybe original? In which case I may have an approximate date for the drum from the poster. Can't tell if the shell was "gold" or that was the lighting used for the photo, but that sure must have been a sweet drum. Sorry for the glare.

And yes, for 40 years I've had company at our home ask (when there was no pandemic, anyway) "what is that a photo of?"

View attachment 493337 View attachment 493338

My kind of art! Super cool to see such a beautiful snare pictured/illustrated in a Symphony calendar. I wonder if the knob was for a wire system or an added tone control. Here is another example of the Ludwig & Ludwig 1929 DeLuxe 10 point floral pattern you speak of. I understand a few variations exist and recall reading that the pattern detail continued to change over time.

 

[blikum]

Looks great! I'm on his schedule for next week. Send my BB to him this week. Can't wait!