Ludwig Trans badge ....

[steambent]

Sorry. I am 62 going on 12.

 

[Paul G]

Paul- I have owned 4 of the Trans badge Supers. Three of mine had the huge washer inside. The one that I own right now does not have the large washer shown in my pic. I will try to get a better look at it to inspect. The pic that Rotarded posted with View attachment 529958 the front of the grommet concerns me as well.

Mike

Hi Mike, I was hoping you'd chime in. Yes, there was a misunderstanding. I was not inquiring about washer on the interior but the grommet profile as you stated. Now I'm back to being concerned and a little confused about this.
In one of the above photos Speedy's third photo, and in one other photo that a member shared with me of his lacquered TB grommets that look very much like mine. I would like to see close ups of those grommets and possibly the one you have as your avatar?
To my eyes, two of the grommets have the same curvature and front profile as the one on my drum. That and every other piece of this drum appears correct. I have been wrong in the past and suspect I'll be wrong in the future about one thing or another, but man this drum has me scratching my head now after 12-14 years of owning it. Everything else looks correct...?
Now I'm going to take this drum completely apart and look for clues. Although I've witnessed many of these TB discussions in the past and have a pretty good sense of what to look for, anything you can suggest that I specifically look for to identify the correctness of the rest of the drum would be appreciated. I will add photos once its apart and perhaps you guys can chime in again. Thank you for your time and enjoy your holiday.

 

[Bijan]

These are the grommets on my transition badge 400 and 402. Notice the tube is brass, and that the grommet covers the end of the tube.
whomever replaced the badge on Paul’s drum flared the grommet, and flange, to attach the badge. They probably used a large ball bearing, that’s how I was taught to do it years ago, and I think that’s what happened here.

I wish I could see the drum in person, as there will be tells in the interior that would confirm if the shell was replated- that’s about the only reason to remove the badge.

 

[Bijan]

Paul- can you take clear shots of the interior where the throw, butt, and tone controls were drilled?

 

[Paul G]

These are the grommets on my transition badge 400 and 402. Notice the tube is brass, and that the grommet covers the end of the tube.
whomever replaced the badge on Paul’s drum flared the grommet, and flange, to attach the badge. They probably used a large ball bearing, that’s how I was taught to do it years ago, and I think that’s what happened here.

I wish I could see the drum in person, as there will be tells in the interior that would confirm if the shell was replated- that’s about the only reason to remove the badge.

Haha, I wish you could see it in person too! This is really disturbing to me as I would love a definitive answer...

 

[Paul G]

Paul- can you take clear shots of the interior where the throw, butt, and tone controls were drilled?

Yes, will do and anything else you can think of, let me know. I'm going to take this thing apart.

 

[Bijan]

The end of the muffler adjustment screw as well.

 

[Paul G]

These are the grommets on my transition badge 400 and 402. Notice the tube is brass, and that the grommet covers the end of the tube.
whomever replaced the badge on Paul’s drum flared the grommet, and flange, to attach the badge. They probably used a large ball bearing, that’s how I was taught to do it years ago, and I think that’s what happened here.

I wish I could see the drum in person, as there will be tells in the interior that would confirm if the shell was replated- that’s about the only reason to remove the badge.

I think I'm missing something...the tube on my grommet is brass too...?

 

[Bijan]

I think I'm missing something...the tube on my grommet is brass too...?

They are brass on mine. But I think this may not be an important detail in the grand scheme of things.

 

[Paul G]

Paul- can you take clear shots of the interior where the throw, butt, and tone controls were drilled?

Let me know if these will suffice, and again, thank you all for your time.
PG

 

[Bun Carlos]

Looks good to me.

 

[Paul G]

Looks good to me.

Thanks for chiming in Bun! This is making my head spin....in a good way...
trying to get to the bottom of this.

 

[Bun Carlos]

Thanks for chiming in Bun! This is making my head spin....in a good way...
trying to get to the bottom of this.

I'm not a replating or grommet expert, but it all looks good to me?

 

[Paul G]

I'm not a replating or grommet expert, but it all looks good to me?

Thanks, I won't hold ya to it! Nor am I a plating or grommet expert, but man I'll tell you that there are some very passionate grommet experts out there who outright said the drum was a fake due to their observations... I think we can rule that out.
At any rate, I took the drum off the market as it feels like after trying to preserve the drums condition for the last 12+years that I've owned it, its time to play this beautiful instrument. When I first purchased the snare, I took it out on a session to hear how it recorded. I was impressed and it sounded better than I expected, but I have several other drums that are my go to drums that sound just as good and so this drum went back into its case due to it's condition. All's well that ends well.

Happy Thanksgiving to you. Be well.

 

[DolFan54]

Paul,
Thanks for this thread! I bought mine around 4-5 years ago. I haven’t played it since I first bought it. After digging mine out and tuning it up after taking photos for this thread I’m wondering why I’m not playing this drum!

 

[jmetatual]

Can anyone explain the different muffler and strainer locations of the OP's drum vs. those posted by Speedy Keen, andlours and DolFan54? OP's muffler is left of the butt, the other three all have the muffler left of the badge. Strainer on OP's drum is also in a different location than the other three.

 

[mlayton]

I mentioned earlier that I have had 4 of these. At least two had the strainer in different positions on the shell.

Mike

 

[Bijan]

The holes are different because they were drilled after the plating and lug holes were punched. Hence the sanding marks.

I think what we have here is an early TB Super that was rechromed before Paul bought it. I don’t have patience to type it all out on my phone. The tells are all there however.

 

[Paul G]

The holes are different because they were drilled after the plating and lug holes were punched. Hence the sanding marks.

I think what we have here is an early TB Super that was rechromed before Paul bought it. I don’t have patience to type it all out on my phone. The tells are all there however.

Good morning Bijian, Can you be specific about what makes you believe its been re chromed? I'm not seeing any blatant signs and would think especially the interior of the drum reveal some sort of indication. You mentioned the lugs... however in looking at the drum in person I believe the thickness your seeing is reflection...
I once had and sold a brand spanking new Cleveland Powertone in the orignal box, it had never been played and was 100% legit. There still are some treasures out there...

 

[K.O.]

The interior part of the grommet looks fine, like on my own drum but the exterior flange looks odd. Looks too fat and too rounded to me. Might just be the angle of the photo though or the fact it looks to be polished. Mine is much flatter. Then again mine might be an oddball, although I'm sure it's original.