Salesman snare on Goodwill

[chicagojzz]

Curious if any of us were playing on this. I was guessing it'd close in the $1300-1700 range, but wasn't imagining $3k plus. Fun buy, for those who can afford it.

http://www.shopgoodwill.com/auctions/Colorful-Striped-Ludwig-Snare-Drum-With-Stand-27129544.html

 

[OptikDrums]

Ya know... As much as i do believe bidding was crazy on this and the price went far too high... I had a bid lock up on me last minute beyond the ending amount. My password for my account expired. I waited a little too long.. but that was some serious coin for that drum. Oh well!

 

[troutstudio]

It's beautiful though. What a drum.

 

[mlayton]

Somebody got a good one! Had to pay though.

Mike

 

[markrocks68]

That's a rare drum & I watched this auction.
Before I spend that kind of coin I need to see it with my own eyes.
What kind of shape is it really in?
I hope it's really good!

 

[idrum4fun]

That's a rare drum & I watched this auction.
Before I spend that kind of coin I need to see it with my own eyes.
What kind of shape is it really in?
I hope it's really good!

Agreed with seeing it with my own eyes! How many times have any of us been burned by purchasing based on small pictures. I really hope the buyer will be very happy with his rare Salesman snare drum!

-Mark

 

[Bun Carlos]

Ya know... As much as i do believe bidding was crazy on this and the price went far too high... I had a bid lock up on me last minute beyond the ending amount. My password for my account expired. I waited a little too long.. but that was some serious coin for that drum. Oh well!

Far too high?
Banded pearl sets with snare drums go for five figures.
The snare drum is very rare, so.....

 

[OptikDrums]

Ya know... As much as i do believe bidding was crazy on this and the price went far too high... I had a bid lock up on me last minute beyond the ending amount. My password for my account expired. I waited a little too long.. but that was some serious coin for that drum. Oh well!

Far too high?
Banded pearl sets with snare drums go for five figures.
The snare drum is very rare, so.....

Hey, maybe so. The price might have reflected the rarity then.

 

[Drumbum3131]

While the drum is rare, I have seen multiple salesman snares (mostly marching drums however). You can make the claim that the price went far too high...but, the drum is worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it.

I personally think you would have to be out of your mind to spend that much on a single snare drum. Some people have money to burn though!

 

[anthonyfossaluzza]

I bet the people at Goodwill couldn't believe it!

 

[K.O.]

I'm glad I never saw this before so I wouldn't have to go through the fleeting feeling of "OMG this is at Goodwill...I might have a chance". Clearly those days are over.

Imagine though, someone had this drum, pulled up to a Goodwill and dumped it off. For their sake I hope they don't run across the final outcome. If I can't dream about getting this at a reasonable price in an online auction I can fantasize about seeing it across the parking lot just as they were pulling it out of the trunk, running over and saying "hey I'll give you fifty bucks for that" right place, right time...never happens to me though.

 

[69OysterBlue]

I stopped thinking about throwing my hat in the ring when this crossed the $750 threshold.

Pretty sure that Goodwill didn't realize what they had since five of the seven pictures were of the heads and the stand. Nice windfall for Goodwill Industries!

 

[stickinthemud]

I hope the person who donated it had some idea of its rarity and value. Otherwise I imagine they are feeling pretty ill just about now...

 

[K.O.]

I hope the person who donated it had some idea of its rarity and value. Otherwise I imagine they are feeling pretty ill just about now...

I can't imagine they did. If they had there would be far better ways to get that money to a charity if that was their desire. Handing it off to one of the workers at the Goodwill drop off point and saying "this is worth a lot of money" probably wouldn't ensure anything. No, they just thought this was an old drum and dumped it off. Like I said above, I hope for their sake they don't see the results.

Time was Goodwill would have just set that out on the floor for $10 or so. If that drum had looked just ratty enough they still might have. A few years back a (non drummer)friend of mine, passing through Iowa City (about 100 miles west of me) stopped at that very same Goodwill and found two snare drums for ten dollars each. He snagged them for me. A 70's Supra and a 3x13 Bronze. Both were in tough shape, which is why they made it to the sales floor instead of the auction site, but certainly worth a ten-spot apiece.

 

[Dave Randall]

Correct me if I'm wrong but a true vintage WFL/Ludwig Salesman sample would have vertical bands of wrap which would include solid as well as sparkle finishes. At least the two I've seen were. My Ludwig catalogs only go back to the mid 50s but wouldn't this finish be called something else. I did see Bun's description as "banded".

 

[rhythmace]

I SO remember those snare stands. Ace

 

[ludwigfire]

Correct me if I'm wrong but a true vintage WFL/Ludwig Salesman sample would have vertical bands of wrap which would include solid as well as sparkle finishes. At least the two I've seen were. My Ludwig catalogs only go back to the mid 50s but wouldn't this finish be called something else. I did see Bun's description as "banded".

You are right, there were vertical banded drums, usually marching snares, like the one listed here. (Not mine)
https://reverb.com/item/208698-wfl-ludwig-salesman-dealer-demo-sample-drum-snare-1948-52-vintage-rare

There were also horizontal banded drums that had only sparkle bands, no wmp, etc. At least I have never seen anything other than sparkle versions. These drums are the inspiration for the modern versions Ludwig now makes, the difference being the old drums used multiple wrap pieces/bands and the new ones are a single piece of wrap that is multi sparkle with thin black lines dividing the colors.

Being that these drums were meant to show off different wrap choices, they would have not been a cataloged item. Bun E. has a set that was probably a special order, he would know more about his drums than I have read about them online. Since they were samples, I imagine there were very few made and even less examples still left out there today.

 

[K.O.]

Yeah, they were intended just as a way for salesmen to demo all the various colors, not a cataloged finish. Very rare. The set(s) were special ordered, probably by someone who saw one of the salesman drums and liked what they saw. I think one of the sets was used by a drummer in Ringling Bros. circus which seems appropriate.

 

[larryz]

I bet the people at Goodwill couldn't believe it!

So someone was cleaning out the house and dropped this off at Goodwill? Find that hard to believe.. It bothers me that Goodwill CEO is pretty wealthy too... Nice drum though.

 

[Rich K.]

I think we all assumed that was a salesman's sample, but is there any proof that it was for that purpose? Could have been a "few off" finish for a show or for some special dealers.