Ludwig Transition Badge Pioneer

This baby was born - according to the stamp inside the shell - on June 7, 1960. She came to me in perfect condition, but in need of a little cleaning and polishing. Here is a before:

The first thing that pops out at you is the strainer. A three-point Pioneer had me scratching my head, but a quick visit to A Guide to Vintage Drums and some research on that excellent site's Ludwig Strainer Page reveals this:

More interesting is it is called a P-85 Large Pioneer strainer, which bears no resemblance to the P-85 we know and hate (or I hate the later ones anyway - different story.)

Another interesting thing about this snare drum is it does not have a muffler, nor are there any holes or evidence of plugged holes to indicate it ever had one.

After a little polishing with an amazing polish called MAAS Creme Metal Polish this is what she looks like:

A few more shots complete the picture showing the WFL butt and the plastic end snare wires. She sounds beautiful, by the way!