The rare 8-lug Ludwig Educator snare. Made for a short time in the late 1970s-early 1980s For the school market, hence the name. This badge displays a low serial number 4063. Similar to the drum with the ”Combo” badge but rarer.

Unique is the molded plastic shell and plastic lug casings this drum was made with. Chrome plated metal hoops and metal lug cylinders and lug nuts were also stock.

The drum looks to have original P-85 strainer, snare wires and hardware. Also the bottom head seems original. Heads tension up (be careful don’t over crank these drums). Snare will be shipped de-tuned for safe travel. The strainer and muffler function.

The drum seems to be in very good more like excellent condition for its age, composition and scarcity. Batter side rim has some chrome chips likely from normal stick use. One Plastic lug casing has a visible crack at the top which doesn’t affect the tensioning and is hard to notice with the drum put together. This is the typical lug casings stress crack location- the lug casings are fragile hence one of the reasons why Ludwig discontinued this drum which they described as low budget. Some folks have swapped out the plastic lugs with standard bow tie metal ones to allow for tighter tensioning and playability, otherwise this is more of a display drum in my opinion. The Muffler knob has some wear to chrome finish. No shell cracks on this beauty. Bottom head has pin hole under snares which does not seem to affect function.

It’s a cool drum in the history of Ludwig and great conversation piece and belongs in every Ludwig collection.