CT,
Long time. I visited Ludwig in Indiana about two years ago with a new marching drum design for snares and bass drums--I wonder if they ripped it off and call it theirs now. Hope not. It was a well engineered drum designed by a drummer and a couple of structural engineers from Chicago that incorporated the shell with the rim--no more floating rim, no more 14 lb drums, no more formica sound and no ringing. Amazing. I will be interested to see what they come up with.......