1960s Ludwig WMP "Super Beat" Set

I have a weakness for Ludwig drums. I like all makes of drums, but I can't resist a nice Ludwig set. I know some of you are more partial to Rogers, Gretsch, and Slingerland, and some of you really like the drums made by the smaller American drum companies. They're all great and I collect all the great American drums. I even like the imports. I can't help it, I'm a drum junkie. My habit must be fed, but Ludwig drums give me the best high. The Ludwig craving started with Ringo. He calls Ludwigs "Loodwigs". If I'm around someone calling them "Loodwigs", I start calling them "Loodwigs" too. I might even say "drooms" like the "great one". A lot of drummers around my age fell in love with "Loodwig drooms" the night the Beatles played on Ed Sullivan in 1964. Since then I have liked Ludwigs the best. 

The Ludwig set I'm showing you from my collection is a real beauty. This is a very niceLudwig Super Beat set. I am not totally sure who started calling this configuration "Super Beat" but I like it. The set is a Super Classic set with a 20X14 bass drum. Since it has a 20X14 like the "Downbeat" and 16X16 and 13X9 toms like a "Super Classic" the collectors have named these sets "Super Beat". This set is an early 1960s Keystone badge set. You will notice how the wing bolts screw directly into the mounts. This set is in excellent condition. The White Marine Pearl wrap is awesome and the chrome is also extremely nice for a kit this age. The five digit serial numbers indicate that the drums are from 1964. A simple rule to remember is four digits through 1963, five digits in 1964, six digits in 1965. The snare drum is a 14X5 Super Classic with 8 lugs. The Classic strainer has WFL on it. Ludwig used up the WFL parts that were left over from Mr. Ludwig's drum company before he bought the Ludwig name and company back from Conn in the late 1950s. It is not unusual to see WFL on hardware and drum parts on the early 1960s drums.

This set was used very little and they look like they never left the house. My friend Russell Oglesby who works at Center Stage Music in Augusta, Georgia bought them from the original owner along with some other musical instruments. He showed them to me, much to my delight. I just love seeing a time capsule set with the original heads, all the original hardware and cymbals. Russ had the complete set just as they were purchased in the early 1960s. It's hard to believe that it had been over fifty years since someone went into the music store and took these drums home. When I saw the set I told Russ to please contact me if he decided to sell them. I really didn't expect him to let them go anytime soon, but he called me only a short time after I had first seen them. We struck a deal and I went directly after them. I figured I had better get there quickly before Russ changed his mind or his boss, and my friend, Stewart Ray decided he had to have them for himself. They are one of my favorite drum sets in my collection. They are definitely a keeper set for me.