I recently got these beautiful White Marine Pearl Ludwig drums from a great friend. He called me one night and told me he had received this set. I think they were given to him, but I can't remember, and he was hoping to restore them. I encouraged him to do it, and told him they were well worth the effort. I think White Marine Pearl drums always look very classy. So many of the great drummers of the past played this finish. In fact, all the really super amazing drummers did. My friend started the job, but didn't get very far with the restoration. I'll tell you, it's a lot of hard work to get an old tired drum set looking great again. Over the years I have learned some skills and even a few tricks to restore a vintage drum set to a thing of beauty.
This set is a 1960s Ludwig Hollywood set. It has a 22X14 bass drum, a 12x8 and a 9x13 mounted tom. The older Hollywood sets had two 12s and sometimes two 13s. The kit also features a 16x16 floor tom. The drums have Keystone badges with serial numbers that places their born-on date around 1967. I have placed an 8-lug matching Super Classic snare with the set, but I received a very nice chrome 14x5 snare with the kit. I'm sure it was the snare that was bought with the kit. That was the standard snare that went out with so many Ludwig sets.
My friend might have continued the restoration, had it not been for an opportunity to trade the set to me for some work. I will always work for drums. You don't have to pay me in cash if you have a snare drum or a drum set to trade. So, I did the job and got the drums. I'm so glad I got the chance to get this set. I have had a few Ludwig WMP sets, but I like this one a lot. Some Ludwig drum sets from this period do not sound great. I have often heard that Ludwig was making so many sets during the 60s that quality suffered. This kit sounds great to me. The heads fit very good, they resonate well, and they tune so easily. I think they have "yellowed" beautifully.