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Since 1988, a treasure trove of info about vintage drums, custom drums & legendary drummers

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Not So Modern Drummer

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Database of Articles 11/13 to current

1960s Ludwig Classic Set in Black Diamond Pearl

September 28, 2026 Phil Wilson
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Recently I made a large sale of drum sets and snares to a close friend who drove a great distance to buy from me. He brought one of those new high-rise vans and literally filled it up. I wanted to sell him all the junk in my attic so that I could clean it out, but he ran out of space and couldn't get another thing in the van. I was glad to "thin the herd" because I had too many drums in my building and needed some space. He asked me if I were going to just buy more drums with my cash, and I said I was not going to buy anything for a while. I know, how ridiculous is that? I sincerely meant to stop buying and just sell stuff, but I failed to keep my promise. How can a guy resist when he has some extra money and a great deal just pops up. I told my wife that the drum deals are falling from heaven, so how can I say no to that.

I have a great friend who loves drums and often falls upon a great deal. He lives in a nearby city and has access to more drums going on the market locally than I do. He buys some drums, but more often he will just call me and tell me about something he has seen and ask me if I am interested.  He has helped me get some great deals on some very nice drums over the years. He called me about this set I'm featuring this month. It is a 1960s Ludwig Super Classic set finished in lovely Black Diamond Pearl. I must admit this finish is not my favorite on drums, but when it's this clean and not faded it looks very good. I had a Black Diamond WFL set that I learned on and of course I wish I still had them. When I was teaching my son to play, I had a 1970s Ludwig Black Diamond set that he learned on. When I offered to give him the kit, he asked if we could get him a blue set of Pearl drums. He told me the Black Diamond Pearl finish was an"old man" finish. I guess he was right. The older I get the more I like this finish.

This beautiful Ludwig set is a Super Classic set with a 22x14 bass drum, 13X9 mounted tom, 16X16 floor tom, and a 14X5 chrome Supraphonic. The Keystone badges are nice and so are the white painted interiors. The set still had the factory drum heads on them when I received them. They were in hard shell cases all their lives and had not been played in quite a while. The rail mount works well and so does the fold out spurs. The chrome is gleaming and there are little to no scratches anywhere on the set.  All the set needed was a clean-up. I changed the heads to make the kit look new. It is one of the nicest drum sets I have in my collection. The seller was friends with my friend so they communicated and set up the deal. I was able to drive to the city and meet the seller in a parking lot and make the cash purchase. Doing drum deals in person is still the best. Everything can be inspected and everyone can leave satisfied. I know buying and selling on line and paying electronically is mainly the way we do it now, but opening the hatch on the SUV and seeing those drums is so much fun.

In Phil Wilson, Ludwig Tags Ludwig Classic, Phil Wilson
1943 Ludwig & Ludwig "Victory" Model 30" Bass Drum →

Carlow Classics Vintage Drum Hardware
Clips, lugs & rods for 20s and 30s Ludwig snares
joeczulinski@rogers.com or 519-572-0255

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