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The color is also an absolutely stunning example of mid 60’s Oyster Black. It almost looks three dimensional and though Ludwig still had this color in 1968, it was slowly being phased out when Ludwig started using the bowling ball version. It’s actually pretty hard to match Oyster Black pieces as the pattern could change from batch to batch. All three drums have this beautiful match and the color is just hypnotic.
Read moreWhy am I writing about a modern set of drums? Because I am one of those people that puts my faith in a product that is used time and time again, like my old Ludwigs. I know that my new Ludwigs will sound great at every gig and I can count on them to do what I need them to do. They still look as nice as the day as they came home with me and best of all they have shared a lot of gigs, late nights and long car rides with me. I plan on using these for a long time and when I am old and not playing much. These “vintage” drums will have a rich history behind them much like some of the vintage drums I own currently. Hopefully, someone else will take care of my drums and keep them in good shape for future generations as I imagine that these drums should far outlive me.
Read moreIn the world of vintage drums, there are those rare instances where an almost century-old premium drum kit survives the ages intact. Here is the story of one such time capsule, a stunning 1928 Ludwig Drum Kit with all of the cymbals, traps, drumsticks, banjo-style drum key, early 1900’s set list, and an enviably beautiful 6.5 X 14” engraved Black Beauty in De Luxe finish. This drum kit was handed down from grandfather to mother to grandson. What makes this kit so special is not just that it survived, but that we are able to hear the tale about the original owner and how it came to arrive one day at Jim Pettit’s Memphis Drum Shop. Craig Grotzky, grandson of Adolf Grotzky, was kind enough to share this classic American tale of survival through the terrible Depression Era as well as the important part this Ludwig drum kit played in their lives.
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The late 1960s was the psychedelic era. Without trying to explain what psychedelic means I will just present the finish on this drum set to illustrate it. Wild and weird colors became part of what it was all about. Ludwig Drum Company produced three drum finishes that were truly wild and weird looking. The three were Psychedelic Red, Mod Orange, and Citrus Mod. This kit is a good example of Citrus Mod, the rarest of the three finishes.
Read moreHere’s another unique snare drum that has just entered the collection. A special thanks goes to my good friend Bill Wanser of Olympic Drums & Percussion (Portland, Oregon) for making me a very fair deal on this snare drum and for his expert shell restoration. This drum was “ridden hard and put up wet” and needed a lot of work but I think that the finished product was well worth everyone’s efforts.
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There isn’t a surplus of information concerning these elusive Butterscotch drums. There are only two complete kits known to exist and possible just a hand full of snare drums as of this writing. A theory is that Ludwig received a bad batch of Black Diamond Pearl wrap and proceeded to use the wrap regardless of the discolorations. The finish was later coined “Butterscotch” by collectors.
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The set in this article that I own is a special set for several reasons. It has a lot green present, it was made on Dec 12th 1968 (which still falls in the psychedelic years) and it is a catalog correct Rock Duo from the Ludwig catalog. Ludwig offered two factory catalog double bass sets; The Blue Note consisting of two 22" bass drums, 12,13,16,18 toms, matching jazzfest snare, canister throne and bongos. The Rock Duo is the smaller cousin featuring two 20” bass drums, 12,13,16 toms and a supraphonic 400 snare drum.
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In 1929 Ludwig & Ludwig offered four new snare drum models that can be found in the Fall 1929 Ludwig Drummer Magazine. The new models were the Super-Sensitive, New Era-Sensitive, Super-Power and the Standard-Sensitive Model, the drum in this article. From what I have researched it looks like the Super-Sensitive Model was around from 1929 through 1936, whereas the New Era-Sensitive, Super-Power and Standard-Sensitive Models only lasted for 1-2 years (1929-30). Super-Sensitive Models are very collectible and somewhat rare in certain instances but the other three Sensitive Models are extremely rare and, in my opinion, highly collectible.
Read moreThis drum is officially the first vintage drum that started my vintage snare drum hobby. I always had about 10 vintage drums lying around that I played here and there but I never paid much attention to the “vintage” aspect of those drums. This changed in March of 1995. I had been reading about vintage drums and my first vintage drum deal was with Sam Adato’s Drum Shop in San Francisco. Sam said that this drum is very rare so I took his word for it and traded a 1960s Gretsch Blue Sparkle round badge snare... the rest is history.
Read moreThis is the earliest known set in existence of the finish made famous by the Beatles Ringo Starr, 8 years before Beatlemania hit in 1964. This finish first appears into the Ludwig catalog in 1959 where it can be seen on the Las Vegas Stand Up cocktail outfit. In 1956 WFL Drums biggest star endorser was the one and only Buddy Rich.
Read moreThe bass drum on this set has two sets of disappearing spurs. Maybe they added the second set to keep Joe Morello's bass drum from creeping off during his solos! :-)
Read moreThe Superbeat is an uncataloged set consisting of the optional 20” kick with the Super Classic 13” tom and 16” floor tom. So, 20/13/16. This set appears to be a special order set as well as both the floor tom and the tom have dual mufflers, one for the top and one for the bottom heads. The bass drum also has dual front and rear sets of spurs. All these options were available when you ordered a kit back then.
Read moreBlack Panther wrap was introduced in 1968 along with the mod wraps. It first appeared in the 1970 Ludwig catalog and was offered throughout the 70s. It’s really a one of a kind wrap. It has this fake leather look to it and, personally, it reminds me of the old Marshall amplifiers which is why I like it. It is a thin material that is unlike any other wrap used by Ludwig. The most famous drummer who used this early on was Mitch Mitchell of the Jimi Hendrix Experience.
Read moreMy project started with a bunch of Ludwig drums and assorted cymbals I bought from a guy going the digital route. Beneath the grime and stickers were a partial club date kit, 14" and 16" WMP B/O toms, and a super sensitive snare.
Read moreI don't understand why green was not a very popular color among the Vistalites produced by Ludwig in the 1970s. Some collectors claim, that Mr. Bill Ludwig said, there were only about fifty green sets made in the 1970s. I have my doubts about that number, but we know there are a lot fewer green sets than clear or blue. The darker green and red sets just didn't sell as well as the clear and lighter colors. The amber color got a big boost from John Bonham's using them on tour with Led Zeppelin.
Read moreIn 1935, Ludwig & Ludwig Drum Company celebrated its 25th “Silver” Anniversary and issued a series of redesigned Silver Anniversary snare drums in Standard, Super-Ludwig, and Super-Sensitive models. Mark Cooper (Cooper’s Vintage Drums) has noted that while the Silver Anniversary occurred in 1935, these drums did not appear in print until 1936 (Ludwig Drummer Magazine, Ludwig Silver Anniversary Edition catalog 36-A).
Read moreI had mentioned above that this was a floor model at the Ludwig factory. I found this to be quite interesting to be able to buy back then as such. But when I took the kit apart to smell the interiors (wink ;-) and check the date stamps, I discovered the initials BL in the drums. I could not help myself, so I reached out to Bill Ludwig III and explained what I had and the story.
Read moreI rarely sell or trade my snare drums but this was an easy deal. The drum that I traded to Mark was a 1920s-30s Gretsch Emerald Green Pearl American Model. Mark is Mr. Sea Green Pearl and has the matching Gretsch EGP bass drum so I was happy to be able to help him get the matching snare drum and in turn Mark added another rare snare drum to my collection.
Read moreThis is one of those kits that you dream of finding and it actually found me. I run an ad on the local Craig’s List looking for vintage drums. One day I get an email from an older gentleman telling me about this kit he may want to sell......
Read moreIn my relentless pursuit of vintage drums, I came across an interesting Ebay listing: “Early 1900's Vintage Ludwig Drums, Black Beauty Snare, Zildjian, Zenjian Cymbals”. While the pictures weren’t very sharp, I could definitely see a 1920s-1930s engraved Ludwig Black Beauty in what appeared to be the original case. There were four cymbals, a bass drum and clearly a bunch of assorted hardware, all in De Luxe finish. Normally, I just collect snare drums but in this instance, I decided to make an exception. So I pulled the trigger.
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