Major Kevin John simon has gone to great lengths to compile tons of rare photos, information and general knowledge on all things Mitch and decided to take things further when he took on the incredible task of recreating the three Ludwig sets Mitch used with Jimi Hendrix from 1967-1969. When Kevin made the decision to showcase the sets and the group at the famous Chicago drum show that happens in May, a decision was made to recreate the Black Panther Ludwig set that Mitch used at Woodstock.
Read moreIn 1991, Jack Hutchinson of Jack’s Drum Hutch organized a Drummer’s Swap Meet which was held in a lower level conference room of a Holiday Inn in Loves Park, Illinois. Participants included Rebeats, Randy Rainwater and Bun E Carlos, Chuck Scalia, Joe Luoma, Blair Holben, Jack Brand’s Percussion Express, Skins N Tins, and a couple of others.
Read moreNo drummer can deny that Made in Japan drums had some of the most eye-catching wraps on the market. This is why Ludwig created 15 unique wraps that had that M.I.J. mojo—most notably, the strata wraps.
Read moreThis seems to be an uncatalogued finish as it is nowhere to be found -- that I know of -- in any Ludwig literature. I have seen 1 or 2 other Ludwig Butterscotch Pearl snares and I also own a Duplex Spirit of St. Louis in this finish so I personally know that this finish exists. So my best guess is that this is an uncatalogued or special order finish. As always I welcome any other information that may be out there regarding this finish.
Read moreThis Multi-Model Marvel is truly a lovely drum and extremely well-preserved. The Marvel strainer works quite nicely and smoothly, applying even tension across all snares. So why do I think it wasn’t successful? First off, the bridge mechanism extends about 1 3/8” from the bottom. For snare stands of the time, this overhang could be problematic.
Read moreThis is a companion article to one about Gretsch round badge drums published in December 2020.[i] This study involves Ludwig Keystone badge drums with serial numbers produced from late 1963 to late 1969. Many collectors place a premium on born together drum sets. However, very few vintage drum sets come with original receipts or reliable histories which can assure owners or potential buyers that the sets were originally purchased as one unit from the factory or music instrument retailer. When documentation is not present, many look for sets with closely grouped serial numbers. But how close is close enough?
Read moreLet’s talk about buying vintage cymbals and caring for them.
Read moreThey have a very nice KOA finish which was a Rogers finish from 1973 to 1976. The finish is hard like a counter top. This finish was according to Jack Propps, fellow vintage drummer, "The finish a lot of southern rockers used in the 70s, Monty Yoho- The Outlaws, Frank Beard-ZZ Top, Rick Burnett -Grinderswitch , Danny Darling-Jay Boy Adams and more. The finish was 'down home' but more durable than lacquered Gretsch or Slingerland and took bumps and bruises of 1 night stands across the USA."
Read moreI’d like to start this story by both thanking and blaming Mark Cooper (Coopers Vintage Drums) J. Many years ago, I met Mark at one of the Chicago Drum Shows. He was sharing his fabulous collection of vintage green-wrapped drums from Slingerland and Leedy.
Read moreWhen you have been a collector, seller and a repairman as I have
for 43 years you are bound to have owned some interesting musical
instruments. Luckily I had the foresight to photograph many of these
instruments because I just don't see as many nowadays unless of course I
visit one of the national drum shows. 95% of the pictures you will see
in my column were drums owned by me at one time or another. Today we
look at some interesting Ludwig drum sets.
Read moreThis 1939 WFL Paramount snare was produced in the year that Germany invaded Poland, and just over 2 years later, the U.S. would join the war. Bill Ludwig, Sr. had lost his name, much of his savings, and yet survived both the transition and WWII. In the end, his company thrived, and he regained his name. There is so much to be admired about Bill Sr’s. drive, fortitude, and relentlessness. This 1939 WFL Paramount snare is one representation of his work during this challenging time and embodies all those who appreciated its sound and construction over 8 decades.
Read moreLooking at the outside photo one would think that this is a normal Ludwig 8 x 14 Super-Ludwig from the late 1930s..well, there is more to it that makes this drum a tad more quirky. The drum came to me 100% original and in excellent condition, no cleaning or polishing was necessary. The WMP is in excellent condition with virtually no yellowing at all. The white enamel badge is very clean with a tight, untouched grommet. Now for the quirkiness; looking at the interior photo you can see that the shell is aluminum with top and bottom maple 2” re-wrings. This leads me to the question was this a prototype snare or a special order snare?
Read moreI guess the main difference between collecting then as opposed to collecting now is getting to know the person who’s selling the drums as much as knowing about the drums themselves. Some of my best friends, people I met through collecting and custom drum building and engraving, came from a vintage drum transaction that took us a couple of weeks to accomplish due to the delays of mail, photography, and the phone.
Read moreWhen we got to my friend's home, he had the Slingerland set on the porch and also a big 26" Ludwig clear maple bass drum and 14"mounted tom there also. Along with these he had a few extra goodies that he was willing to sell as well. Well, what to do? Buy it all even if it's going to be tight in the car getting it home, that's what. My wife is a good sport, but this was trying her patience with me. I briefly thought about leaving her with my friend. No, I'm kidding, I was determined to get her and the drums home and not make the three-hour trip back to get all the drums. We were crushed in the front seats, but we made it safely back home
Read moreThat weekend an old friend of mine Pat, that has since passed on, (RIP Brother, and thank you for this) stayed up with me for three days straight listening to Pink Floyd as we cleaned, polished and assembled this pile into a usable drum set. It was mismatched colors of red. Some were sparkle and some were swirl pearl, and it was also different brands, Ludwig, Pearl and Slingerland etc...., I didn't care, I finally had my first real drum set that was all mine!
Read moreOne day in late 2020, I was doing my usual browsing through vintage drum-related social media posts and came across a 1936 Leedy & Strupe (L&S) white marine pearl drum kit for sale. This L&S kit consisted of a white marine pearl 14 x 28” bass drum (with calf heads), 9 x 13” tom (tacked bottom head), 6.5 X 14” snare, cowbell, and various hardware (original L&S bass drum pedal, hi-hat with lamb wool beater, Clamp-Rite trap holders, spurs). According to Harry Cangany (noted author, drum historian), this kit was, “a ‘Dictator’ model in white pearl (L&S name for white marine pearl)…1936 is probably correct.”
Read moreThis wonderful old wood kit consisting of 14x22 bass drum, 8X12 and 9x13 toms, 16x16 floor tom and the great cracking 5x14 Utility snare drum is the recording kit of studio dreams.
Read moreOne of the many unexplained mysteries of vintage drums is the existence of vintage 1960s Gretsch Round Badge drums which lack the typical silver sealer interior paint. This was an era before clear drum heads, so few people saw the inside of their drums. However, Gretsch was marketing “The Great Gretsch Sound” and part of that sound was allegedly the silver sealer they applied to the interior of their drums starting in about 1954.
Read more“This drum is known as the Charles Cordes Gladstone. Mr. Cordes machined all the Gladstone hardware and assembled most of the Billy Gladstone snare drums. There were approximately 50 Gladstone drums made of which fewer than 30 are accounted for as of this printing. Of these 50 snare drums the Charles Cordes drum is the only 6 x 14 gold lacquer/gold plated drum known.
Read moreAccording to my WFL/Ludwig catalogs, the Ludwig canister throne was invented around 1953 and it was touted as the sensational new “seat-case” as it was designed to hold traps and accessories.
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