Ludwig Black Panthers part II

[3-ply_guy]

I always liked having two floor toms. The finish on this kit is so rare I thought it would be impossible to ever match it. Well, I went to a auto trim shop that has been in business since the 60's and begged the owner to let me look at his vinyl and scraps. Low and behold I found a 54"x63" of dusty old Chrysler vinyl. He GAVE it to me !! I had the floor tom (14x14) so I bought some glue and with a little effort this is what happened. Yeah, I know the badge is missing but one is on the way via ebay. Adding this tom has changed the dynamics of playing this kit, that tom sounds great and allowed me to tune up the other toms. I need to Armour-All it yet to get the shine but I want to wait until I have the badge glued down before I put a polish on it. Matches well I think. The snare, I'm going to leave alone as that wrap was not available when the snare was built.

[SLEEPY BRiGHT EYEZ]

Nice! It matches the rest of the kit very well.

[Jusstickinaround]

That's one fine kit! Is it the 3ply clear maple interior? I have a similiar kit in wmp, how do you tune it, is the top head higher or lower than the bottom? I tried tuning mine with the bottom higher after watching the John Bonham video that's on here, seems to work on my kit. The 14x14 floor tom looks great, it looks like it's from around the same year.

[3-ply_guy]

That's one fine kit! Is it the 3ply clear maple interior? I have a similiar kit in wmp, how do you tune it, is the top head higher or lower than the bottom? I tried tuning mine with the bottom higher after watching the John Bonham video that's on here, seems to work on my kit. The 14x14 floor tom looks great, it looks like it's from around the same year.


It's definitely a early 70's 3 ply clear interior maple (that matches the rest of the kit-'71) Ludwig tom (the original badge was on it but messed up and the one I got from ebay falls in my serial numbers). I use Evans G2's for batters (except snare Fiberskyn 3FA) and remo single ply for resonants. I do tune the resonant head higher than the batter but adding this tom opened up a whole new world. I have played with the tuning quite a bit and wish I had an endless supply of heads to try. I tried Ludwig Silver Dot single plys, coated Ambassadors, pinstripe and was not happy with the sound of any of those,I don't use the mufflers except on the snare. Using the Evans G2's allow them to sing but have a nice thump to them, but not "dead drum" sound.

[Jusstickinaround]

Where did you happen to find that 14x14 floor tom? I'm trying to find one for my kit, I've looked on ebay, but if I see one it's far too much for me to spend. I payed $500 for an 8x12, 9x13, 16x16, and a 14x22, the floor toms I've seen are going for almost that much. Do you prefer the vintage Ludwigs to newer kits? I've owned many kits old and new, and have found the vintage kits have a different tone that works better for my needs.

[3-ply_guy]

I prefer the sound of a vintage kit. Maybe because that is what I am used to. I think the shells are too thick on newer drums. I got the floor tom off ebay for 167.00 shipped. It had 4 - 1/8" holes in it, a wrong rim. It took almost a year to get a "donor" shell for the right price. I will not pay those ugly prices for something I was going to wrap. Patience is the key. 14x14 is the worst of them all price wise, but all the lugs and legs were present. All total I have 325.00 into just the one floor tom. (2 new rims, muffler, badge, heads, gig bag and the tom itself) Still couldn't build it for that.

[Drummer Karl]

I would feel very good on this kit man! Nice simple finish, great set-up...but does this remind me a bit of Tony WIlliams? .......

anyway, niiice!

Karl

[gr82bagn]

Sweet kit, they look like they have a nice thunderous sound. I picked up my 14 inch ft on eBay as well. eBay can be a good place if your careful.

[3-ply_guy]

Somehow I just had a feeling most people wouldn't want this drum over what I considered to be minor issues (4 - 1/8" holes, badge ruined, muffler MIA and wrong bottom hoop was a snare bottom hoop) at one time someone had made a snare drum out of this tom. I did have to recut the bearing edge on the bottom but it was no big deal. I knew that most would pass on it, under the Black Panther wrap is silver sparkle, you have to have a wrap or plastic backer anyway! What really caught my attention is that it is a 8 lug drum. It had to come from a DownBeat kit, the badge that was on it put it at mid 70's and the grommet looked unmolested. 8 lugs on a floor tom make tuning it an "art". Now that it has new heads and rims and tuned properly, it just sings. One of the best 14 x 14 floor toms I could have hoped for both in sound and what fitted my needs.

Man, I just love the snare on this kit, '57-60 (no date stamp) WFL 6" x 14" auditorium snare. All nickle lugs and Arrow Head throw-off,WFL buttplate with really heavy duty NOB hoops. I think it's probably a '57 or '58 as it doesn't have a mix of parts and those heavy rims. When I bought it, it still had the factory solid blue laquer paint on it. I just prepped it and shot it with "Bumper Black" satin car paint. I wouldn't want to wrap it as that wrap was not available back then. I am thinking pro refinish satin laquer black might be in the future for it. The COB Supra that came with it just sits in a bag, it looks new and really sounds good too. I like the sound of wood better though.

[Jusstickinaround]

Have you ever tried using rims on those Ludwigs, and if so did you notice a difference?

[3-ply_guy]

Have you ever tried using rims on those Ludwigs, and if so did you notice a difference?

Yes I have used them on vintage Ludwig's. They really do open up the drum sound wise. The Pearl ISO feet on floor toms really work well too! I don't use them as we don't play real loud and this works well. As the saying goes... If it ain't broke... Don't fix it!

Did you notice the Fiberskyn head on the ebay pic of the 14 x 14? It now resides on my snare. It really brought out the dynamics of the snare.

[3-ply_guy]

Nice Kit. What kind of music??

Classic rock and blues. ..... it's what the people want to hear (at least where I live).


BTW: It's finally finished, badge in place and I tuned the 12 and 14FT as a pair and the 13 and 16FT as a pair, really works nice.

[sazemanek1]

Hi,


Do you have any of that "Black Panther" material left that I get from you?


SAZ