Ludwig "sound coating"

[crdirtRider856]

Ok after searcing and subsearching this forum I couldn t find any info on this. I have a vintage Ludwig kit.... well its actually 2 kits put together. A few drums from 1965 with white sound coating and a few from 1968 with clear interiors. The wmp matches very well but the inner colors make it look a little odd. Would painting the inside of the '68s change the sound? I m not really worried about lowering the monetary value because I will never sell this set. I would just like them to match a little better. I have read that Ludwig called this a sound coating, so what kind of paint would work best at not affecting the sound? If anyone would recommend not doing this, let me know. Thanks

[MadMax]

Ludwig painted some drums because of the color of the wood I believe, or something like that. The paint was never applied to effect the sound. I'm not sure why you would want to paint the inside anyway, you can't really see it. You could always put coated ambassador heads on the bottom and you would not even be able to see it through the bottom.

[crdirtRider856]

I ve been using Aquarian Double Thins for the reso. and clear Pinstripes for the batters for at least 10 years or more. I ve tried alot of other heads and this seems to be the best combo to get the sound I like. The black Pinstipes just dont match the WMP and I guess the reso heads could get about the same sound from a white coated head, but I just like the clear heads, I like how they look. I just want the drums to match a little better and keep my current heads because money is tight and they still have alot of life left.

[caddywumpus]

The "sound coating" was just a way to hide the inconsistencies of the wood used for the interior of the drums. It supposedly doesn't affect the sound of the drum at all. However, the clear maple interiors have some kind of gloss on them that DOES affect the sound. I haven't compared the two side-by-side, but I love the sound of my 1970 clear maple interiors.

If you're never going to sell the set, do what you want with the drums. They WILL decrease in monetary value if you paint the interiors. so be aware. As for the paint, I have no clue, so I won't waste your time with a suggestion.

Gosh, I wonder if drum forums would have existed back in the 60's, if people would have been talking about the validity of the "sound coating" like we talk about the validity of DWs "timbre matching" today. Just a thought...

[crdirtRider856]

Drum forums DID exist in the '60s. Only problem was an average computer took up more than a normal sized garage, and therefore, they had no time or space for drums!OK, so now I need to know the best type of paint to use.....time to hit up SmoothJazz....Oh yeah, now that you mention it, the clear grain interiors were always a little less "finicky" to tune. HMMMMMMMMM, maybe sand off the "sound coating" and find out what the clearcoat was?

[harryconway]

Gosh, I wonder if drum forums would have existed back in the 60's, if people would have been talking about the validity of the "sound coating" like we talk about the validity of DWs "timbre matching" today. Just a thought...

No, people wanted drums to function. They drilled extra holes, mounted Rogers hardware on Ludwig drums, took rattle-can spray paint to them, etc. That's why original, factory vintage drums are worth so much now, to collectors. The attrition factor has to exist in order for any "common" item to become collectible. Quite simply, you wanted to paint the interior of your drums white, you did it.

[Michael G]

Sound wise, from a human ear, will be the exact same.

But, I encourage you to keep the interiors in their original glory. Like caddy said, it will depreciate the value. A simple fix for your unmatching problem is to just use coated heads all around instead of clear ones so you won't see it, and the audience won't see it, and you will have higher valued drums.

However, you make the final choice, and if you want to match the interiors then do so, they are your drums after all.

The paint for the job is Benjamin Moore Regal Semi - Gloss Aqua Glo, Super White 333 02. The awesome thing about this paint, is if you paint over date stamps, they stamps will bleed right through. I recall yours not having them though, but this paint matches Ludwig resa-cote perfectly and is nice and thin. It's used by vintage drum restoration specialists and also recently has been suggested to use by the Webmaster at vintagedrumguide.com when restoring Ludwig interiors as well. You can feel pretty confident using that paint I would say.

Oh and don't forget to strip the lacquer on the interiors first

[crdirtRider856]

Thanks guys. I knew I would get some good advice here. Hey Smoothjazz, you re in the same time-zone as me... what are you doin up at this hour?I guess this site is kind of hard to ignore.... so what kind of heads would you recommend that are similar to what I have. I would rather replace heads than get into this whole stripping paint and refinishing thing if you all think it s the better route. I dont want to deminish any value after all this talk. I m just not sure and looking for some good advice. I love my drums how they are now and if I m a little bit sentimental... can you blame me?

[rmandelbaum]

OMG! vintagedrumguide.com is so cool, thanks for the link!

[MadMax]

Thanks guys. I knew I would get some good advice here. Hey Smoothjazz, you re in the same time-zone as me... what are you doin up at this hour?I guess this site is kind of hard to ignore.... so what kind of heads would you recommend that are similar to what I have. I would rather replace heads than get into this whole stripping paint and refinishing thing if you all think it s the better route. I dont want to deminish any value after all this talk. I m just not sure and looking for some good advice. I love my drums how they are now and if I m a little bit sentimental... can you blame me?

Try coated emporers or pinstripes for the batter, and coated ambassodors on the bottom.

[caddywumpus]

Try coated emporers or pinstripes for the batter, and coated ambassodors on the bottom.

IMO, Ludwig 3-ply drums sound best when they are allowed to sing. If you're going for "the look", then I would suggest coated ambassadors on the bottom and coated ambassadors/emperors on top (I would stay away from pinstripes, EC2s, CSs, etc...). The coating, however, mutes some of the frequencies of the drums, and makes them sound "warmer". I have personally found that I love the sound of coated ambassadors over clear ambassadors on my 1970 Ludwig kit. I tried coated ambassadors as resonant heads, but it sounded a little too muffled for my tastes. If you want to cover up the mismatched interior plies from the bottom (for the audience's sake), my vote would be for smooth white heads.

Experiment on one drum with different combinations and see what you come up with. Good luck!