Updated Ludwig Classic Maple Bonham Pics...

adam!

Senior Member
Hey guys,
Here are some updated pics of the kit. Some things have changed since I last posted pics of it. I got some vintage-looking hardware (cymbal and snare stands) to better fit the "era". I changed the badges out to the blue/olive badges and found an actual 70's rail. I also updated my cymbal rig to match the kit. I've got a refurbished Speed King pedal on the way from Jesse at Drummechanix.com, so I'm excited about that. I just love this kit. Playing this kit sounds like it's right out of the Zeppelin IV recording sessions...
One other thing - With the bass drum, I found that removing the felt strip from the resonant head added to it's boomy-ness. It's not ringy (as in high-pitched), and it adds so much more to the sound of the kit. I recommend to all 26" bass drum owners doing the felt strip method to remove them from your reso heads. Let that drum sing!

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Specs:

6.5x14 LM402
10x14 Rack
16x16 Floor
16x18 Floor
14x26 Bass

15" 2oo2 Sound Edge hats
18" Giant Beat Multi
20" Giant Beat Multi
24" Giant Beat Ride
 
Absolutely beautiful kit! I have just bought a Ludwig Centennial in the Bonham sizes and the thing is massive!

I like your 2002/Giant Beat mix. I am seriously considering picking up a set of sound edge hats in the near future.
 
If you play your kick hard pay attention to the spur casings. That style was weak and heavy feet have destroyed those casings. If those are the newer offerings hopefully their not that pot metal type of material. I remember guys reinforcing the backing plate inside the shell with larger washers to try to take some of the impact away from the spurs and their casings. Lots of them just switched back to the straight rod and the casings they had. Good luck nice looking kit, always liked the green sparkle finish. Doc
 
Score another one for Bonham. Really really nice kit. Don't play too loud, though. You'll scare the wildlife.
 
Hey guys,
Here are some updated pics of the kit. Some things have changed since I last posted pics of it. I got some vintage-looking hardware (cymbal and snare stands) to better fit the "era". I changed the badges out to the blue/olive badges and found an actual 70's rail. I also updated my cymbal rig to match the kit. I've got a refurbished Speed King pedal on the way from Jesse at Drummechanix.com, so I'm excited about that. I just love this kit. Playing this kit sounds like it's right out of the Zeppelin IV recording sessions...
One other thing - With the bass drum, I found that removing the felt strip from the resonant head added to it's boomy-ness. It's not ringy (as in high-pitched), and it adds so much more to the sound of the kit. I recommend to all 26" bass drum owners doing the felt strip method to remove them from your reso heads. Let that drum sing!

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Specs:

6.5x14 LM402
10x14 Rack
16x16 Floor
16x18 Floor
14x26 Bass

15" 2oo2 Sound Edge hats
18" Giant Beat Multi
20" Giant Beat Multi
24" Giant Beat Ride

That, my friend, is a beautiful drum kit. Enjoy.
 
That is one sexy mudda you have there! It looks like it was plucked right out of the 70's and gently placed on your patio. Maybe it won't be such a bad thing to scare off the wildlife, I hear those Deer and quite the nuisance.

Keep us updated when the souped up Speed King shows up, I've entertained the thought of buying one on a few occasions.

All we're missing now is our resident Giant Beat fanatic Ian Williams to drop by and give this thread his blessing. Happiness is truly 2 feet of ride right above your giant kick drum.
 
Awesome kit, bro. I love mine as well. Speaking of letting the drums sing, take off those rubber gaskets on your 402 and use the Ludwig snare cord on the snares. You'll love the difference it makes. Isn't it crazy how that kit sounds so much like the recordings? It sounds so authentic when you play Zeppelin tunes with it, really cool. Have a blast!
 
Great kit, nice tribute to the Man! Must be fun to play
 
Thanks for the compliments everyone!

If you play your kick hard pay attention to the spur casings.

These are the newer 1/2" thick spurs. They seem to hold up pretty well, and they also face forward a bit, instead of straight out to the sides.

YES! *fist pump* I'm not the only one who does the cowbell-on-a-cymbal-stand thing!

Right on, man. Cowbell stands rock.

Score another one for Bonham. Really really nice kit. Don't play too loud, though. You'll scare the wildlife.

It does keep the creatures at bay. I'm sure my neighbors aren't fans, but I try to imagine that they're bobbing their heads or dancing when I'm playing. My wife claims I'm sufferring from delusions of grandeur...

Keep us updated when the souped up Speed King shows up, I've entertained the thought of buying one on a few occasions.

Will do. It came in a couple days ago, and I'm loving it. It's better than if you were to buy a brand new Speed King in the 70's. I'm going to post about it in the Pedals section later.

Very nice kit! That's a big cymbal on the bass drum; is it solid?

Very solid. I know it looks completely unstable, but it's surprisingly sturdy. Plus, the Giant Beat is actually a fairly light cymbal.

Awesome kit, bro. I love mine as well. Speaking of letting the drums sing, take off those rubber gaskets on your 402 and use the Ludwig snare cord on the snares. You'll love the difference it makes. Isn't it crazy how that kit sounds so much like the recordings? It sounds so authentic when you play Zeppelin tunes with it, really cool. Have a blast!

That's the next (and hopefully final) step to take. I'm waiting until the next time I need to change heads, and I'm going to remove the rubber gaskets and add some Gibraltar hoops to hopefully cut down on rod splay... Also, I'm going to slap on my 30 strand Puresound wires. I think it's the perfect balance between that early and later Bonham sound. I've been curious about using snare cord though. What can you tell me about how it affects the sound?

And thanks bro. Maybe our kits can get together on the playground some day, haha!
 
What can you tell me about how it affects the sound?

The sound is much more open and the drum speaks clearer. I've had straps and grosgrain ribbon on before, but the string really opens it up. I had a post on this a while back. It's like the old tin can telephones attached with string. The vibrations are conducted better via the string and the drum is significantly more vibrant. Many others agreed after switching to string.
 
I totally dig the kit! You need to score yourself some Atlas cymbal stands to complete the set-up...
 
I really wanted to play my Bonham kit live in a current band I work with, so I decided to change a couple of things to try to "modernize" the sound somewhat. I tried tuning the toms a little lower and replaced the batter head on the kick drum with a clear powerstroke 3 and cut a small hole in the resonant head for easier mic'ing purposes. I'll tell you what man, I like the original way it was set up soooo much better. With the higher tuning on the toms and the full head on the bass drum resonant side and a coated emp on the batter side, those drums just sound huge. Tons more powerful and fun to play. Bonzo nailed the sound on that type of kit. It just doesn't sound right using "today's" tuning techniques and head combinations. I quickly switched back to the way I originally had it. It's a different animal for sure, but you just can't get that sound any other way. It's not really appropriate for commercial dance rock stuff like we mostly do, mostly due to the huge boomy bass drum, but it just kills for that classic Zeppelin sound. It also sounds great mic'ed up similar to the Ocheltree video, using room mic's and a mic on the resonant and batter side of the kick.

I guess it comes down to bringing out the qualities of the shells through heads and tuning, and what you're looking for in a drum sound. I have a DW "X" shell kit with a 22x18 virgin kick, 12x9 mounted tom on a stand and 14x12 and 16x14 floor toms. Those drums sound awesome with a Powerstroke 3 on the kick drum tuned very low, ported front head and clear or coated emperors on the toms tuned to a low midrange. Very punchy and fat and they mic up extremely well. They rip your face off in the front of house. To try the Bonham kit approach with that kit yields the same results as trying to modernize the vintage Ludwigs....they just don't sound as good. I already knew that about the DW's, I'm just posting this to share for those who are thinking about applying a Bonham type tuning to their "modern" sounding kit. It really doesn't work in my opinion, but who knows, some may actually like it....
 
I really wanted to play my Bonham kit live in a current band I work with, so I decided to change a couple of things to try to "modernize" the sound somewhat. I tried tuning the toms a little lower and replaced the batter head on the kick drum with a clear powerstroke 3 and cut a small hole in the resonant head for easier mic'ing purposes. I'll tell you what man, I like the original way it was set up soooo much better. With the higher tuning on the toms and the full head on the bass drum resonant side and a coated emp on the batter side, those drums just sound huge. Tons more powerful and fun to play. Bonzo nailed the sound on that type of kit. It just doesn't sound right using "today's" tuning techniques and head combinations. I quickly switched back to the way I originally had it. It's a different animal for sure, but you just can't get that sound any other way. It's not really appropriate for commercial dance rock stuff like we mostly do, mostly due to the huge boomy bass drum, but it just kills for that classic Zeppelin sound. It also sounds great mic'ed up similar to the Ocheltree video, using room mic's and a mic on the resonant and batter side of the kick.

I guess it comes down to bringing out the qualities of the shells through heads and tuning, and what you're looking for in a drum sound. I have a DW "X" shell kit with a 22x18 virgin kick, 12x9 mounted tom on a stand and 14x12 and 16x14 floor toms. Those drums sound awesome with a Powerstroke 3 on the kick drum tuned very low, ported front head and clear or coated emperors on the toms tuned to a low midrange. Very punchy and fat and they mic up extremely well. They rip your face off in the front of house. To try the Bonham kit approach with that kit yields the same results as trying to modernize the vintage Ludwigs....they just don't sound as good. I already knew that about the DW's, I'm just posting this to share for those who are thinking about applying a Bonham type tuning to their "modern" sounding kit. It really doesn't work in my opinion, but who knows, some may actually like it....

I agree. Applying the "modern sound" to the Bonham kit leaves it sounding very dead, thuddy, and boring. This approach doesn't accentuate the shell's natural qualities. I have a Gretsch Renown Purewood Oak kit that I use to go for the more "modern sound", and it delivers perfectly. But there's something about the Bonham kit... I can never make up my mind over which kit I like more. Like you said, it's all about what's appropriate for the music. But I feel very fortunate to have two very different options available to me.
 
I think I see an image of John Henry himself disguised in the green of the trees.....
 
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