dbshorter
Senior Member
So recently I bought a vintage Ludwig drum kit through Craigslist. I knew I was looking for something vintage, but after I did some research on the kit I realized that this was a (mostly) 1958 Ludwig Super Classic, and a really cool piece of history (I was a history major in college, thus a history buff/nerd) and mayyybe I shouldn't drag it around to gigs and risk putting any more damage on it. I took the heads off the drums and looked for the stamps; they are as follows: kick drum- WFL badge, stamped Oct. 21 1958, rack tom- Keystone badge (c. 1960-1963), interior painted white, floor tom- WFL, April 2, 1958, and the crown jewel -- snare, WFL badge, Oct. 21, 1958.
I was definitely floored when I realized how old they were, but there were a few things I had questions about.
The rack tom and kick drum both have extra holes in them (someone felt the need to put Gilbratar hardware on a vintage Ludwig kit...I removed them), and the kick has Gilbratar spurs instead of the original. From what I've learned, collectors obviously hate that, but does anyone know how much that might decrease the value? Also, the drums aren't all stamped with the same date, is that another thing that would be important in determining the value? If anyone has any info I'd love to hear it! thanks
I was definitely floored when I realized how old they were, but there were a few things I had questions about.
The rack tom and kick drum both have extra holes in them (someone felt the need to put Gilbratar hardware on a vintage Ludwig kit...I removed them), and the kick has Gilbratar spurs instead of the original. From what I've learned, collectors obviously hate that, but does anyone know how much that might decrease the value? Also, the drums aren't all stamped with the same date, is that another thing that would be important in determining the value? If anyone has any info I'd love to hear it! thanks