Vintage WFL Ludwigs, need info, advice

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
 

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What a shame someone altered those drums.By drilling all the extra holes,they devalued the kit buy 35 to 50% of what a collectable set would go for.

The snare is a Barrett Deems model,which later became the Jazz Festival.The snare is the most valuable drum you have there,and that along with the floor tom,would still be in collectable condition

The white marine pearl wrap,looks to be in good shape,and even the bass drum hoop inlay is original.

The mounted tom was added sometime after the bass floor tom and snare.is the dates are with in a few months of each other ,thats fine ,but the big drawback is the extra holes and non original hardware.

You can't undrill a hole

So what you have there is a players kit,with a collectable snare drum.The value of the kit as a whole,isn't going to be anywhere near that a non pieced together,unaltered kit would be.

Steve B
 
Nice players kit. You're right, collectors don't want extra holes. Or Gibraltar spurs. And, as a set, yes, drums have to match. This is a kit that someone put together, at some time. This is common. A lot can happen, in 50+ years. Original, this kit could go for $1200 - $1500. As is, I'd say $500-800, depending on the buyer (how bad he wants it).​
Condition, sizes, finish .... all these things come into play. And simply .... how bad does the buyer want the drums. And how deep are his pockets.​
 
Thanks, guys. I was kind of figuring that much for the kit. I do love the vintage sound though, so maybe this is good news in that as it's in 'players' condition, I might as well play it. Any thoughts on how much the snare and floor tom may be worth? I've seen similar ones for $400+ on ebay...but can't find anything like the floor tom.
 
Any thoughts on how much the snare and floor tom may be worth? I've seen similar ones for $400+ on ebay...but can't find anything like the floor tom.
And again, condition means everything. Is the chrome mint, or pitted? Also, did the drum sell for $400, or was it just priced at $400?​
On the floor tom, 14's go for more than 16's. I'll assume you have a 22, 13, 16 kit. Ballpark the floor tom at $250-$300.​
 
Nice find, and it is a great players kit. Fill the holes and play those babies until your arms and legs ache!
Post some pics of it all set up please.
Be careful, there is Mojo in old Ludwig drums. The drum sprits will take control of you and amazing magical things will begin to happen to you.
Think Im kidding? Go ahead, play those suckers and find out for yourself.
Read this thread and learn how old Luds affected me. http://www.drummerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=106584
 
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There's a bit of pitting on the chrome hoops on the snare, but I haven't tried cleaning it yet. And yes, I think I understand the mojo thing now, I've played it at a few gigs and its hard to pay attention to anything else going on outside of the kit. What's the best way to fill the holes?
 
Here's the picture of the kit set up before a show. At first I tightened the dampening rings to dampen the rack and floor tom, but lately I've been loosening the rings considerably and just using moongels. Do people ever take the rings out, or would that be a bad idea?
 

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What's the best way to fill the holes?
Best way is to glue the right sized dowels into the holes. Some people go a much easier route, and put stove bolts into the holes.​
Do people ever take the rings out, or would that be a bad idea?
Oh yeah, people take those mufflers out all the time. Mostly, because they get old, wear out, and start to rattle. Lots of drums are missing those parts, now.​
 
The kit looks great all set up.

I tighten the rivets on the muffler felts by using a punch and a hammer to flatten them.
It worked great on my kit. They no longer rattle. I don't use the mufflers but I like to keep the drums original.

You can buy plastic rivets for the holes in the shells. They come in different sizes and they are commonly used on cars to hold body panels in place.

The new Atlas mounts did wonders for my rack toms.
 
I'm a vintage drum collector/player - yes, drilling holes in vintage drums is not good. But, they are still very nice drums/hardware/finish....and everything about them. They are certainly not worth what an unaltered shellpack would bring but they are great drums. I'm sure you're looking around lots to see what the value would be for these....but, in the end, they are worth a lot to you if you like them and that's what counts.

Again...they are very nice drums - congratulations! Extra holes or no extra holes - nice find!
 
Thanks! I've looked into the Atlas mounts but I normally just use a snare stand for my rack tom, it just makes things simpler to put up and tear down when gigging.
 
Check out the Pearl 2000 Series snare stand if you haven't already. They're heavy...which is good when you're dealing with hanging a tom over/close to the bd. They have tons of adjustment. I have two and it's the only one I've found so far that I trust hanging close/over my late 50's and 2011 Custom USA Gretsch kits.
There may be other good stands out there but I know this one is very good.


Thanks! I've looked into the Atlas mounts but I normally just use a snare stand for my rack tom, it just makes things simpler to put up and tear down when gigging.
 
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