Just Bought a late 60's Luddy Kit

Well it's tomorrow. We're WAITING......

JK Bob no rush. OK maybe a little. Actually, could you hurry it up a little?

Lol.

Bob you and your "new" Luds are in my thoughts.
 
I recently bought a 2012 Club Date SE and I fell in love with it.
I just had to have the real thing!

I found this curious. So you don't consider your Club Dates the real thing? I checked out the Club Dates and they feel like real Ludwigs to me. What is it that they lack compared to old vintage Ludwigs?

Is it the maple? The place of origin? The 45 years or so? I'm wondering what your thoughts are on this. Especially since now Ludwig makes so many different lines of drums. What is a real Ludwig?

This is probably interesting enough for its own thread (sorry to hijack if that's what happens).
 
I am at work so I only have a few mins.
I just pulled the heads off of the drums.
The 13" tom is dated July 2 1968
The floor tom is dated July 1 1968
The bass is dated July 2 and the year is blurred.
The interiors are all clear coat. The wrap is in the scarfs on the bass and the floor tom but not the 13" tom. The 13 has thicker rims than the floor tom.
The drums are in perfect condition.
Sorry I have to go. I will be back later.
 
Sweet looking kit, i love four pieces.
 
Here is a pic of the shells.
I was mistaken, The wrap is tucked into the scarf on all of the drums.
I couldn't see it at work when I first removed the heads.
I am 100% sure that this is a complete kit that was made on July 1, and 2 of 1968.
The hoops on the 13" tom were replaced with 2.6mm at some point.
I just happen to have a set of 13" Ludwig 1.6 mm hoops so I can install them and the kit will be authentic.

The heads are G1's. They fit a bit tight, Should I buy vintage heads?
 

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Coated ambassadors should fit nicely and sound great,but if they don't try Aquarian American vintage which are made for oversized vintage drum shells like Ludwig,Slingerland or Gretsch. with Gretsch being the biggest offender.

Gretsch shell were made oversized at one time on purpose so that Gretsch permatone heads were the only ones that would properly fit.

Looks like a factory matched kit to me.I'm surprised Maxwell didn't notice the 2.3mm rim and replace it.Anyway...great drums Bob...play em' till your hands bleed.:):)

Steve B
 
Wow, congratulations Bob. What a cherry kit. And the dates are only a day apart! That's insane! Ludwig had a consistent day that day! I don't care what you paid for them, they were worth it! Can't wait to hear you play them! Could this be one of the earliest examples of the shell switch over? Or was there a period where they made both white painted and clear coated? I was under the assumption that it was a clear split between the 2 shell types.
 
Absolutely beautiful Bob! Perhaps you could try those Aquarians vintage heads for a better fit. Or go all the way and go actual calfskin. If you want to afford it (and the subsequent headache involved ;)
 
Thanks all, Here are some pics of my new friends in their new home. I played them for the first time tonight. :):):)
I discovered that they like medium tension tuning a lot!
 

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They sure are purdy Bob. Great score for sure.
 
Thanks Larry and all.
As far as heads go, I have been experimenting, and so far I have discovered that standard Ambassadors and G1 heads fit pretty good.
They are just a little snugger than I am used to on my modern kits.
Aquarian standard series heads are tight. They will not work well at all. I have tried several that I had lying around.
I may try the Aquarian vintage heads. I am kind of waiting for some more input from some vintage Ludwig addicts before I make a decision.

I have played real skin heads back in the day and I am sure that I don't want to go that route.
 
.......I was scanning Steve Maxwell's site and there they were.
When I saw the condition and I read what Steve wrote about the kit in his description I had to buy it.
Steve has a great rep for telling it exactly like it is.
He basically said that this is one of the best examples of a 60's Ludwig kit that he has ever seen. He said that if it wasn't for the 20" bass he would keep them for his personal collection.
In my case I wanted the 20" bass.

This looks to me like a kit that was kept in the best of conditions by upstanding owner/s.
I plan on doing the same.
..
Congratulations Bob!

Stunning and going to a most proper owner.

Steve is a one of a kind guy. The book he could write..... though i have purchased almost all the drums i currently own from him, I try to not go to his site because I know it's going to cost me.
 
Thanks dmacc, I hear ya, Steve maxwell can be an expensive friend :)
I browsed his site for a few years while I fought off the urges until finally I just gave in. I am only human :)
I never dreamed that I would someday own a kit that is in collectors condition.
I am walking on air at the moment.
 
Every time I walk by my vintage Luds...there's just something about them. They make me smile. I can't say that about my DW's even though that's the set I normally practice on. But I can't walk out of that room without playing on them after I'm done practicing. I have my 66 champagne sparkle kit set up presently at the request of my son. So the 76 WMP's are stacked up now.

Bob, are these drums relegated to you house? Or is there a chance that these will see some gig time?

BTW, how many bands are you in these days and what kind of bands are they?
 
Thanks Larry and all.
As far as heads go, I have been experimenting, and so far I have discovered that standard Ambassadors and G1 heads fit pretty good.
They are just a little snugger than I am used to on my modern kits.
Aquarian standard series heads are tight. They will not work well at all. I have tried several that I had lying around.
I may try the Aquarian vintage heads. I am kind of waiting for some more input from some vintage Ludwig addicts before I make a decision.

I have played real skin heads back in the day and I am sure that I don't want to go that route.

Bob...remember to get the Aquarian American vintage heads,not the modern vintage heads.

The American vintage series are made slightly oversized to fit oversized shells,but the modern vintage series are made to fit modern drums and give then a vintage sound.

Great drums by the way.WMP is just a classy looking wrap.

Steve B
 
OK, I went back to what tamadrm said in an early post in the beginning this thread.
He said, "Put Ambassadors on them and let the magic happen" I went back in time in my mind and I thought about my 60's era Slingerland kit that I owned in the early 70's. It was almost the same composition as these Ludwig drums are. I remembered how my instructor taught me how to tune it.
I stopped by a music store after work and I purchased Coated Ambassador heads for the tom reso's, and Coated Ambassador X heads as Tom Batters.
I seated them on the toms, I tuned them, and the magic happened!!!
I remembered that you had to finesse the tone from every lug as you tuned these drums.
They don't tune like modern precision drums where you simply tighten the rods until you feel that it is enough. No way, No How!
You have to listen to, and sense the tuning of these drums. These drums have a small sweet spot that lies somewhere in the middle of the tuning spectrum.
My 2012 Club Date can be tuned low of high, but not in between like these 60's Luddies can.
The 13 inch mounted tom sustains so long now that I can hit it, walk away, and return a few mins later to hear it still singing. (just kidding but you all get what i mean)
Thanks, Steve.

Larry, to answer your questions, I probably will not take these drums to gigs.
I play with 4 bands at present.
I play with a Country/Moderate Rock band, A Classic Rock band, A Jazz/Fusion band, and a Jazz Band that does not gig and plays only standards from the Real Books. We meet at my house every Monday night. We have a Trumpet. Tenor Sax, Trombone, Piano, Bass, and myself. I like this last band the best :)
 
Really happy for ya brother. I have a feeling your avi is gonna change lol. So what are we up to, 5 kits now?
 
Hey Bob. Did you notice a darker ring of wood on the outside ply? Just curious about the ply recipe.

Stunning BTW!
 
Hey Bob. Did you notice a darker ring of wood on the outside ply? Just curious about the ply recipe.

Stunning BTW!
Thanks mike,
Its hard to tell. The wrap is so perfectly aligned with the edge of the shell. It actually curves over the edge of the outer ply
The craftsmanship is truly stunning. The fact that the shells were formed and then the ends glued together with the wrap tucked into the scarf joint as if it were a forth ply of the shell is pure genius. Ludwig saved production time by eliminating a step. The wrap has stayed bonded to the shell for 45 years! There are no bubbly areas where the wrap has become loose on any part of any of the drums. There are no areas inside of the shells where the clear coat has cracked or peeled. There are no splits on the edges. Amazing!
It does appear to be slightly darker so the outer ply is probably mahogany.
It makes manufacturing sense to not waste maple on the outside part of the shell that will not be seen and have almost no effect on the sound. Save the maple for the lacquered shells.

Each tom had a muffler. I removed them and I put them away for safe keeping. I never liked them.

Larry, I have 6 kits now. I am selling one soon.
 
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