Ludwig 3 tom rack--what is this?

[Concrete Pete]

Hey Crew,

I bought this a few days ago, along with a bunch of misc hardware for cheap. I pulled it out of the bag, and it's obviously old Ludwig hardware. I haven't seen a bass-to-tom rack for THREE toms before--anyone know what year it is, what style, how much it's worth?

BTW, I've searched all over the web, and can't find ANY 3-tom Ludwig mounts mentioned anywhere!

Thanks in advance--I know someone here will know.

Thanks,
C. P.

[DrumEatDrum]

I remember seeing them in the Ludwig catalog in the 80's.

The idea is you turn one arm up, so you can mount a smaller rack tom above two others.

[harryconway]

Ludwig Modular hardware. A little on the non-attractive side of things, but over-the-top robust. I think 1980 was it's introduction.

[alparrott]

The old Ludwig modular hardware is built like a tank. That third arm can be taken out and relaced with a cymbal boom or other tube.

The Modular gear had large tubes, 1" if I'm not mistaken, whereas most hardware nowadays tops out at 7/8". Makes it heavier and harder to mate with most modern stuff.

[rockinrider]

Hey Pete,

That is a Modular tom mount from the 80's-90's. I put a cymbal mount on the center mine.



Very heavy and rugged.

[Concrete Pete]

Hey Crew,

Thanks for the info--I STILL can't find any other info anywhere else about it, so I'm wondering if it's kinda rare or something.

Anyone have a clue what it's worth? (I sure don't!)

Oh, and the tubes ARE 1" diameter, and thick--Looks like 3/16" wall thickness. The chrome plating seems pretty bullet-proof, too--not like today's EPA-controlled crap.

Hey Rockinrider--NICE set-up! Can you post more pics of that kit? Looks awesome-classic.

Cheers,
C. P.

[DrumEatDrum]

Originally Posted by alparrott

The old Ludwig modular hardware is built like a tank. That third arm can be taken out and relaced with a cymbal boom or other tube.

The Modular gear had large tubes, 1" if I'm not mistaken, whereas most hardware nowadays tops out at 7/8". Makes it heavier and harder to mate with most modern stuff.

Yup. Pearl and Yamaha and a few others all used 7/8's which made there various components compatible with each other, while the Ludwig's bigger tubing made it impossible to add non-Ludwig cymbals arms.

Originally Posted by Concrete Pete

Hey Crew,

Thanks for the info--I STILL can't find any other info anywhere else about it, so I'm wondering if it's kinda rare or something.

Anyone have a clue what it's worth? (I sure don't!)

Rare? No. You're getting too caught up in the third arm.

It's standard modular mount, that has three holes on top. It was very standard for Ludwig for a very long time (15-20 years? maybe more). The three holes you gave you options, so the user could put any combination of tom or cymbal arms in the three holes to allow a custom set up. At times, there were addition accessories available as well.

Most kits uses two for tom arms, and either left the third hole empty, or used the third hole for a cymbal stand.

On this one someone just stuck a third tom arm into the third hole.

Here, from a 1982 Ludwig catalog, you can see at one time, you could stick an expander into the 3rd hole to mount two more toms:

[Drums&Beer]

Originally Posted by Concrete Pete

Hey Crew,

Thanks for the info--I STILL can't find any other info anywhere else about it, so I'm wondering if it's kinda rare or something.

Anyone have a clue what it's worth? (I sure don't!)

Oh, and the tubes ARE 1" diameter, and thick--Looks like 3/16" wall thickness. The chrome plating seems pretty bullet-proof, too--not like today's EPA-controlled crap.

Hey Rockinrider--NICE set-up! Can you post more pics of that kit? Looks awesome-classic.

Cheers,
C. P.

Pete,

Definitely not rare hardware. The triple tom holder mount was standard fare on the high end 80's Ludwig kits, although I would image that you would have had to order the third tom arm as an add-on to the mount. I had a set much like Rockinrider's when I was a teenager with a third tom arm and I could mount the rack toms in a triangle configuration. I bought these second hand and they were the most cumbersome drum set I ever owned. Not to mention they had a wrap finish that had a riveted seam. The seam on all the drums was coming apart and the rivet holes were tearing apart. The drums sounded great when you held them by rims and hit them, but as soon as they were mounted they lost a lot of their tonal quality.

All this said I think that what you have there is a piece of drum engineering that Ludwig would like to forget.

[alparrott]

You ask what it's worth. Well, the fact that with its incredibly heavy construction, plus the fact that neither its arm tubes nor its down tube are compatible with pretty much anything else on the market today, you would have to sell it to someone who has kept around his late 80's Ludwigs with modular hardware. And then you'd probably sell it to him for what he was willing to pay, since the chances of finding someone else to sell it to would be even slighter.

To quote Indiana Jones: "It belongs in a museum!"

And some of those Ludwig catalog setups (especially the first one) belong in the Tom Angles thread. I remember a few photos that just made no sense, like two tiers of toms angled like cannons pointing outward, and one cymbal stand...

[Concrete Pete]

Hey Alparrot,

Understood. I think I'll hang onto it, and see what happens-- it's something quite out of the ordinary for me, and as we all know, I LOVE old and classic stuff. Maybe I'll find a use for it, or a buyer, someday. Who the heck knows?

hey DrumeatDrum,

WAY cool catalogue pics--I owe ya one!

Cheers,
C. P.

[rockinrider]

Hey CP,

A little research and I found this:

http://www.drumsonsale.com/ludwiglm3...ms-p-1096.html

Apparently Ludwig still stocks the stuff. I think the suggested Retail price is around $250.

Ludwig claims, on their website, that the Classic Maple series is available with Modular hardware: "For those nostalgic for the 80’s, modular tom holders and mounts and long lugs are still available."

I've put photos on this forum somewhere. I try to find them and send you the link...

[jon e rotten]

My first set was a ludwing exactly like the white one shown in the flyer. It sounded great, but the drums wieghed a ton and that modular hardware was terrible. The cymbal stands had plastic tighteners that would break off and the toms would slip on those round tubes while you were playing.

[KnockOut86]

Excesses of the 1980's lol some of the funniest lookin things I've ever seen.

Originally Posted by DrumEatDrum

Yup. Pearl and Yamaha and a few others all used 7/8's which made there various components compatible with each other, while the Ludwig's bigger tubing made it impossible to add non-Ludwig cymbals arms.



Rare? No. You're getting too caught up in the third arm.

It's standard modular mount, that has three holes on top. It was very standard for Ludwig for a very long time (15-20 years? maybe more). The three holes you gave you options, so the user could put any combination of tom or cymbal arms in the three holes to allow a custom set up. At times, there were addition accessories available as well.

Most kits uses two for tom arms, and either left the third hole empty, or used the third hole for a cymbal stand.

On this one someone just stuck a third tom arm into the third hole.

Here, from a 1982 Ludwig catalog, you can see at one time, you could stick an expander into the 3rd hole to mount two more toms:

[DSCRAPRE]

WOW, The 80's were a wacky time. These pictures remind me of old NES advertisments and Wrestlemania 3. I love those angles in picture one. Could you even crash those cymbals?

[bobdadruma]

I ordered similar hardware during the mid seventies that was made by Rogers. I used it on my Gretsch kit. I now use the third mount for my cowbell. I did use the third mount for a while back when to mount a 12 and 13 inch concert tom in the same way that the Luddies are in the pics.

[Concrete Pete]

Hey Crew,

Ohhh man--this is SO cool- I found a genuine Ludwig bass drum-to-tom mount that EXACTLY fits the triple tom stand in a box of stuff that I bought about 2 months ago!
WOOO HOOO!

Now I just gotta find the tom shell mount hardware.
Life sure can be good!

If anyone knows where to get the tom shell mount hardware, PLEASE let me know--THANKS!

Have a perfect New Year,
C. P.

[denno55]

C P ... I HAVE THE SAME 3 TOM RACK BRACKET ON MY NAT MAPLE LUDWIGS ...ALREADY ON KIT WHEN I BOUGHT IT ...I JUST NEED SOME MORE OF THE TOM HOLDER ARMS ...THE LATEST TYPES ALL HAVE NARROW TUBE .
STEVE DEN 07973665082

[KarlCrafton]

Here's a link to the parts catalog. It's the the second from the right, top line.
Page 13 should have what you need.

http://www.ludwig-drums.com/literature/


They stock parts for years and years and years.

[synergy]

Yeah the 3 hole thing is nothing cosmic! The Yamaha Yess mount system still incorporates a 3 hole bass holder etc.

Though what on earth is going on in the Sound Projector 2 picture?

What are those things clamped to the bottom of the toms?

I'm so glad I was born in 80 and managed to be too young through the decade to make horrendous decisions like those catalogues and MTV. However I've been free to make terrible choices in other decades!!! haha

[KarlCrafton]

Yeah, nothing like having your toms 12" HIGHER THAN THEY NEED TO BE...
They originally had them for Marching drums and went from there....maybe they thought it would look cool in a catalog, but in real use...not so much haha!

[PQleyR]

Those 80s drum catalogue setups are the most hideous drum-related thing I've ever seen. And Ludwig's 80s hardware frustrates me because of the nuts. I don't want to use a spanner! (That's wrench for my US readers) I want WINGNUTS! And ball & socket joints, not ratchets! Oh, it's so frustrating.

[Pollyanna]

Originally Posted by synergy

Though what on earth is going on in the Sound Projector 2 picture?

What are those things clamped to the bottom of the toms?

You see, those drums don't actually have batter heads ... they are convenient empty shells so the drummer has a place to keep his keys, wallet, , spare sticks, drums keys, drink bottles etc while playing a gig ...

Or ...



I had to look this up - I had NFI about them too.

[bobdadruma]

Ahhh, the 70's, "They were the best of times, they were the worst of times"