I've given up the search. I've ordered a 1-off Ludwig tom

PorkPieGuy

Platinum Member
I bought my set of Ludwig Classic maples (early 2000's model) from a friend of mine for a really good price, mainly because the rack tom didn't match:

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The wrap matches perfectly, but the shell is a Keller shell, and the lugs don't match. Most importantly, the rack tom just doesn't deliver that Ludwig Classic Maple sound that the kick and the floor tom have. I've been on Reverb and eBay just about every day since July, hoping that I would find a 12" x 8" Classic Maple drum that I could rewrap. I also occasionally look at Jammin' Jersey, Craigslist, FB Marketplace, Music Go Round (they sell single drums), and a variety of other places as well. The few 12 x 8 Classic Maple toms that I've found that were actually a 7-ply, I would have had to have put so much money into it to get it to match my kit, I might as well bought a one-off. I'd considered buying a whole other 4 piece drum set in the same finish and having a shell bank of sorts, but I can't really justify doing so at this point.

So, yesterday I bit the bullet and ordered a 12 x 8 Classic Maple tom from Long Island Drum Company. I did some emailing around several months ago, and they gave me the best price. Dennis was great to work with.

I placed my order, paid my deposit, and so now I wait. I'll update when it comes it.
 
To me it is unfathomable that you couldn't find a 12 x 8 Ludwig classic maple rack tom. They made like a half a billion of them I think.

But I believe you Martin when you tell me. I guess nobody wants to part with them.

How long till delivery?
 
It's worth it just to get rid of that nagging feeling that something isn't quite right. You can probably sell the orphan rack tom to offset the cost, too.
 
To me it is unfathomable that you couldn't find a 12 x 8 Ludwig classic maple rack tom. They made like a half a billion of them I think.

But I believe you Martin when you tell me. I guess nobody wants to part with them.

How long till delivery?

About 5 weeks til delivery due to me ordering the week of Christmas.

You would think that it would be easy to find one; however, here's what I've run into:

There are a ton of 13" rack toms out there, not necessarily 12" toms.

The 12" toms that ARE out there fall into one of these categories:
  • There are lots of vintage ones - 3 ply with re-rings (I'd say 90% fell into this category)
  • There are quite a few 12" toms that are like 10" deep. I'd have to have it cut down, and I'm not sure what it would do to the hole spacing.
  • There are also quite a few 12" toms (usually deeper as well), and they have that "modular" mounting system...you know...the one with the huge hole bored in the side of the shell. I didn't want to have to repair that. (I've repaired one before on a kick drum, but I just didn't want to go through the trouble.
  • 12" Super Classic toms can be found, but they aren't the same make-up as the 7-ply Classic Maple. Plus, many of those were those power tom sizes as well. Even if they were the same shell construction, I would have spent more money on the tom itself, new hardware (I need split mini classic lugs instead of the long lugs), filling in the "modular" drum hole, paying to cut it down to a 12 x 8, the bearing edges then re-done, and the wrap, as opposed to just buying one to get one built.
  • The ones that I DID find that I could have made work were actually more than having one built. Many of them, I would have had to peel off the factory wrap which I think wouldn't be worth the effort due to Ludwig gluing all around the shell.

I mean, I love the journey and the thrill of the hunt, but I simply didn't have time for it anymore. It was time to "buy once, cry once" on the whole ordeal.

The only differences between the new tom and my other drums is that the new tom will have a sticker on the inside of the tom, and the badge will be different. I requested that they use an older badge, but they simply won't right now. If it bothers me once I get it, I may actually look to getting the newer badges on my older floor tom and kick because I could probably get a couple from the factory pretty easily if i needed to. The older badges that have the serial numbers on them are pretty well destroyed after people take them off.

Here's the badge comparison (the question was directed towards LIDC):

BadgeComparison.jpg
 
It's worth it just to get rid of that nagging feeling that something isn't quite right. You can probably sell the orphan rack tom to offset the cost, too.

Yup, I'm ready to have this process finished. The guy I bought them off of said he would buy the rack tom back from me. Once it's all said and done, I'll still only have spent a little over half of what a new one goes for. I've gigged a ton with this kit since I got them, and I look forward to many more.
 
Interesting story, PPG. I hope it works out for you.

Have you divested yourself of your Pork Pie drums and gone to Ludwig, or is the Ludwig set an addition to the family?

GeeDeeEmm
 
Interesting story, PPG. I hope it works out for you.

Have you divested yourself of your Pork Pie drums and gone to Ludwig, or is the Ludwig set an addition to the family?

GeeDeeEmm

I still enjoy my USA Pork Pie drum set that I currently have set up in my basement, but I gig primarily with my Ludwigs in downbeat sizes. I'm pretty much a Ludwig convert at this point, and any kit I'll buy from now on will probably be Ludwig; however, I still have a lot of love for Pork Pie USA kits. My next kit will be a Ludwig Classic Maple with a 24" kick, 13" rack, and 16" and 18" floor toms. I played one at Forks Drum Closet about a month ago, and it's haunted me ever since. I've never heard anything sound like that in my life. Ever. It sounded like I was making thunder happen at my own will.
 
I feel your pain. I had to do the same with a 10x8 tom for my Pearl Masters MMP "Redline" kit. It hurt..............
 
If I recall, the reason Ludwig refuses to sell older badges is because they don't want to enable counterfeiters.

It makes sense, but it definitely makes restoring old stuff more difficult.
 
OK. You have the PorkPieGuy handle on the forums. Here's the most important question, though:

You didn't get a Pork Pie tatoo, too, did you??????? ;)

GeeDeeEmm
 
If I recall, the reason Ludwig refuses to sell older badges is because they don't want to enable counterfeiters.

It makes sense, but it definitely makes restoring old stuff more difficult.

You can find badges on eBay and Reverb, but many are dented up pretty badly. Once I get the drum and I've had it for a while, I probably won't even care that the badges don't match exactly.
 
The badges mix would not bother me much. Considering how easy and inexpensive it is to have a trophy shop reproduce a few for you, that's what I would do if my OCD bothered me a lot.

GeeDeeEmm
 
Update: Today marks week 7. No drum yet.

Granted, I ordered this on Christmas Eve, and I don't know how much the Ludwig factory closes down over the holidays. Who knows? It could be a couple more weeks for all I know. I'm just ready to get this show on the road. :cool:
 
I ordered a set of Club dates last year. Just a 3 piece shell pack. And they actually came earlier than the date estimated for arrival. That was May Of 2019. Hope you get yours soon.
 
This red rack tom addition is proving to be a bear, right? You made the right move IMO. I think a year from now you will be really glad you did this. The badge thing would bother me, I went through this already with a set of Luds. The stupid non matching badge was a constant source of irritation, isn't that stupid? I had to get a different drum, and on that one, the WMP wrap wasn't the same pattern as the rest of the kit. So I traded one problem for another.

A prediction:

This is probably when the 12" red sparkle Ludwig rack toms will show up in abundance, everywhere. With the right badges. You will wrestle with yourself, but eventually you will buy one and sell the ordered tom. Don't sell the ordered tom until you verify that you are happy with the newly available used toms :)
 
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You can find badges on eBay and Reverb, but many are dented up pretty badly. Once I get the drum and I've had it for a while, I probably won't even care that the badges don't match exactly.
Here's what I don't understand. You could have ordered the large gold keystone badge, at least according to the configurator spreadsheet that was still in use when you ordered.

It wouldn't have a serial number, but it would otherwise look like the badge your existing drums have.

My friend orders the large keystone badges because his first Ludwig set had them. Sentimental, I guess.

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