New Ludwig Classic Maples - a little scratchy

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Soupy

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So, after waiting since the middle of July for my red glass glitter 3pc (9x12, 14x16, 16x20), I get them home tonight, unbox them, and am not as thrilled as I should be. All three drums have some fine scuffs and scratches. Nothing you can see from a few feet back (the glass glitter hides them, methinks), but it was pretty noticeable to me. I mean, if I were describing them for sale I think I'd have to say, "minor scuffs, too light to photograph" instead of "flawless."

Am I right to expect the finish to be basically flawless?

I know someone is going to ask for pics, I'll try to see what the camera sees when the sun is out, couldn't get a photo of the scratches tonight.

Bonus stupid question: Elite spurs. Don't they extend? I loosen the drum key screw on the end, and nothing happens. Can't slide them out. They wiggle a little, I can unscrew the rubber feet and lock nut, but that's it. Am I just stupid? (that is a trick question)
 
I believe that if you buy something new, it should be free of defects, visual or not, unless that was a stipulation when you bought them. You should try to get photos of the defects and Email them to where you ordered your drums if you're not close enough for them to inspect your drums in person.

The Elite Ludwig bass drum spurs should be able to be extracted after loosening the key screw.

Every time I'm on the verge of buying my Ludwig kit, something like this gets posted or brought to my attention, lol.

Good luck and keep us posted.
Dennis
 
Am I right to expect the finish to be basically flawless?

Top of the line drumkit, from a top of the line drum manufacturer.....yeah, I'd want it flawless.

I love Ludwig, have done for years....but man, I read of a hell of a lot of problems.

And you're correct.......I'd love to see some pics.
 
I was a lillte worried about Ludwigs occasional quality control issues when I ordered my Legacy red glass glitter kit. I was a pain in the a butt to my dealer to make sure the kit was gone over by the QC manager prior to shipping. My kit turned out flawless and I couldn't be happier. Let your dealer know you concerns, Ludwig will alwys make good on their products. Regarding the spurs, mine were kind of stuck too and required a hard tug to free them up. After that they move just fine. Good luck, I hope your issues are resolved.
 
Glass Glitter is one of those weird finishes that tend to not be perfect everywhere on every sheet.
The ends of the sheets particularly.

It's because it's actual glass, and for some reason that's the way it is with this stuff.
That's the way it's been explained to me by a couple people that work with it anyway.

Another bummer with this stuff is it's $99 a sheet if you do your own building/wrapping.

That old Satin Flame stuff is horrible for getting scuffed easily.
 
If it isn't perfect send it back. You paid for a new one without defects. That is what you should get. Been there done that. I think a lot of these companies send stuff out knowing that 90 percent of the buyers won't notice or care. Then they just deal with the fussy 10 percent.
 
Why should you accept anything less than the pristine condituion of the kit you would get if you bought it in person at a drum shop instead of by mail?

Be nice but persistent and hopefully things will work out.
 
I would call Ludwig,and send it back.Its not like you were buying a discounted kit that had a few scratches,and you knew about it ahead of time.You purchased a brand new kit,and thats what you should get.Ludwig will make good and replace your drums.

Steve B
 
Where were they purchased?
Local shop? Internet?
Whoever the stuff was purchased from would be the one to call, not Ludwig.

The dealer would handle stuff like this with an RA (return authorization).

You don't ship directly back to the company yourself.

Were they for sure unopened boxes when the drums were picked up?

When I have gotten drums, they have been packed with the drum itself is in a plastic bag, in the box, with foam inserts around everything. It doesn't move around in those boxes.

Anything other than this, the drums were taken out of the boxes by someone before the OP took delivery.

If it was an internet purchase, and there were pics of the drums in the ad, who knows what happened to them to get scuffed.


BTW, how do they sound?
 
Yeah, local shop. Already went by with rack tom in tow, and they agreed with my take on the drums, and called up Ludwig with no hesitation. Ludwig agreed to a RMA, and will get me a replacement set, eta of three weeks or so. Just have to drop off the floor and bass back at the store tonight. So props to Victor Litz Music in Gaithersburg, MD, for being awesome.

Karl, the boxes were unopened. This was a custom order, not stock from a store. Shipped from Monroe Friday, arrived at the store yesterday. Bagged and wrapped in some kind of thin foam stuff, surrounded by air bags. Adequate, though not really the best packing job I could imagine. Honestly, it looked like someone was really hamfisted when assembling the hardware. Lots of the scratches were right next to the lugs where they wouldn't easily happen in normal handling.

No idea how they sounded. The stock heads came cranked tight and sounding pretty crappy, honestly, and I sure wasn't going to invest time changing heads or retuning if they were going right back.

So, now we wait again. Thanks for the sanity check, though, guys, I was kinda dumbfounded by the whole thing last night.
 
Yeah, local shop. Already went by with rack tom in tow, and they agreed with my take on the drums, and called up Ludwig with no hesitation. Ludwig agreed to a RMA, and will get me a replacement set, eta of three weeks or so. Just have to drop off the floor and bass back at the store tonight. So props to Victor Litz Music in Gaithersburg, MD, for being awesome.

Karl, the boxes were unopened. This was a custom order, not stock from a store. Shipped from Monroe Friday, arrived at the store yesterday. Bagged and wrapped in some kind of thin foam stuff, surrounded by air bags. Adequate, though not really the best packing job I could imagine. Honestly, it looked like someone was really hamfisted when assembling the hardware. Lots of the scratches were right next to the lugs where they wouldn't easily happen in normal handling.

No idea how they sounded. The stock heads came cranked tight and sounding pretty crappy, honestly, and I sure wasn't going to invest time changing heads or retuning if they were going right back.

So, now we wait again. Thanks for the sanity check, though, guys, I was kinda dumbfounded by the whole thing last night.
Unfortunately I think it is a sign of the times. Glad everything is being looked after. I wonder who they will send the returned kit to. :)
 
That's too bad. Now they have to eat a kit because of shoddy assembly.
Surely they aren't going to be happy about that.

Bummer about the whole thing, and now the wait, but at least you aren't stuck with anything and everyone you worked with was good about making things right.

I'd do the same thing in returning.

Post pics when you get the new stuff! Sounds like a great kit, and RGG is a beauty finish.
 
Man, that is too bad. I hate hearing stories like this about a product I like so much! My kit arrived in perfect condition, thank goodness!
 
The reason I told the OP to call Ludwig is that they really have to get a handle on the QC.Just a couple of years ago they seem to have addressed the issue sucessfully,especially with the top end drums.Their product sounds great,especially the Classics and Legecy line.

I think if Ludwig hears it directly from the customer,especially the dissapointment after waiting so long for his drums,that direct action will be taken,to minimize the chance of it happening again.

You also have to realize that every single other drum company out there occasionally ships defective product.Two weeks ago there was a thread about a top of the line DW kit that was out of round.

I feel bad about the OP's situation,but it does happen all the time ,and not just with drums,but cars,electronics,household goods ect.

The test here is if Ludwig made good,and will send the customer new drums,which is the case.No harm...no foul.

Steve B
 
The reason I told the OP to call Ludwig is that they really have to get a handle on the QC.Just a couple of years ago they seem to have addressed the issue sucessfully,especially with the top end drums.Their product sounds great,especially the Classics and Legecy line.

I think if Ludwig hears it directly from the customer,especially the dissapointment after waiting so long for his drums,that direct action will be taken,to minimize the chance of it happening again.

You also have to realize that every single other drum company out there occasionally ships defective product.Two weeks ago there was a thread about a top of the line DW kit that was out of round.

I feel bad about the OP's situation,but it does happen all the time ,and not just with drums,but cars,electronics,household goods ect.

The test here is if Ludwig made good,and will send the customer new drums,which is the case.No harm...no foul.

Steve B

I agree 100% with your thinking here. I do realize that schitt happens, but having $4000 worth of unusable drums just laying around is kinda frustrating…

Hopeing for the replacement this week. It'll be 3 weeks now since it was returned back to ludwig...
 
The reason I told the OP to call Ludwig is that they really have to get a handle on the QC.

Steve B

Yeah, that's true.

I was just thinking about someone calling & trying to ship a bunch of boxes, and the company saying "well sir/miss we don't....." and then it turns into a big mess.

Yes, call.
Facebook message Kevin Packard as well. He'd want to know, and will be glad it's being taken care of.

And no, it's not just Ludwig. I have heard several horror stories about other companies that made me leery of buying anything from these companies, just like people are leery about Ludwig when they hear things.

But, that comes from a lot of internet buying IMO. Stuff goes out and might not be "right", but it'd be such a hassle, people don't do anything. then QC can slip down to the next level because nobody says anything.

At the shop I buy from, if something isn't right when those guy's take something out of the box (from any company) they are on the horn to the right people.
 
This is at least the third thread on similar problems with new top-end Ludwig kits. I'm sensing an emerging pattern.
 
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