My 1964 Ludwig Jazz kit!

Garvin

Pioneer Member
Okay, I spent a few hours last night obsessing and converted a 16" floor tom into a bass, then used the 12 and 13" rack toms and original snare from my very first drum set, a silver sparkle 1964 Ludwig. It sounds friggin' awesome.

This was the first kit I ever played (not pictured are the 22" bass and the other 16" floor tom). It belonged to my dad and now I've got it set up for a nice jazz gig I have on New Years (I think my new oaks might be too big for that gig)

I have been playing this thing a ton the last couple days and it sounds every bit as you'd imagine. The pics are a little blurry (thanks iphone), and I did put some larger hardware on the 16" floor tom to accommodate the conversion kit for the bass. Any questions or comments are welcome, particularly if expressing jealousy. I'm soooo glad I made it through my teens without my dad letting me sell this thing (believe me, I tried).

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Very cool looking kit mate. Like it a lot!!

Glad you didn't sell those in a moment of youthful madness too! I'm still waiting to get my hands on the old man's mid-sixties Luddies. Have gigged with them numerous times, but won't actually inherit them until the reading of the will I fear....lol!

Congrats. That silver sparkle looks horney!!
 
Yeah, I did actually sell the 22" ride and the hi-hats (Ludwig stamped Zildjians). I still have the 18" crash/ride. And Of course I traded out the hardware, which was flimsy even by 1960's standards.

The drums themselves are in absolutely incredible shape though. I still have the original heads on the floor toms I put ambassadors on the toms. The shells are painted and stamped on the inside. The only thing I might have do someday is have the edges reworked. There is a guy downstate (in Detroit) who I know works on old Ludwig kits like this. They have a very classic sounding attack.
 
I'm soooo glad I made it through my teens without my dad letting me sell this thing (believe me, I tried).

Ah, more evidence that fathers might possess slightly more knowledge than teenagers. Great conversion job.
 
That's great, man! Nice-looking kit! How does the square 16x16 floor tom sound as a bass drum?

I honestly haven't had it out of the one room yet, but I have it dialed pretty well in there. I'm sure I'll have to tweak it a bit once I sit down with an actual trio, but that's just a couple days away.

ALSO,

Great point Harry, I'll make sure this kit stays in the family when my boys reach their teens.
 
Harry, I'll make sure this kit stays in the family when my boys reach their teens.

Coolness, the "timeless" value of the Ludwig 3ply shell has already proved itself. To hand down "grandpaws" drums ..... as they say ....... priceless.
 
I'll have to pack away the floor tom leg mounts that I removed so I can put it all back together if I ever have to.

Also, I'm on the fence about putting larger tom mounts on the rack toms so I can mount them more efficiently for gigs. What would the harm be in ever so slightly altering the rack toms?
 
Cool kit!

I wouldn't do ANYTHING to alter the drums like drilling.

You can either get a new Classic mount that have the T-handle, or just replace the old hex nut with a T handle.
That way, you aren't drilling or extending holes--and the new Classic mount can accommodate a memory lock.

Those parts are readily available from Ludwig, and are probably (99.9%) in stock.

Or, you could use RIMS mounts--The two small holes from the mount can be covered by the plate, and the small open holes won't change the toms sound really.
The "Platinum" finished type would look great with your drums.

Nothing wrong with using the snare stand either....

Have fun with the cool kit!
 
I second the "don't drill any extra holes". The Dunnett/Gibraltar http://musical-instruments.pricegra...-Gibraltar-SCRM-Tom-Rail-Mount/m40255731.html is a very sano rack tom mount. Take off the existing tom mounts (save all the hardware) and RIM mount the drums if you want. I have RIMS for all the "popular" sizes, so any vintage toms get suspended (or mounted on a snare stand). My RIMS all have Yamaha tom mounts attached to them. I'm a big fan of Yamaha hardware, and not so keen on L-arm and Pearl type mount design.
 
Thanks for your concern guys, but I already did widen the necessary holes. It is almost imperceptable, but it was necessary (I'm still essentially an impatient kid at heart). The good news is that I have no concern for what that may do to the value of the kit because I'm keeping it for me. I could fit the shavings I created in about half of a beer cap, so I don't feel like I went too crazy with it.

Also, I should correct the title of this thread, because upon further investigation, I realized this kit was dated April of 1965.
 
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