opentune
Platinum Member
Generally a good (unwritten) rule to not rain on somebody's parade of new drum purchase, be they old or new. Just sayin'
Picked up some 60's Ludwigs
- Thread starter Superman
- Start date
Generally a good (unwritten) rule to not rain on somebody's parade of new drum purchase, be they old or new. Just sayin'
Superman
Gold Member
As a lover of drums, their sound isn't really my top priority. I'm amazed that these once pro drums are 57 years old and were basically abandoned. I wish they could tell me the story of who first purchased them and how they got to this point. Part of me just wants to clean them up and put them up on display.
I live about 2 miles away for Precision drums. I think I'm going to take them there and have them tell me what they would advise. I don't want to rewrap them, but I have no experience with vintage drums so I could use their advise. They would have more knowledge about what needs fixing or replacing than I do.
As a drummer I really love these, but I would almost rather see them go to someone who would appreciate these more than me and actually play them. Sadly I have not gigged for many years so I'm afraid they wouldn't be used in the way that they should be. I definitely want to give them the TLC they deserve and bring them back to form.
I can't get my head around the thinking behind the extra holes.The x hole on the 12 tom is to centered to be a muffler hole,The two x holes on the Bass look to be a little close to the rail mount to be a ride cymbal mount,but maybe not.
If you don't keep them it would be nice to pass them along to someone who
would fix them up to play them.
The 8 lug snare definitely has some value,esp if it is a jazz fest even with the xtra hole but the x hole looks to be in the right place,where the "bases ball bat" muffler would be.Check this link for help
http://www.vintagedrumguide.com/ludwig_jazz_fest.htm
I would check to see how in round the shells are, and if the edges are good.if they are out of round by more than 1/8 of an inch they are probably not a good candidate for a bearing edge recut.If the shells are in good enough round they would make a nice vintage player kit,they may or may not need a recut.It is hard to tell from the pics if there is any inlay in the BD hoops,but finding some silver sparkle inlay would not be hard to do.
You could clean them up and sell at a great profit,or sell of some of the hardware to off set the cost of a restore.
If the snare is a jazz fest I think you could still get 250.00 as it sits,more if the hole is factory for the muffler like I suspect it could be.
The rest of the drums I would value at 4 to 5 hundred.If the rims are COB they are probably worth at least 25.00 30.00 a piece.
Since you seem to value them for what they are I would clean the hardware,and clean and polish the shells with novus plastic polish and see where you are at and go from there.
If you don't keep them it would be nice to pass them along to someone who
would fix them up to play them.
The 8 lug snare definitely has some value,esp if it is a jazz fest even with the xtra hole but the x hole looks to be in the right place,where the "bases ball bat" muffler would be.Check this link for help
http://www.vintagedrumguide.com/ludwig_jazz_fest.htm
I would check to see how in round the shells are, and if the edges are good.if they are out of round by more than 1/8 of an inch they are probably not a good candidate for a bearing edge recut.If the shells are in good enough round they would make a nice vintage player kit,they may or may not need a recut.It is hard to tell from the pics if there is any inlay in the BD hoops,but finding some silver sparkle inlay would not be hard to do.
You could clean them up and sell at a great profit,or sell of some of the hardware to off set the cost of a restore.
If the snare is a jazz fest I think you could still get 250.00 as it sits,more if the hole is factory for the muffler like I suspect it could be.
The rest of the drums I would value at 4 to 5 hundred.If the rims are COB they are probably worth at least 25.00 30.00 a piece.
Since you seem to value them for what they are I would clean the hardware,and clean and polish the shells with novus plastic polish and see where you are at and go from there.
bobdadruma
Platinum Member
Bernhard gets the award for Drummerworld joke of the day
Rotarded
Senior Member
These drums are "pre-Ringo", meaning that they were made before Ludwig's quality took the hit from doing anything they needed to do to meet the exploding demand for their kits.
bobdadruma
Platinum Member
Exactly, The mid 60's offerings from Ludwig lacked quality control for a spell. They became better during the late 60's around 68. The early 60's Ludwig drums were of good quality for the most part. I would like to see more pictures of Superman's kit. Bearing edges, etc.
Superman, you must understand that these drums have a personality all their own. They are not like modern drums. You should take time to clean them up, install new heads and explore them. I think that you will be pleased.
Attachments
Superman
Gold Member
Thanks Bernhard..you're the best!
Superman
Gold Member
Thanks for the advice. I can't figure out the extra holes either. I think the one on the snare is for a muffler. The Bass has the rail mount on the other side, so it isn't that. I have to take more pics today.
Definitely pre Ringo. They have no serial numbers anywhere and the interiors are clear, not white. Everything I have read points to these being 1960. Seems 61 and up the interiors were white.
I will take more detailed pics today. I want to take the rims off and check them out. I am 37 so I have no experience with vintage kits. My dad is 67 and has a set of 1965-66 Gretsch Round Badges from when he was a teen. But I never played on them or anything. All know knowledge and experience is with modern kits. I do have a great appreciation for them and I do want to make sure I do the right thing with them. I just don't know if I will end up being the right owner for them in the long run.
bobdadruma
Platinum Member
The extra holes in the top of the bass drum are from moving the rail mount from the side to the top of the drum.
The hole in the tom is from moving the mount up closer to the hoop.
The hole in the tom is from moving the mount up closer to the hoop.
harryconway
Platinum Member
Plus 1 on that.
Extra holes are very common, on drums this old. People did all kinds of "mods", to get things positioned better. I once saw an old Tommy Aldridge (Black Oak era) Ludwig double bass kit that had a slew of Rogers swiv-o-matic mounts on his kicks.
A common "old school" fix, is simply put stove bolts into the holes. Some people think that looks better than the empty hole.
A more complicated fix, is to glue dowel plugs into the holes, and then glue matching wrap pieces (cut round and correctly sized) onto the plug.
Of course, if you don't mind the holes, you can just leave 'em be.
Superman
Gold Member
So upon further inspection, I found some mystery holes on the bass drum near one of the spurs. I then took the rim and head off the mounted tom and discovered that someone took a home sander and sanded the inside of the shells. It appears that they were once white (dating them 61 or 62) and that someone sanded off the white and also sanded the reinforcement ring. They did a horrible job as you can see. They did this to all 4 drums. I'm sure this will really affect the value.
The hoops are not COB as the magnet sticks to them.
The hoops are not COB as the magnet sticks to them.
Attachments
CompactDrums
Silver Member
Wow... what a score! I'm green with envy...
I'd love to restore a set of those. Put some pics up and some of us can certainly help with the value.
Winston_Wolf
Platinum Member
Ouch.
Well, on the plus side they'll probably still sound great once they have new heads and they're tuned up.
Well, on the plus side they'll probably still sound great once they have new heads and they're tuned up.
Pylot
Senior Member
Well, you have come this far.....
So since you are close to Precision Drum, get em re ringed. Unless they sanded thru a layer the shells are ok.
They could be cleaned up and sold for a lot more than you paid. I think you'd get your re ring money back and then some.
I have a couple of 70's Ludwig kits, the 3 plys are great drums.
So since you are close to Precision Drum, get em re ringed. Unless they sanded thru a layer the shells are ok.
They could be cleaned up and sold for a lot more than you paid. I think you'd get your re ring money back and then some.
I have a couple of 70's Ludwig kits, the 3 plys are great drums.
harryconway
Platinum Member
Now that's a total shame. And yeah, the value of the drums are now in the dirt, as far as resale. Back to how they sound .... if they sound OK, then you've got a vintage Ludwig beater kit. If you're looking to sell 'em, you're probably better off stripping all the hardware off the shells, cleaning it up, and selling it on eBay.
Or, you could make a chandelier out of 'em.
Attachments
ineedaclutch
Platinum Member
I would just clean them up, fix the separation issues, and keep them. You got them at a great price, but with the state of them they aren't worth much resale wise. There is a sucker born every minute though.
CompactDrums
Silver Member
Put them up on reverb with pics of the issues and I think they would still easily fetch $500-$700...
incrementalg
Gold Member
Would it be wrong to re wrap them? I'd keep them, plug the holes, clean em up and re wrap them to use as a players kit.
bobdadruma
Platinum Member
Someone really massed them up. OK, all is not lost for the price that you got them for. Have the edges fixed and rewrap them with your fav wrap. It is a players kit for you to enjoy.