The Ludwig Curse

zambizzi

Platinum Member
I hate posting negative rants about drum brands but enough is enough. I love, love, LOVE the sound of Ludwig drums...but I've finally had it.

I bought this kit last year and all seemed fine. Well, not really...the bass drum arrived cracked, but Ludwig replaced it in three weeks and the new kick is great. Now, the inner plies on the floor tom are separating and the drum is basically garbage.

It was stored properly...cool, dry...never abused on gigs or anywhere else. I live in SW Idaho...it doesn't get much drier than this. I absolutely baby my gear - this is a manufacturing flaw, like so many others that Ludwig doesn't seem to care about.

I contacted the shop I bought it from and am awaiting a response. I want my money back - I don't even want a replacement. They're great and I expect a reasonable solution from them - it's not their fault. I think I've been more than generous with my patience, with this drum company. What a joke. Get your s#$% together, Ludwig!

The curse continues!
 

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call me an idiot, but personally i think the idea of expecting perfection, and expecting a ply drum to never even think about separating like that is just not gonna happen... a dab of glue and a clamp and you never knew it happened.. if i am wrong feel free to correct me
 
I love how ludwig drums sound too, but of my two ludwig kits and 4 snares, only my blackro is not pre 1980's chicago made. Hopefully it works out for you and they take it back, if it's less than a year old they should, right?
 
Looking ar the number of plies it's obvious that these aren't Legacy Clasics, so which line are they?
 
Sorry to hear about the drum but why is everyone so quick to bash a drum company on this forum? At least give them a chance to rectify it before you make threads. I know you might be bummed but it might just be a little disrespectful to the company when they are probably willing to help you.
 
Sorry to hear about the drum but why is everyone so quick to bash a drum company on this forum? At least give them a chance to rectify it before you make threads. I know you might be bummed but it might just be a little disrespectful to the company when they are probably willing to help you.

I think gambizi has had some problems in the past with his luddys. Perhaps he has reached his max of "give em another shot". I too, am a luddy lover but at some point things can get frustrating regardless of how deep the love is. I'm hoping he can avoid divorce!
 
Sorry to hear about the drum but why is everyone so quick to bash a drum company on this forum? At least give them a chance to rectify it before you make threads. I know you might be bummed but it might just be a little disrespectful to the company when they are probably willing to help you.

There is a long history with the Zambizzi and his Ludwig kit. It's not a new thing.

I'm very disappointed for you. Not an ideal situation at all. I hope it gets sorted.

Gretsch for the next kit?
 
call me an idiot, but personally i think the idea of expecting perfection, and expecting a ply drum to never even think about separating like that is just not gonna happen... a dab of glue and a clamp and you never knew it happened.. if i am wrong feel free to correct me
I think you are absolutely wrong.
There is no reason for a modern, correctly made plywood drum to delaminate in a dry environment. What has happened here is the glue-up process was poorly done - the proper amount of glue, the curing time and clamping process. This also includes pre-production, the correct moisture content in the veneer and proper preparation of materials to be glued.
It's simple a question of poor quality control.
It's not the worst thing I've seen but it's not really acceptable either, maybe it was made on a friday afternoon, who knows...
 
call me an idiot, but personally i think the idea of expecting perfection, and expecting a ply drum to never even think about separating like that is just not gonna happen... a dab of glue and a clamp and you never knew it happened.. if i am wrong feel free to correct me

I disagree. Besides drums, my other passion is traditional archery. Many traditional bows are laminated in a way similar to drums, and they absolutely should never come apart - it can actually cause injury in the archery world. If a bow delams, it's a problem, and definitely a defect. I can't say it never happens, but when it does, it is never regarded as acceptable or commonplace.

I think, if manufacturers can build bows that get flexed thousands and thousands of times, carried through the woods in all temperatures and weather conditions, and are generally subjected to more abuse than any drum should ever be, then Ludwig should be able to glue up a drum that won't come apart.
 
i just wonder what percentage of drums have things like this happen to them... i have purchased two sets since i started being interested in drums... the first was a catalina jazz, which had numerous things wrong with it... i fixed the bearing edges myself.... the second was a new ludwig club date... this set was essentially flawless except for the outer ply on the 14 inch tom had a spot where it had come apart similar to zambizzi, except it was on the outside... since my perspective seems to be that you can't have it perfect, i haven't even fixed it yet... i will, but right now it doesn't really bother me.... i will glue it and probably never think about it again... now if the drum was damaged or it affected the playability or sound then i guess that is another question... also i understand that the drums i bought are not top of the line, but considering the price of the new club dates and that they are made overseas, i was still fairly impressed at the quality
 
Yeah, we all have different expectations and perceptions of what's acceptable. If it doesn't bother you, that's cool. I think Zambizzi is particularly upset because this is another in a long line of flaws in what is supposed to be one of Ludwig's top lines...

I know that I would not accept a delamination in a relatively new drum, but to each their own. That's what makes the drum business go round, eh?
 
I feel you, brother!
Judging from the pictures your problem is not something you should "expect" from a drum.
I don't know the back story (you had problems with Ludwig in the past?) but I'm completely positive Ludwig will fix this for you. Otherwise, I don't wanna live on this planet anymore.

I'm agreeing with a recent poster; maybe you should go Gretsch for your next kit? It's totally up to you of course.

Good luck and I hope Ludwig will treat you like they should.
/Arvid
 
And oh, I'm curious too; excactly which drums are these? What line, sizes, when did you buy them?
 
Looks like a classic maple to me. I sympathize, Zam, my Ludwig experience has proven to be a headache as well.
 
Yes, I have seen Zambizzi's kit in person. It is the Ludwig Classic Maple with Centennial badges. Not a lower-line kit. It should be done properly.


Edit - Sorry for the confusion - I meant 100th Anniversary badges.
 
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Agh, sorry to hear this, Zam. Think I'll definitely stick to Yamaha or Keller custom companies now. Ludwig has a nice sound, but their has proven to be just too unreliable in recent years, given all of these stories.
 
Huge bummer. What's next?

The good news is that there are a lot of really good drums out there these days.
 
I love my old Ludwig drums and Ludwigs in general, so this is quite sad to see that their new drums are not quite what they used to be. That said, it looks like a very minor flaw in one small spot, which could easily be repaired with a squirt of glue and a small g clamp, unless there are more spots where the plies have come apart ? I don't know about your previous problems with this kit, but if it was my drum, I would just fix it myself and try not to worry about it. If it's still under warranty, I would imagine ply separation would be considered a manufacturing defect, so you should be able to get your money back if that's what you want. There are lots of great drums on the market to choose from.
 
Ouch... that looks kinda nasty. I hope they will stand behind their product and take good care of you.
 
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