The set I am featuring in this issue is a completely restored 1960s Ludwig Set in beautiful red glass glitter. The bass drum is 20X14, the mounted tom is a 12X8, the floor tom is a converted marching drum 15X12. The snare is a Jazz Festival. The rail consolette works great and all the chrome is in great shape. It is a very pretty set with the glass glitter wrap. Red sparkle looks great, but red glass glitter just pops. I have a humorous story about this set I would like to tell you.
I had a great time at the Chicago Drum Show this year. I can hardly wait for May '23 to go again. The show is steadily getting better since the show has come back after the 2020 show was cancelled. The 2021 show was good, but the 2022 show was better. I was able to join with some great guys from Georgia to make the trip. Michael Eckert and the Bloo Goose Drums crew allowed me to toss my drums in their trailer, and wow it was a big trailer. We had a great time riding and talking on the trip. Michael drove all the way from Atlanta to Chicago and back. I didn't complain because it was great to sit back and enjoy the scenery through several states.
When we got to the show on set up day it was great to see all the "family' waiting around outside for the doors to open. Rob Cook runs a tight ship, and those doors will open when it's time and not a second before. We all made our way to our assigned booths and started working to get ready for the next day, Saturday, when the show would be open to the public. On the Friday, while setting up the dealers are making some quick deals, and the people who have paid extra to be a VIP will be there trying to get the first look at what the sellers have to sell. It's all exciting and everyone is working and still trying to talk and catch up with the other dealers.
Michael and his crew were setting up the awesome Bloo Goose booths which included a real Neil Peart R-30 Drum Workshop Drum Set complete with all the gold hardware and cymbals. This set is Michael's personal set, and he set it up to allow visitors and vendors to play on it. Everyone did their best Neil Peart fills when they played the kit. Tom Sawyer was played by those who had the nerve to do so. I was far too modest to play the kit. Embarrassment is very powerful and I don't handle it well. We finished setting up out booths, I had a booth in the room to the right of the entrance and Michael had three booths in the room to the left of the entrance. We left for the evening and went out for one of many great meals we had on the trip.
On Saturday we had a great time selling and of course buying some beautiful drums. The story of the Red Drums starts here. I had brought a 1960s British Rogers Set to sell. Photos of the set could probably be found archived here in the magazine. Michael came over to my booth about mid-day and bought the Rogers Set. It just so happened he had the Red Ludwig Set in the drums he had brought. I ended up buying those from him. I thought it was so amusing that we loaded those two kits in Atlanta, brought them all the way to Chicago, traded kits, loaded them back up and took them back to Atlanta. I figure next year if Michael invites me to go with him to the show, we will compare drums before we load them up.