This past Spring Rich Katz hired me to do an appraisal of his drum set and collection that he donated to the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix. It is currently on display there. I do appraisals of drums/cymbals/percussion instruments for tax and insurance purposes, as well as for determining resale value. I charge between $100 and $500 for appraisals depending on the number of instruments and the amount of documentation and notarizing desired. For insurance and tax appraisals I base values not on current market value or collector value, but on replacement value which tends to run higher. For resale appraisals, I base the value on current market prices. I thank Rich for bearing with me in getting his appraisal finished and for letting me show his instruments in this article. Nice pictures, Rich!
Read moreMy favorite finish on Ludwig drums is Oyster Black Pearl. I think every Ludwig collector loves this finish. When Ringo chose Oyster Black for his Ludwig drums, he made a great choice. They were perfect for the Beatles as they looked so good even on black and white TV. The 1970s version of this finish made a radical change. The pattern became bigger and the color became blacker. I love the seventies version of this finish, but I must admit I like the 60s version more. The Oyster Black finish survives to this day and the newer versions look great.
Read moreLudwig utilized two different types of stamps and three different stickers to indicate that the anti-galvanic finishing process was used on its chrome-plated shells. By gathering information from chrome-plated drums and exchanging emails with the president of the company which provided plating for Ludwig, a timeline of the different stamps/stickers is developed. These interior stamps/stickers are another useful tool to authenticate and date vintage Ludwig drums.
Read moreThis set is a 1960s Ludwig Hollywood set. It has a 22X14 bass drum, a 12x8 and a 9x13 mounted tom. The older Hollywood sets had two 12s and sometimes two 13s. The kit also features a 16x16 floor tom. The drums have Keystone badges with serial numbers that places their born-on date around 1967. I have placed an 8-lug matching Super Classic snare with the set, but I received a very nice chrome 14x5 snare with the kit. I'm sure it was the snare that was bought with the kit. That was the standard snare that went out with so many Ludwig sets.
Read moreI saw this one at a NAMM Show in the late 1990s, maybe early 2000s. At that time Leedy was trying for some type of comeback. I got the drum from Sam Bacco who at the time was associated with Leedy. He told me that he located one long-lost piece of this material from Slingerland and there was enough material left over to make a Leedy Broadway Standard snare drum. Sam told me that the finish was made with melted guitar picks (you can see some un-melted guitar picks in the finish).
Read moreI now own several Ludwig Peacock Pearl snares, but all are 5 x 14”. In late 2020, I found out that Paul “Jamo” Jamieson was thinking of retiring and paring down his drum collection. Jamo is well known for his many contributions to the music industry as a drum tech and cartage/rental businessman. He has worked with some of the biggest names in the music business and accumulated some amazing drums along the way. In one of our many engaging conversations, Jamo mentioned that he had some cool vintage drums that I might be interested in. One of these was a 6.5 x 15” (yes, 15”!) Ludwig Super-Sensitive in Peacock Pearl.
Read moreOne would think that the less expensive drums would have the DuCo finishes but these four snares are perfect examples of higher end (and somewhat rare) drums whose owners chose the less expensive shell finish option. In my opinion this is like putting Sears tires on a Ferrari…but I still will not pass up a rare snare drum with an inexpensive finish.
Read moreMy vintage drum collecting started out with a five-piece Ludwig clear Vistalite set in the 90s. There was a classified ad in my local newspaper that listed two Ludwig drum sets for sale. I bought the two sets and one of them was a clear Vistalite set, and the other a Rocker set. I cleaned up the Ludwig Rocker set and sold it for the price of both sets. I kept the Vistas and my collecting vintage drums started. It was downhill like a snow ball from then on.
Read moreI know these Ludwig 100 year anniversary Triumphals are pretty well known amongst collectors but there are some little known facts that you may enjoy and that add to the story….
Read moreMajor Kevin John simon has gone to great lengths to compile tons of rare photos, information and general knowledge on all things Mitch and decided to take things further when he took on the incredible task of recreating the three Ludwig sets Mitch used with Jimi Hendrix from 1967-1969. When Kevin made the decision to showcase the sets and the group at the famous Chicago drum show that happens in May, a decision was made to recreate the Black Panther Ludwig set that Mitch used at Woodstock.
Read moreNo drummer can deny that Made in Japan drums had some of the most eye-catching wraps on the market. This is why Ludwig created 15 unique wraps that had that M.I.J. mojo—most notably, the strata wraps.
Read moreThis seems to be an uncatalogued finish as it is nowhere to be found -- that I know of -- in any Ludwig literature. I have seen 1 or 2 other Ludwig Butterscotch Pearl snares and I also own a Duplex Spirit of St. Louis in this finish so I personally know that this finish exists. So my best guess is that this is an uncatalogued or special order finish. As always I welcome any other information that may be out there regarding this finish.
Read moreThis is a companion article to one about Gretsch round badge drums published in December 2020.[i] This study involves Ludwig Keystone badge drums with serial numbers produced from late 1963 to late 1969. Many collectors place a premium on born together drum sets. However, very few vintage drum sets come with original receipts or reliable histories which can assure owners or potential buyers that the sets were originally purchased as one unit from the factory or music instrument retailer. When documentation is not present, many look for sets with closely grouped serial numbers. But how close is close enough?
Read moreWhen you have been a collector, seller and a repairman as I have
for 43 years you are bound to have owned some interesting musical
instruments. Luckily I had the foresight to photograph many of these
instruments because I just don't see as many nowadays unless of course I
visit one of the national drum shows. 95% of the pictures you will see
in my column were drums owned by me at one time or another. Today we
look at some interesting Ludwig drum sets.
Read moreThis 1939 WFL Paramount snare was produced in the year that Germany invaded Poland, and just over 2 years later, the U.S. would join the war. Bill Ludwig, Sr. had lost his name, much of his savings, and yet survived both the transition and WWII. In the end, his company thrived, and he regained his name. There is so much to be admired about Bill Sr’s. drive, fortitude, and relentlessness. This 1939 WFL Paramount snare is one representation of his work during this challenging time and embodies all those who appreciated its sound and construction over 8 decades.
Read moreLooking at the outside photo one would think that this is a normal Ludwig 8 x 14 Super-Ludwig from the late 1930s..well, there is more to it that makes this drum a tad more quirky. The drum came to me 100% original and in excellent condition, no cleaning or polishing was necessary. The WMP is in excellent condition with virtually no yellowing at all. The white enamel badge is very clean with a tight, untouched grommet. Now for the quirkiness; looking at the interior photo you can see that the shell is aluminum with top and bottom maple 2” re-wrings. This leads me to the question was this a prototype snare or a special order snare?
Read moreThis wonderful old wood kit consisting of 14x22 bass drum, 8X12 and 9x13 toms, 16x16 floor tom and the great cracking 5x14 Utility snare drum is the recording kit of studio dreams.
Read moreAccording to my WFL/Ludwig catalogs, the Ludwig canister throne was invented around 1953 and it was touted as the sensational new “seat-case” as it was designed to hold traps and accessories.
Read moreAs the kick drum bag contained an inventory identifying the kit as having a matching jazz fest from an original sale in Milwaukee, I immediately wondered, what happened to the matching jazz fest?
Read moreI still consider this the "gold standard" of all brass snare drums in sound and feel.
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