The "Official" Ludwig Drums thread.

[Harleydan]

I have not seen an official Ludwig drums thread for posting Ludwig kits and I thought it was time we had one. So I asked Al if it was ok to start one and he was all for it.
So if you have a Ludwig kit and would like to post it on here, feel free to do that. My very first drum kit was a Gold Sparkle Ludwig kit and just 2 weeks ago I went back to my roots and bought a Ludwig Classic Maple kit in you guessed it....Gold Sparkle.
Here are some pics of the kit as it sits at Forks Drum Closet. I am picking the kit up in mid-February when I go to Nashville. Also some pics of the Masterworks snare that will be accompanying this set.
The config shown is a 16x24, 9x13, and 16x16. There is a 16x18 coming from Ludwig to add to this. Once I pick the kit up, the 18 is delivered, and I get them all set up with the Masterworks snare, I will post new pictures.
So that's my story. Let's see your Ludwig kits. And certainly WFL's are welcome.

[SabbathBloodySabbath]

Oh my god. Just beautiful. I have my eye on a set of Luddies in a perfect big size. Now I'm just patiently waiting for my tax return haha. Those are absolutely gorgeous. I cannot wait to see everything set up.

[ConvertedLudwigPLayer]

Here's my late 70's Vistalite kit (with sticker residue on the smaller toms) and my 1995 Classic Maple.
The 1970's Red Mahogany stained kit is one I no longer own, but it was a great kit, too.

[erwinner]

The Maple Cortex were my dad's. He bought them new in '76 as a Tri-tom setup 12x8-13x9-14x10 over the 24x14 bass with a 16x16 and 18x16 floor. I had it split up into a 13-16-24 and 12-14-18 with some wood hoops and a riser for the floor tom. The 8 and 10 concert toms and the 15x12 tom were added in '77 so it could be a humongous prog kit.
Then there's my mid 60s in Black Diamond Pearl that have had more road and playing time than all my other kits combined. And held up like nobody's business.
Then there's the pieced together 12x8, 13x9, 16x16 Vistalites with a 22x12 Blue Sparkle WFL bass drum. (I have 12x8 and 16x16 Ludwig toms in Blue Sparkle in dire need of some work also)
And my '58 WFL Classic in White Marine Pearl

[erwinner]

and here we have my Classic again, my '65 Pioneer in BDP, the brass Super 400, and the Acrolite "prototype".
Then just the Super 400
then the 411, hammered 400, and 2 402s.
then the Vistalite marching snare, and 70s Acrolite. (ignore the Camco )
and my triumvirate of Acrolites.

[Just_Dan]

was waiting for Elec to post a lil something something in here nice kits

[rd421]

I just got a 68 Gold Sparkle Kit Im working on re skinning it and getting it playable....its in amazing shape ill post pics as soon as I can

[Muse FTW]

Man that Ludwig Classic Maple is SEXY!

I've never tried one out, but if they sound half as good as they look, I'll be impressed.

Is there some reason that Ludwig has lost some it's popularity?

[Harleydan]

Man that Ludwig Classic Maple is SEXY!

I've never tried one out, but if they sound half as good as they look, I'll be impressed.

Is there some reason that Ludwig has lost some it's popularity?

I wondered for years what happened to Ludwig. My personal opinion is that they just didn't keep up with the changing landscape and technology of modern drums, and fell behind in quality and innovation. For a long time Ludwig really didn't produce a high end quality kit (in my opinion). I would hear constant rumblings of quality issues and old technology. When I was in retail we stocked Ludwig but they became too hard to move and we had to stop carrying them.
Now, a lot of this may be because the MTV generation saw nothing but DW on their TV screens. Not to bash DW, because they were very smart marketers. They gave more drum kits away to artists than any other company because they knew it was going to help them, and it has. Can't argue with their success because of it. That hurt companies like Ludwig who couldn't afford to do that, and were losing endorsers to DW because of it.
Conversely, Ludwig is experiencing somewhat of a comeback because it has made some strides in their kits (although the hardware is still not what I would like it to be), and big time players are getting on board again. 2 of my favorite drummers in Country music are Ben Sesar with Brad Paisley and Jim Riley with Rascal Flatts (can't stand Rascal Flatts music, by the way) but Jim is a great drummer.
Both of these guys are using Ludwig and when I saw Paisley live I was actually surprised to see Ben using Ludwig. That alone made me go take another look at Ludwig, and after spending some time doing the research and learning about their drums again, helped me make the decision to get another Ludwig kit.
Guys that have and do play Ludwig will tell you that there is something special about a Ludwig Maple kit. They have a sound and resonance that is unique to Ludwig and I happen to love that sound. It is the sound I grew up on. The other selling point to me is that their shells are made here in the US, in Monroe North Carolina, by Ludwig. That may not mean anything to some, but it means something to me. And though there are other US made kits still, Ludwig does not price theirs ridiculously high just because it is made in the US.
Hopefully some folks like Erwinner and others will chime in here because I may not be totally accurate since this is my opinion on why I think they dropped off, and why they seem to be making a comeback. I can tell you that I am starting to see a lot more Ludwig kits in Country Music now then I did 5 years ago. And I mean with the big guys in Nashville.
So, whether just my perception or not, that is my opinion on what's been going on with Ludwig.

[Harleydan]

The Maple Cortex were my dad's. He bought them new in '76 as a Tri-tom setup 12x8-13x9-14x10 over the 24x14 bass with a 16x16 and 18x16 floor. I had it split up into a 13-16-24 and 12-14-18 with some wood hoops and a riser for the floor tom. The 8 and 10 concert toms and the 15x12 tom were added in '77 so it could be a humongous prog kit.
Then there's my mid 60s in Black Diamond Pearl that have had more road and playing time than all my other kits combined. And held up like nobody's business.
Then there's the pieced together 12x8, 13x9, 16x16 Vistalites with a 22x12 Blue Sparkle WFL bass drum. (I have 12x8 and 16x16 Ludwig toms in Blue Sparkle in dire need of some work also)
And my '58 WFL Classic in White Marine Pearl

I was hoping we would see you here. I always love to see your collection. That Super 400. If that comes up missing I had NOTHING to do with it, I swear!

[Harleydan]

Here's my late 70's Vistalite kit (with sticker residue on the smaller toms) and my 1995 Classic Maple.
The 1970's Red Mahogany stained kit is one I no longer own, but it was a great kit, too.

Man, I LOVE that White Marine Pearl kit

[Alwaysdrummer]

I've been posting a lot of pics lately. Sorry if people are getting sick of these :P

- White Rockers - modded with white hoops and head, and my rack tom cut to 12x8.5. Other drums are 16x6, 22x16.

- Champagne Classic Maples 18x14, 14x14, 10x7

- Early 80s Acrolite

- 1963 Pioneer with nickel hardware before and after cleanup