A Very Lucky Saturday - Trans Badge Ludwig Find

[jptrickster]

All you guys are correct. The snare and all hoops are COB. The bass is a 14"x20" as well. The tims are natural mahogany interior and the bass is natural maple interior. Here's the snare shell after being cleaned.

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Ahhh there it is! Doesn’t get much better than that

 

[andlours]

Here's the snare all cleaned up:

And just for fun, here's the original listing photo:

 

[andlours]

Can you post pics of the inside of the drums please....this is amazing!

I'll try to snap some here in the next couple of days. They're exceptionally clean all around and all have red date stamps from October of '59.

 

[marko52]

This is such a cool drumset. It's got so many things right, not the least of which is that snare. I'm lobbying for leaving the bass hoops as is; I think it adds a lot to the appearance. IAC, i'm happy for you; a tremendous score.....marko

 

[Formula 602]

Here's the snare all cleaned up:

View attachment 399998

And just for fun, here's the original listing photo:

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That Prem throne is cool...worth something also!

 

[andlours]

Here's a quick shot of the interior of the floor tom. It looks like it's actually maple. I was shocked at how clean it is on the inside. Born with the other drums in '59.

 

[Elvis]

andlours,

That's a beautiful kit and you did an ace of a job cleaning it up.
Congrats on your latest grab. -b

Elvis

 

[Mendozart]

Whoa.....fricken amazing! Congrats!

 

[andlours]

Thanks for the kind words guys. I finally polished the 14" shell. Now I just need to clean up the hardware.

 

[andlours]

And a few of the bass drum interior. All the lug screw washers are copper, which is pretty cool.

 

[stinkingbadges]

Those are some serious quality drums. Jaw-dropping, really. Congratulations! So well done!

 

[Sinclair]

Congrats on such an amazing find. How do the edges look? I'll assume the snare edges are find, just wondering about the other drums.

 

[andlours]

Congrats on such an amazing find. How do the edges look? I'll assume the snare edges are find, just wondering about the other drums.

They're actually really good. They dont have any damage from being handled carelessly or abused. There is some wood dehydration at the scarf joint on a few drums, but nothing that would negatively affect the sound.

 

[Jazz Drummer]

Nice find, congratualtions. This is a good a drums can be, COB rims etc.. If you have trouble with scratches on the veneer, try "Polywatch", actually a product to polish watch crystals. Always test in an area normally not visible so see whether there is a chemical reaction with the veneer and clean well with water when you are done. Unless scratches are very deep you can polish them out.

 

[markrocks68]

IF that kit ever goes for sale let me know!

 

[Ottomatic]

I just picked this downbeat kit up from the 2nd owner who bought it in the late 60s. He knew what he had, but wanted to sell it quickly and let it go for just about half of the going price of only the snare. I don't know of I'll ever find another deal this good...View attachment 399471

I know I'm very late to this party... I can't speak for 1959 But, My 1962 Downbeat set had a special snare drum. I replaced it ( stupidly ) with a SupraSonic. Fast forward 57 years and I'm back using a 4" x 14" wooden snare drum again. I don't know when it became ridiculously expensive to purchase a downbeat snare drum. Before I bought the snare I have, I looked for a downbeat snare... I was shocked at the prices! They do sound unique. I loved my Ludwig drums and as a kid, I got to tour the Ludwig Plant. It was awesome! The tour was lead by W.F. Ludwig Jr. Later his father joined us and it was unbelievable! Thank You WFL & Ludwig, it was a spark that lit a fire for a lifetime...

 

[JulianFernandez]

insane!