Ludwig 50th Anniversary Vistalite Drum Set

[yetanotherdrummer]

Back in November of 2022 I could not no longer resist the temptation, so I purchased a Ludwig Fab 3 Vistalite set in red, with a matching snare. My first real set of drum was a blue Vistalite set I got when I was 16 or 17, and I had that for years. I also had a set in the tequila sunrise finish for awhile.

The new sets have many of the features of the originals, but with improvements. The bearing edges, the seams, the overall fit and finish is so far above the sets I owned previously it is amazing. I love the sound of the vistalites too, they just have a sound that is unlike any others drums I have played.

My set is 22-13-16 with a 14 snare.

A few pictures.

 

[Redbeard77]

Very cool, and dig the matching throne!

 

[Mr. Fibes]

Beautiful. I Love seeing new kits without the ubiquitous, Pearl-style spurs. Enjoy them.

 

[dsop]

The Ludwig website says "handcrafted in the U.S.A since 1972". Is that true, or what? I've seen factory video showing them making the shells, but have read in many forums that some 3rd party makes them.

Also, isn't it a deal breaker that they are not seamless? Isn't that seam going to weaken eventually? I've wanted to get a set of them forever, but I'm really hesitant due to their history of failures/cracks.

 

[Talktotommy]

That looks really nice. You are correct. The build quality is far superior to the originals. I have a 70s blue vista set that I was adding some drums to and picked up an orphan 50th anniversary blue Vistalite 9 x 13 Tom.
The color at least of the blue one is way different than the original. The new one is crystal clear with no distortion when you look through it. The original ones have more of a prism effect and not quite as clear which I tend to prefer.
Just curious, if the other colors I have the same differences from the originals.

 

[Hop]

The Ludwig website says "handcrafted in the U.S.A since 1972". Is that true, or what? I've seen factory video showing them making the shells, but have read in many forums that some 3rd party makes them.

They may be playing a bit coy with the ad copy.... consider that it doesn't say, "handcrafted by Ludwig..."

 

[dharma bum]

I love the red Vistas!! Those look great.

 

[dsop]

They may be playing a bit coy with the ad copy.... consider that it doesn't say, "handcrafted by Ludwig..."

Yes, I noticed that. But at least they're not made offshore. I'm still concerned about the seams' integrity long-term though. I doubt they have a lifetime guarantee.

 

[Hop]

Yes, I noticed that. But at least they're not made offshore. I'm still concerned about the seams' integrity long-term though. I doubt they have a lifetime guarantee.

Here's a vid that shows the manufacturing of the shells. It shows the raw shells being placed in boxes, where they are recieved by Ludwig for the final work (bearing edges, badges and hardware).

I hear ya on the seams. The video shows that they are just butted seams through the curing and polishing process (makes sense, easier to polish). I'm not sure when they add the reinforcing strip to the shell, but they are clearly there when the Ludwig works are handling them.

I don't know the product line well enough to say that the seam strip was there at the begining of the reintroduction of the Vistalite series, but it's there now and I'd have to imagine the the bonding agent is likely quite strong and hopefully not the most likely point of failure.

 

[yetanotherdrummer]

I had a first generation set of Vistalites that I purchased new back in 1974. I had expanded the set to an 8 piece double bass set that I gigged for about 20 years. In that time, I lost one floor tom when it fell down a flight of stairs and broke in to more than a few pieces. I also had a bass drum split apart, but not right on the seam, and several toms developed cracks around the lugs. These were drums that saw an extreme of temperatures and handling over their lifetime.

If my new drums decide to crack in twenty years, I will be in my 80's by that time. I know that some people have had problems with the seamless acrylic drums cracking too, so maybe it is more how we treat them, than any fault of the drums. I doubt that my new Ludwigs will ever leave the house, so I think that I will be fine.

 

[dharma bum]

Knowing that others have had issues with seams and cracks on old Vistas.... I have not. I bought my 12/13/16/22 kit at a MusicGoRound around 2000. They had no bottom rims on the toms and no front bass hoop - two small cracks total around lugs between all the 4 drums. I put on bottom rims, heads and the bass hoop. I've played them at over 150 gigs over the last 20 years, lately transporting them (carefully) in bags. I keep them in an unheated garage.

There are no additional cracks, and no seam separation. (The floor tom has bearing edge and roundness issues, but I tune it as best I can). So they've been good to me. I'm actually taking them this afternoon for my gig as house drummer as at a blues jam, because other drummers like to check them out.