special order 60s ludwig drum sizes

[bon viesta]

not talked about a whole lot as far as the custom drums they made in the vintage years, but there's a couple pictures floating around of 60s/early 70s era ludwig drum kits in these amazing custom order big sizes. the coolest part, in my opinion, are the cool double club date bass drum spurs that was always present on these custom size drums. you may recognize them john bonham, carmine appice, jim capaldi, dino danelli, and all of the early adopters of oversized bass drums.

if you got any more, post them!! these pics are my current inspiration for the ludwig drums i'll be hopefully be ordering later this year. a 24 inch bass drum and 2 pairs of gretsch repro spurs, and i'm golden.

 

[el_37]

I wouldn't say 14x24, 14x26 and 14x28 inch bass drums were custom in the 1960's- they were readily available sizes in the catalog available in all finishes. They are rare though.

Years ago I thought Ian Paice's 10x16 mounted tom was a custom size- until I realized it was readily available in the Ludwig catalog as a Timp-Tom.

Now Ed Cassidy's 18x40" Psychedelic Red side bass drums- those were the craziest- but even those are in the catalog under symphonic bass drums- also available in any finish.

 

[jptrickster]

My '64 Downbeat 20 bass had twin spurs. Never really had any sizes outside the norm typical.

 

[Ransan]

Nothing special about the sizes per se, but my Luddie Octaplus config kit, the bass has quad spurs.

I’ve wondered about these as well.

 

[cinemadrummer2001]

not talked about a whole lot as far as the custom drums they made in the vintage years, but there's a couple pictures floating around of 60s/early 70s era ludwig drum kits in these amazing custom order big sizes. the coolest part, in my opinion, are the cool double club date bass drum spurs that was always present on these custom size drums. you may recognize them john bonham, carmine appice, jim capaldi, dino danelli, and all of the early adopters of oversized bass drums.
View attachment 554404

View attachment 554406

View attachment 554405

View attachment 554403


View attachment 554401

View attachment 554400


if you got any more, post them!! these pics are my current inspiration for the ludwig drums i'll be hopefully be ordering later this year. a 24 inch bass drum and 2 pairs of gretsch repro spurs, and i'm golden.

That sounds cool! I would recommend the Gretsch reproduction spurs by Chris Mattoon. http://chrismattoon.com/store/p8/Gretsch_Reproduction_Bass_Drum_Spurs.html
They are more authentic and better made. I always felt those Gretsch dual purpose spurs were useless.

 

[wflkurt]

I thought I read an interview with Carmine where he said he found a marching drum to make the bass drum for the red sparkle set? I'm thinking it was before he had an endorsement with Ludwig? Obviously everyone knows the story of Carmine having the big maple set first and then John Bonham copying the same set for the most part.

 

[BillC]

Great thread. If you check some of the 1960’s Ludwig catalogs mention the ability to custom order. I wonder what the lead time was.
In the early 1990’s I obtained at our mainly vintage drum shop a 1960’s Ludwig pink champagne kit in the following sizes 16x16 bass drum, 8x12, 14x14. The bass drum has a stock rail mount factory drilled. Factory mounts and spurs for the legs. No extra holes in anything. This 16” had never been a floor tom. It was so obvious it had been made as a bass drum.
Why did I sell that kit?

 

[JDA]

Mr. Ludwig tries out some licks on an outfit sporting the new classic lugs 1949

History of the Ludwig Drum Company

(Reference). Discover one of America's greatest contributions to the music world the drumset by exploring this book. This unique publication uses extensive interviews with the Ludwigs and photos from their personal collections to recall the origins, development, and tools of the craft. You'll...

books.google.com

Check that Bass drum Page 38