Alright, so as you may have seen I got a nice 1965 Jazzfest today in Blue Oyster. For some reason it escaped the zombie infection that these two drums got...and I am very thankful for that. Looks like these things were immersed in water and left to rot/mold for a long long time in a basement...but for some reason the blue oyster pearl covering is in just fantastic shape. Little to no fade...all intact. Looks like it was kept in an climate controlled studio.

The actual shells on these two drums were so far beyond repair that the mold was literally giving me a HUGE headache as I drove back with them today. It was like a serious algae bloom was happening in my car. I didnt know how serious the zombie infection was at the time. I was planning on at least saving the bass drum to go with the snare and seeing what I could do to add some toms. After all, the bass drum wrap looked SUPER nice and the original heads looked like they had barely been hit! About 30 mins into the drive however, my headache was telling me that something was wrong. The fact that the (lead?) paint was peeling all over the place in the 12 inch tom made me fear the worst for the bass drum...and I was a little concerned about my respiratory health at that point.

First are some pics of the drums when I got them. Original BD heads did a great job to conceal the horror that awaited inside, but as soon as I took off the front head I almost puked. This thing is like the night of the living dead! The wood was so rotted that the plies were just falling apart. One re-ring was just bouncing around loose inside. This is the kind of shell that has the wrap lapped into the seam of the shell and it was just hanging out at the ends inside. The hardware inside was all rusted to heck, but on the outside (of the bd atleast) there was no sign that anything was wrong. The T rods and claws have MINOR rust that can easily be taken off, and the lugs look great. The consolette looks great. The wrap is pristine! The bd leg mounts however are rusted on. Ill need to do something serious to get those things loose.

The rack tom looked like a losing battle from the beginning. It had one original head, but was missing one...so I could see that the drum was completely rotted out inside. Re-ring mostly separated, and plies falling apart. Bottom bearing edge just mutilated. The wrap however...again....VERY NICE! So weird! Both drums have original badges intact and in like new shape. As I took of the hoop that was holding on the remnant of a wooden flesh-hoop...the whole re-ring just fell off in a poof of mold.

So I took both drums apart to see what I could do to save them. I soon realized when I stood the bass drum up without hoops (both still have their original inlay and seem to be in decent shape) the thing pancaked like a trixon egg shaped bass drum! No structural integrity what-so-ever! There was nothing to do but to strap on a dust mask and gloves, take the hardware off, and see if I couldn't separate this beautiful wrap from the zombie shell in an effort to help someone who needs some sweet blue oyster to finish a club date kit!

So enjoy the pics. If anyone is interested in this wrap, it is for sale. It is in amazing condition. Right now the BD has the outer ply of mahogany still stuck to the wrap (and the badge is still installed). The wrap is still sealed at the seam so it is technically still factory wrapped! The rest of the drum shell peeled away without much effort at all. The rack tom is a little more solid. Some of the inner ply is still there, the poplar and mahogany are both there, but with light heat I think this thing could just roll out into a piece of wrap that could be taken and applied to any orphan shell and the attached plys would just peel away. I am debating doing that tomorrow. We will see. I sort of would like to leave them as is so that whoever needs them can do it "their way"...there are no cracks or splits in any of the wrap WHAT SO EVER. Its really amazing.

If anyone is interested and has specific instructions or would like me to leave it as is, please PM me or email at [email][email protected][/email] and make an offer. I will let it go at a reasonable price considering the rarity of finding a complete drum wrap in 60's Ludwig Blue Oyster, and if you need any nickel plated club date hardware please let me know. Id love to keep the parts together so that they can be reunited on a structurally sound shell. Badges will be included in the sale, as the grommets are holding them to the wrap and I see no reason to remove them. These drums are both in the 22x,xxx range (65) as is the snare drum that I will be restoring and playing.

Please discuss! Id love to know if anyone else has ever dealt with a similar situation. This really blew me away today!

-Adam