That is a great drum John! If you have a Keystone badge Acro with standard bearing edges,

let us know if you notice much difference in sound when you get a chance to compare.

This is the one from the Goodwill auction isn't it?

Yes, I do have an early 60's Acro and I will video a 'side by side' comparison for you and anyone else who is interested.

Yarp... it's the one from GW. I paid 'almost' retail for it, $300.

Harold - That's a nice one brother! Although my drum came with only one of the original aluminum hoops, I'm going to stash away the aluminum hoop and add a set of Ludwig COS hoops so I can crank it up without worrying about bending the soft aluminum hoops. Thanks for posting the photo and all the great history info!

John

Cool stuff

John!

You are welcome John!

Definitely, those hoops are NOT playable at all!

If you got the chance to hold one in your hand, you easily see why!Yes Sir

Those babies are lighter than a empty Coke can!!LoLoLoLo

A couple of medium-heavy rim shots could bent it to dead....

COS ones are the most effective choice in order to put it "on the race"

John: which wires do you have on it?

I have the factory ones, a little "twisted", and I would recommend you to put some Puresound to increase responsiveness.

Best regards!!Cool1

that's gonna be a nice one john. glad that you got it. one of mine also had the conventional hoop up top and the aluminum snare side hoop. I did the same. tucked the original away and put some cob ones on it because I had some. I play it plenty. my all original is just put up in my collection. they have a very neat sound to them. very cool drums. light as a feather.

mike

> John: which wires do you have on it?

Harold - The originals. They are the 'Patent Pending' ones with the clear, yellowed plastic ends. I happen to prefer these old Ludwig Pat. Pending wires because they seem to be a lighter gauge wire than the modern PureSounds. On Ludwig drums I always prefer Ludwig wires. If it sounds crappy when I tune it up, I'll consider a set of PureSounds.

Mikey - I'm using the COS hoops because they are the only set of Ludwig 60's 8-hole hoops I have in stock. I think the COB hoops would go better, but I just don't have a set in-house. It's cleaning up really nice. No dents, or dings, or mars on the drum shell, or the lugs. It's a nice clean example.

More photos to come...

John

Here she is... Ready to Rock!

[IMG]http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n632/PurdieShuffle/Viola_zpsf2e89b88.jpg[/IMG]

This is a super-clean drum! I can't find any dings, or marks anywhere. Here are some detail shots:

[IMG]http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n632/PurdieShuffle/badge_zps47e1a616.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n632/PurdieShuffle/strainer_zps00d9e4a2.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n632/PurdieShuffle/inside_zpsfe7db8ef.jpg[/IMG]

I'm lucky to have one of these at all, much less one as clean as this one. Next comes a sound-file with a side by side comparison of the prototype and the 60's model that became the standard for the drum. Watch for a video!

John

Outstanding job! Im happy for you to have this nice drum John.

Man that's clean John. Great job..... I like the look of the aluminum lugs. Those are pretty cool. Thanks for the interior shots it's interesting to see how they were made back then. Welded seam and all. Neat stuff enjoy! Look forward to the vid.

That is a fantastic job John. I can't wait to hear your sound file on the two side by side. Make sure to crack off a few good rim shots for us!