You have a late 70's Ludwig Big Beat kit in natural maple finish..

They are 3 ply maple poplar maple, and they are one of the most desired Ludwig 70's era kits

among collectors, and Ludwig players.. Your snare is the Ludwig LM402 Supraphonic snare drum

and looks like it's 6.5X14.. John Bonham all the way ! ;)

Seu avô gave you a fantastic set of drums in what looks to be really great condition..

Parabéns por um ótimo kit de bateria.! ;)

thanks a lot ;)

it´s exactly like this one right?

https://reverb.com/au/item/3298332-ludwig-big-beat-1978-thermogloss-maple

best

Nice kit. It's similar to the one you referenced, but a few years newer. My guess is 83 or so.

Did your grandfather buy it new?

Yes, he imported directly from Ludwig in 1985.

so it´s an late 70s drums, but sold on the 80s? I´m asking that because 70s badge.

Thanks

I believe the kit was catalogued as a 'Big Beat' in Natural Maple finish, but with a 6.5-in depth (LM402) snare drum instead of the standard 5-in depth (LM400).

As far as I know, Ludwig's last year of production in the Chicago plant was around '84, maybe part of '85; and I believe that drums with blue/olive badges stopped being produced in '84 or '85. The serial numbers on '83sh-'84 badges had a black box around them. I can't tell if your badges have the black box around the serial numbers. Also, I've read that the last serial numbers from the Chicago plant were in the 3,114,xxx range.

See the '84 Ludwig catalog at drumarchive.com. See pg. 23.

Also see the '82 Catalog, see bottom of pg 3.

Regarding worth or value of the kit- I'm sure that it's worth quite more in Europe than in the US. Sold listings from Ebay and Reverb would give the most accurate market prices in my opinion.

Claudio,

Looks like those drums are 6-ply classic maple and not the 3-ply mentioned earlier.

Check the pics from link you posted and look at the difference in those badges and yours, you'll notice yours don't have the sharp pointy angle or are the more "rounded" blue/olive. The "pointy" blue/olive badges from the 70's often indicate 3-ply drums.

3-ply drums are more desirable to some folks looking for a particular era and sound, therefore may be worth a bit more money. It's easy to determine how many ply's a shell has by merely counting the layers at the bearing edge. 3-ply shells will have, well 3 layers and a reinforcing ring glued in place. 6-ply shells will have six layers without a reinforcing ring (they are strong enough to stay in-round without needed the rings). You may need to remove a drum to see the layers better, but if you have some clear heads it shouldn't be a problem... I also use a magnifying glass to make it easier for my tired old eyes.

I've attached an image of one of my drums that is a 3-ply that is covered in black cortex, and a 6-ply natural maple snare for your reference.

Hi Claudio,

To make things easy, The "series" is the "Classic". The model name would be the "Big Beat". Hope that helps.

Mark

Hi,

I think you´re, the drums are 6 ply. Can you please check it on the photos below?

I also send a photo from the Ludwig Catalog, I think my drum kit is like the one in the photo.

He gave to me some cymbals. Zildijian Avedis Turkish made in USA: ride 20", crash 16" and hit 14"..are this good right? He thinks they are from the 70s or so!

He also gave me Ludwig hardware, the original kick pedal and hit, and 2 cymbals stands.

Thanks for the help,

You´re the best :)

I stand corrected.. 6 ply.. Nice drums just as well, and very heavy !!