No they are even better they are super classic drums.

Please do tell me more

Without seeing the insides of the drum, this is somewhere between 1970 and 1978-9 roughly. If it has re rings, it's early 70's, straight shell makes it a six ply shell and dates it around 75-79 roughly. (not sure exactly when the 6 ply shells started, that's why I bought the Ludwig dating guide just published!).

The drums are not in very good shape, likely needing a good tear down detail. The hoops are unoriginal, since the inlays do not match.

Also, the racks have no wrap, so they could be from a different era from kick and floor. The floor tom legs look like early Camcos, which in better shape might be worth some good money. They are not Ludwig legs.

Wow, okay that doesn't sound too bad. My plan is to fix them up, rewrap it and generally give it the needed tlc to make it a whole kit again. From there I will sell it or keep it depending on what it sounds like compared to my real kit.

Vintage kits are very hard to find here in South Africa, you really got to dig or be lucky (my turn today). And the market is kinda small too.

I will post more pics when I get it this sunday. Try to get a serial number etc.

Thanks for the help so far, will be asking again soon.

Interesting kit. If the drums have rerings they are early 70's. The wraps look pretty good on the bass and floor tom. I can't tell by the angle, but are the toms white marine pearl or just white?. If that is not a crack in the wrap on that top tom and they are white marine pearl like the others, I would never rewrap them. Clean them the best you can and,play them. I am wondering if the inlays on the bass drum can be cleaned up. I guess you will not know for sure until you get them. those are nice classic Ludwigs. Even if that wrap is cracked on that one Tom, or both are white, you might be able to match them up pretty close with some aged WMP wrap they sell. I would not mess with the floor and bass. My 2 cents. They are yours and you can do whatever. Those are nice drums regardless. Keep us posted. I am curious to see some better pics when you get them.

Excuse me if you already know the terminology, but given that you thought these were Ludwig Standard I suspect an introductory tutorial is in order so you can understand our answers. We tend to use short abbreviations to communicate among ourselves.

Do you know what re-rings are or what the expression re-ring is about? Ditto 3 ply and 6 ply.

re-ring = reinforcement ring, which is added in the 3 ply shells for greater stability. The later 6 ply shells did not use an added ring. Here is a Ludwig shell with re-ring (a 1959 shell actually taken to show a misplaced snare bed)

[img]http://black.net.nz/cym2013/snarebed.jpg[/img]

If you see an extra ring like this it is a 3 ply shell. But the interior may be finished differently, and may be a different wood. That pic shows a mahogany inner ply and a maple re-ring. The one you are looking at might use the same wood (Maple) for both. Or it might be painted white, or granitone (grey speckled paint). Take note and let us know.

Do you know what "super classic drums" means? It isn't a reference to them being classic and collectable and super nice. It is variously a class of Ludwig shell or drums which appear in a catalog called a "Super Classic Outfit".

Scroll down on this page

http://www.vintagedrumguide.com/ludwig_drumsets_1973.html

for a Super Classic outfit (shell diameters 13/16/22) which is in the same wrap as the bass and floor tom you showed pics of. Called WMP = white marine pearl. In contrast the two smaller toms seem to be a plain white wrap. You can also see that the badge on the bass and the floor tom are what we call the blue/olive badge. This stye of badge started in the 3-ply period and lasted well into the 6-ply period, which is why we need to see more to be able to tell you more.

Those blue olive badges are called the "pointy" ones. They span Dec 1969 to 1982ish. There are smaller year subdivisions but we would need the serial numbers to make that call.

The two smaller diameter toms are shown such that the badges face away from the camera. It would be good to know about those also.

Love the learning process I am going through! Okay I see what you mean by Super classic drums. I should be putting up photos this sunday evening. Will take shots of the badges, the finish, the insides etc.

Thanks for the help so far everyone.