Your shells are indeed maple. All your older, 60s anyway, Ludwigs are maple/poplar maple. The white paint is called Reso-Coat. It is supposed to help with sound. I really think it is more to cover up inconsistent shell layups. You have to remember, the drum makers were going 90 to nothing in these days trying to keep up with demand. This is why so many Japanese kits are on the market from this era. The American makers could not outpace demand, and they could not meet the market demands for lower priced kits. This is why the Japanese are accused, wrongly, of killing the American drum companies. It was greed, lowering of quality, and the blatant disregard for people who just could not afford them. So, the Japanese took advantage of the lower end market to gain a foothold, then corporate America began to get the taste of money, and started finding new and inventive ways to make more of it, and it all goes down hill from there....Now most of the Ludwigs on the market are the same as the rest of the crap, until you get to the upper end, and they become prohibitive once again for the typical family, and the cycle begins anew....

Yes. Those are most likely maple inners. The thing is, you have to look closely at the ply layup. If it's dark, it's probably mahogany (African Mahogany - very nice). If not, it's probably maple. Either way ...

Those shells are the SAME ONES USED on the top of the line Ludwig kits. This seems to be the single fact about vintage drums that continues to remain a closely guarded secret. Those drums ARE Ludwig classic drums. The only difference is the lugs and mounts. That's it.

Say it with me, "my drums are good, my drums are great, my drums are the best Ludwig could ever make."

The kit you ALREADY HAVE is one of the best kits you could ever have.

It's a kit made up of perfect Ludwig classic shells with a VERY desirable wrap in outstanding condition. All screws and washers are pristine and the hardware is very clean. I'm not sure what you're looking for out of a drum kit, but it really doesn't get much better than that.

I've got a nice set of Standards. Let me tell you, they rock. Put some good, ole time, coated heads on 'em, tune 'em right and you have a kit that you'd pay allot more for in modern terms. jonnistix is right. If the height is to much for you, use an old stand or snare stand. Get those hoops from mcjnic... Unless you're just sick of that kit, fix it up. You'll be dazzled by the sound, and, with that wrap, put some lights on it while on stage. You'll be amazed at what you can make that wrap look like under stage lights. Just sayin'... I sold my Luddy Standard kit in the mid seventies, then spent a bunch of months tracking it down. I got lucky, and found it. Don't make my mistake, keep 'em.

I'm sayin' it buddy! I'm sayin' it!

"my drums are good, my drums are great, my drums are the best Ludwig could ever make." :)

Grrr.. you guys are making me want to keep it. hahaha

Well, in all seriousness, they are 100% correct. Your Standard kit seems to be in very nice shape. You could get the correct bass drum hoop and the other spare parts through many sources and then you would have a really enviable kit.

As has been stated, the shells are the best shells Ludwig EVER made. You'll never get shells like that in ANY modern drum set at ANY price.

The best advice anyone could ever give to you is to fix up the kit you've got. Gold Mist Standards with a sparkling gold pearl Pioneer snare = KILLER sounding drum kit when set up with the proper heads. if you keep your kit in good shape once it's fixed up with the right parts, then it will hold its value throughout the ages. Any new drum set in the $1000.00 price range won't amount to nearly the drums you already have.

I thought these 3 ply shells from this era were m/p/m...why do people keep telling the forum the core is poplar if it's AM or Maple?

[COLOR=red]And keep it in original condition! Don't be tempted to re-wrap it![/COLOR]

I believe, that's the point. You have an incredible drum kit. You won't get ANYWHERE NEAR what it's worth. We can help you put it back in perfect working order ... and even help you with some batter/reso head choices and tensioning advice. Trust me, if I was looking for an early 70's kit, I'd buy you a cheap newer kit that everyone wants and trade you for your kit. The money would be about even, but I would make out on the deal in spades. You would lose big time. That's the nature of the vintage drum market.

If you get to the point to where you genuinely can't stand your kit ... someone here would trade you some poc Taiwan or Chinese "professional" modern kit for yours. That won't be a problem. We would trip over ourselves to accommodate you. That's the 'wonderful' people we are.

NowMichael, I have PM this fine young man told him you are the top of the world! Look at you, making me look as though I am shark! Just in case anyone is watching, he has been warned, in spades. No easy score here, go away...

OK, JFast, tell em how the "tune up" is going!

Ludwig 3-ply shells of that era are made with an outer veneer of maple that's somewhere just under 1/16th of an inch thick. The center or "core" ply is made from poplar that's 1/8th of an inch thick. The inner ply is another thin veneer of maple, again.

The reinforcement rings at each end of the shell are made from 1/4 inch solid maple.

Sometimes, the inner and outer veneers of maple contained uneven colors or blemishes and so they used those cosmetically-imperfect shells to make the Standard drums and then spray-painted them with a gray paint to cover the blemishes. They came up with the idea to sell the paint as a sound enhancer.

The Classic line used the same exact shell layup -except they were made from the cosmetically-perfect looking interior plies and then sprayed with a clear sealer. There is no difference in the shells.

The hardware was a little less "fancy", but no less functional than the Classic hardware.

The finish options were fewer -but unique to the Standard line -meaning that you couldn't get a Classic drum set in Gold Mist if you wanted to!

Change your band colors! heh heh

Jstix - My tongue was firmly planted in my cheek.

JFast - I can't be more clear - don't sell that kit for some goofy Taiwan or Chinese modern kit that all the young turks are playing these days. Sure, they look NEW, but they sound like what they are. Please hang around and learn about your kit. Pick out the correct heads and learn how to tension them. Then, play the snot out of that kit. All your buds will BEG you to let them play it. Trust us. What you have is nothing short of amazing.