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My Ludwig kit is finished ... Last viewed: 2 hours ago

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... for now. It's come a ways upward in the past couple weeks.

For me, this kit is a player so though I like that it's worth something, I'm not obsessed with ultimate value for reselling. I will own this thing for several years and, though you never say "never", it will probably be my only kit. Thus I'm sure several members here will be somewhat disappointed that I refinished the bass hoops. This involved minimal smoothing and the wrap rings were loose so I carefully peeled them off and cemented them back in place once re-painted (black lacquer). Sorry fellers, but the flaked off paint was the only thing that made the set look worn and to my eyes I like the look a lot better now.

Installed new heads (the old ones baked in the attic for over 7 years), bought a vintage 19" Avedis crash/ride to match the vintage of the 13" Avedis hi-hat it came with when I bought it. I'm sure cymbals may be switched around in the future, and the ride is a cheap ZBT (which sounds as cheap as it costs) so I'll add one more to the mix to replace that one probably sooner than later. Since it's a player, I bought some double-braced heavy cymbal and snare stands but I'll keep the originals stored away to keep things complete if wanted. I also have a cowbell to install but haven't decided how I want to mount it yet and the kit as-is far outweighs my skill so I don't need it immediately. I figure it is prudent to get a feel for what I've got and the cowbell placement will speak to me soon enough.

It has an old Slingerland bass pedal and it's rough, squeaky and spongy/resistant action, thus I have an Iron Cobra 600 on the way so I can learn on a good one.

It didn't come with the original snare so I bought a pretty decent new-ish acrolite to play on.

I must say I am very pleased. There is no detectable fading of the wrap - the color underneath the various hardware appears identical to the exposed wrap - and it cleaned up very nicely I think.

So here's a pic of the kit as of today: See attachment!

1 attachment
Posted on 7 years ago
#1
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Vinito

Nice work! Now play em, even in your dining room!

John

John/Levelpebble

Tama Superstar 81 Aqua bop
Rogers Cleveland BDP (x2), Silver bop, Champagne, Black/Gold Duco, WMP, Blue sparkle; Dayton Red Onyx;
Camco Oaklawn 12 14 20 5x14 Tuxedo WMP
LW 59 SC Blue Sparkle, WMP
WFL Gold Sparkle SC, WMP Compacto
Gretsch 49/50 Broadkaster WMP
Fibes Copper Forte
Remo MasterEdge Bop, Gold Crown, Mondo
Slingerland Conway Black Satin
70's MIJ Del Ray, my first and fav ok I'm lying here
Way Too Many Snares, She Says
Posted on 7 years ago
#2
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HEHE! Yea.

Doesn't quite fit in absolutely perfect, does it? I'm working on cleaning out the basement to set up a "music corner" down there. It's dry and more comfortable down there anyway.

Posted on 7 years ago
#3
Posts: 176 Threads: 7
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From vinito

Sorry fellers, but the flaked off paint was the only thing that made the set look worn and to my eyes I like the look a lot better now.

One thing I've learned is not to apologize for making yourself happy about the look of your drums. Sure, you'll never please everyone, and the purists may break out in hives, and depending on what you've done to them may lower value and even invite ridicule. But they're your drums.

Repainting worn hoops really does a tremendous job in making a vintage kit look newer. I plan on eventually doing the same with my Rogers bass drum.

Vintage kits:
1969 Rogers Holiday - black diamond pearl (20/16/13/12)
196x Star (Lyra/Majestic) - blue sparkle pearl (22/14/13) Restoration Project
1987 Pearl KC-3500 - jet black (22/16/13/12)
Not-so-vintage kits:
2007 Hart Dynamics Professional 6.4 e-kit / Roland TDW-20
Snares:
60s Gretsch 5x14 maple WMP / 68 Ludwig 5x14 Supraphonic / 93 Pearl 3x14 Free Floating brass piccolo / 60s Star (Lyra) 5x14 luan blue sparkle pearl / 87 Pearl 6.5x14 steel
Posted on 7 years ago
#4
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They look great. So what was/is the correct original color of the Bass Drum Hoops?

BLAEMIRE DRUMS
Thanks to Mr. Jerry Jenkins
Posted on 7 years ago
#5
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thats super sharp!

Posted on 7 years ago
#6
Posts: 5295 Threads: 226
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Very nice!! Be proud of them!!

Cheers

1976 Ludwig Mach 4 Thermogloss 26-18-14-14sn
1978 Ludwig Stainless 22-22-18-16-14-13-12 c/w 6-8-10-12-13-14-15-16-18-20-22-24 concert toms
1975 Sonor Phonic Centennials Metallic Pewter 22-16-13-12-14sn (D506)
1971 Ludwig Classic Bowling Ball OBP 22-16-14-13
1960's Stewart Peacock Pearl 20-16-12-14sn
1980`s Ludwig Coliseum Piano Black 8x14 snare
1973 Rogers Superten 5x14 & 6.5x14 COS snares
1970`s John Grey Capri Aquamarine Sparkle 5x14 snare
1941 Ludwig & Ludwig Super 8x14 snare
Posted on 7 years ago
#7
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From green glass drum

... So what was/is the correct original color of the Bass Drum Hoops?

They were just black. Kind of a satin or semi-gloss sheen so I just duplicated that. Seems like all kinds of stuff back then tended to be in lacquer, especially in musical instruments, so I took a guess and picked up a spray can of black lacquer to refinish it. Not sure if that was an accurate choice, but made an effort anyway :). Lacquer is getting harder to find it seems, so I'm lucky I just needed black.

Thanks for the positive feedback folks. They are now in the new basement "studio" and it's a pretty handy setup. Now that I'm listening closer, this kit does sound pretty darn good.

Posted on 7 years ago
#8
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You repainted your dinged-up black lacquer bass hoops in matching black lacquer?! Defiler! They're now useless kindling! You should have built a humidity-controlled plexiglass cube and placed each drum, with period-correct hardware, inside the cube, handling them only while wearing acid-free cotton gloves.

Just kidding. They look fantastic. I don't know if I've ever seen anyone on here give anybody grief about touching up or repainting bass hoops to their original color. They take a beating, don't they? The surviving one on my Slingerland 20" had known the kiss of many a pedal and cowbell clamp, so when I painted the natural maple replacement one that came with it, I went ahead and hit the original with the rattle can too. The Rustoleum semi-gloss from Home Depot was such a close match that it was almost impossible to tell what was old and what was new paint once it had cured. Still haven't gotten around to ordering my Blue Agate inlay strips from Jammin' Sam.

-Erik
______
Early '70's Slingerland New Rock #50 in blue agate (20-16-13-12)
Late '50's WFL Swingster/Barrett Deems in black/gold Duco
'70's Slingerland Gene Krupa Sound King COB
early '70's Ludwig Acrolite
'80's Ludwig Rocker II 6 1/2" snare
Rogers Supreme Big "R" hi hat

Posted on 7 years ago
#9
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