3 plies mahogany/poplar/maple (outside to inside).

The changeover to 6 plies was a bit later than some sources indicate, more like 1977. I went through the Ludwig plant in late 1976 and they were still churning out 3 ply shells at that time.

That's awesome. What was the plant like in 76?

Noisy, dirty, a typical factory setting with typical factory workers. Still mighty cool though. I was only 14 when our downstate high school band went up to Chicago for the morning tour. Wish I'd brought the ol' Kodak instamatic along. Bill Ludwig Junior himself welcomed us.

In the afternoon the band director turned us loose in Grant Park. I went to Franks Drum Shop for the first time, Sib Hashian and Fran Sheehan from the band Boston stopped in while we were there ...it was a great day!

$160 ??? Man, some people have all the luck.. Classic Ludwig ..

Congrats and Welcome to the forum !

FYI, the floor tom is upside down. Like has been said, these are classic '70's Ludwigs. Nice goin'..........marko

Please remember that the comments in my guide about the transition from 3 ply to 6 ply are very general in nature. I did not record the numbers of plies during most of the time I was gathering data for the serial number/date stamp project. I have gathered more information since the guide was published, but still cannot pinpoint when the transition occurred. I have reports of serial numbers as high as 2174679 on drums with three ply shells and as low as 1598043 on drums with six ply shells. These appear to be outliers. The transition appears to be somewhere in the 1600000 - 1750000 range. I do not have enough data to be able to narrow it down with much confidence.

This serial number range fits pretty well with K.O.'s first hand observations from 1976. He had previously reported that among the badges Ludwig was using in the fall of 1976 was one badge in the 1625000 range. With Ludwig attaching badges without adherence to strict sequential order, it gets a bit fuzzy.

Exactly. That kit + an acrolite snare and wow you're ready for anything.

Why oh why can I never get deals like this?

Sib? Man, 1976 was Boston's year. That debut album of their's released in '76 is still selling like hotcakes. Over 20,000,000 and still going..

You Americans have all the luck..:( All we get here are Ludwig drums for

just under $1000.. However, there was one Ludwig late 70's black cortex big beat i had seen for under $800 in good condition, but it was nowhere near my area..

Congrats on an awesome score !