yes sir. To me it looks like Jul 22 1958 but I'm open to the experts.

Here is a before & after shot of another one I traded.

It's all original except for the heads.

I'd say 1963 for the blurred year. But my eyes are hardly the best.

For comparison here's mine. Later that year:

[img]http://black.net.nz/drums/nov18_1963.jpg[/img]

same week as the JFK assassination. Same pre-serial badge same red felt.

a 58 would usually have a clear mahogany interior. the lug screws would also be the type used with a flat head screwdriver as opposed to a hex wrench/socket.

mike

I agree with the '63, too. My 63's have the baseball bat mufflers, too. I saw in the '63 catalog page with the Hollywod kit, that it's showing round knobs on the shells (as an aside). I wonder how long they used the "bats"?

http://www.vintagedrumguide.com/images/ludwig_sets/1963_ludwig_drumsets4.jpg

Josh

baseball bat mufflers were used from the early 60's and into 1968,red felt and then white. marching drums stuck with the round knobs through this period for the most part.

Ludwig did sometimes use older pics in the new catalogs too.

mike

Thanks!

Yeah as I look through their pages it occurred to me they might be using slightly other pix from time to time. On the '63 page they have kits with round and with bats. Just more interesting "Ludwig trivia".

Josh

The color separations required for color printing of photos and artwork were very expensive to have made up so it represented a major investment to change catalog illustrations. Therefore Ludwig (and other companies) had a tendency to re-use existing artwork as long as they could get away with it. Even as a product's details evolved over time it might still be shown in the catalog with an older photo or illustration. Therefore the details of the then current production drums don't always match perfectly with what the catalog may show and you can't always use the catalog art as a way to date drums and/or determine the originality of certain features.

I have a 1930s Leedy snare drum with a double badge....

Mike Curotto

That IS cool...kind of like an engraving error on a coin. Certainly makes it somewhat unique.