Advice about early 80s Ludwig

[JPdrumming]

Hi vintage drum forum experts :-)
I'm looking for some advice about vintage ludwig drums. A friend of mine is selling his early 80s ludwig 26" 14" 18". He says it's from the first monroe generation and still handmade. The wrap is red sparkle with keystone badges. It's in great shape and looks beautiful. I went to play it today and it sounds awesome too! I'm just curious about the difference between the 80s and the famous 70s blue/olive badges ludwig drums. It's hard to find anything about the 80s ludwigs in the internet so i was wondering if some of you know something about them and maybe you can help me find a realistic price that i should pay for the kit?
Cheers from switzerland, Julien
Pictures: http://postimg.org/gallery/2wtp3ii1y/

[human71]

The difference is shell composition..I believe the 80's Ludwig shells from Monroe were 6 ply with no re-rings while most of the 70's shells were Ludwig's 3 ply maple/poplar/maple construction, with re-rings, but i believe they had some without.. The drums you're thinking of buying are a lot heavier than the 3 ply.. I have a mixed vintage Ludwig kit comprised of orphans, and my floor tom is from that era..
It weighs as much as my kick does, and it's a 16x16 !..The early Monroe stuff is classic Ludwig in every sense, just a different composition of shell material..Click on the link to find out more about your drums..It's my go-to guide whenever i need any info on all vintage drums.. As far as price goes, i would imagine a vintage kit of those sizes would bring a decent amount for the seller.. I'm thinking maybe between $1000-$1300, so 900- 1100 Euros I believe, but i wouldn't be surprised if he asked for more....Beautiful kit by the way ! Hope this helps you in your decision ..

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

[vintagemore2000]

They are probably the six ply shells I would have to see the bearing edges to tell for sure.
All ludwig top of the line shells are handbuilt even today. Your kit looks to be very nice. If you like the kit as you mentioned go get them. I for one Love the sizes !

[JPdrumming]

Thanks already for your advice guys!
Unfortunately I couldn't take off the heads to check out the bearing edges because i didn't have a lot of time.
Does anybody know how much it's worth? He wants 1400 swiss francs for it, which is about 1500 usd. Is that a reasonable price or even a good deal? Or should i try to bring the price down?

[vintagemore2000]

From where you are at that seems a good price but of course try to get him down try 1200.00

[eamesuser]

Never heard of a 3 ply Monroe badged kit.

Nice sizes/depths and a classic wrap.I have a monroe 6 ply 22 kick and it is really strong,that 26 is thunderous I would bet.

Those def look early monroe,from the BD mount and tom brackets.

As far as price value goes,in the U.S. where I am,that kit,even though the sizes and wrap are desirable brings 1000.00 tops IMO,but I have noticed on the British market american made drums usually bring 30 to 50 percent more than U.S. market prices so depending on your area that price may be pretty fair.

[K.O.]

Ludwig moved to Monroe in 1985 so those would be more likely classified as late 80's drums. I believe they would have the same 6 ply maple/poplar shell as Ludwig started producing in Chicago around 1978. While they are a different animal from the 3 ply mahogany/poplar/maple shells Ludwig was using prior to 1978 they are still nice sounding high quality drums. Those are cool sizes and can bring a premium due to the "Bonham connection". I'm not sure what the market would be for these in your neck of the woods. I'd assume these are harder to find on that side of the Atlantic and therefore worth a bit more.