I Have Never "Gotten" Ludwig Drums

[johnnyringo]

Just kidding, I've "Gotten" plenty of Ludwig drums.
But really, what is the big deal with Ludwig? Why do so many love them? Why is Ringo still playing them? Why did Bonham, Rich, Morello, Jones and so many other great drummers play them?
In case you see a little sarcasm here, you are correct.

[grantro]

Good one, JR!!

Cheers

[OddBall]

Originally Posted by johnnyringo

Just kidding, I've "Gotten" plenty of Ludwig drums.
But really, what is the big deal with Ludwig? Why do so many love them? Why is Ringo still playing them? Why did Bonham, Rich, Morello, Jones and so many other great drummers play them?
In case you see a little sarcasm here, you are correct.

They couldn't afford SONOR.

[whorwood]

Hi
supposedly Ringo seen the Ludwig’s in a window of a music shop, and decided to buy them, I wonder if that shop had other makes from different manufacturers, I also wonder if Ringo tried any other kits in that shop.
Was he sold on the sound or the colour ???
Pretty amazing when you think about it !

[BEC]

Originally Posted by OddBall

They couldn't afford SONOR.

In 1964 I started out on a new Sonor kit. Within a year chrome was peeling off the hoops and the mount tightening screws (which are small and a pain to use) were stripping out. A straight (up and down only) cymbal mount on the bass drum was useless.....
ALL those problems went away with my new Ludwig kit in 1966, and my Ludwig st sounded better than my clanky Sonor kit....
That's my short story of drums "I just didn't get", they were Sonors!

[OddBall]

Well there's ya problem Bunny,...you had Teardrops, not Phonics. They were Drops Right ?

Sit you as behind a Super Champion SS kit, (Henk's) or Phonics,....like mine. You'll have a blast.

[OddBall]

And get some cymbal stands !

[johnnyringo]

Originally Posted by whorwood

Hi
supposedly Ringo seen the Ludwig’s in a window of a music shop, and decided to buy them, I wonder if that shop had other makes from different manufacturers, I also wonder if Ringo tried any other kits in that shop.
Was he sold on the sound or the colour ???
Pretty amazing when you think about it !

Ringo was playing a Premier, but he wanted an American made kit. I heard he had wanted a black kit, then saw the bop Ludwig and that was it. He also had them make the Ludwig logo bigger so everyone could see he was playing Ludwig, something like that, I could be mistaken about some of the details.

[jda]

He was aware of the different brands and had a sense of them:

"RF: Why Ludwig? Did every company approach you?

RS: Not every company, but I loved Ludwig drums. Premier I felt were too heavy, Gretsch were too fast for me, and Ludwig just seemed to be the ones I could get real good tones out of and they were good for my style of playing."

Dec 81/Jan 82/ MD

https://webcache.googleusercontent.c...&ct=clnk&gl=us

Also. A little bit about Calf-skin Heads...

"But since ’66, we were in a controlled environment, in the studio, so the temperature was always the same and you could deal with calf. You can’t deal with them outside, although drummers have for thousands of years, but if we had played Pasadena and Denver, one night the skins would be very taut and in Pasadena it’s soggy, so they’d get real messy and you’d be tuning forever. So plastic heads were a God-send on the road, but then when we were just in the studio, I ordered this kit and I had calf skins put on"

"RF: What album do they come in on?

RS: Abbey Road."

Originally Posted by johnnyringo

Ringo was playing a Premier, but he wanted an American made kit. I heard he had wanted a black kit, then saw the bop Ludwig and that was it. He also had them make the Ludwig logo bigger so everyone could see he was playing Ludwig, something like that, I could be mistaken about some of the details.

You're exactly right. In the mid-60s in Britain, the vast majority of young musicians wanted American instruments, which were perceived as being better than anything that you could get in England. There was a trade embargo for years that prevented US manufacturers from selling instruments to English retailers, so when American gear finally became available, the race was on to get a Fender, Gibson, Rickenbacker or Gretsch guitar. Same with drums. Ludwig ruled the roost as a result of The Beatles' popularity. Ringo was proud to have an American drumkit, so he had the store where he bought them re-paint and enlarge the Ludwig logo so people could see he played American drums. Ringo was also happy to be able to buy Avedis Zildjian cymbals. Prior that that, he'd been using other brands.

Ringo has stayed with Ludwig drums all his life, obviously. I'd say Ringo was the best salesman Ludwig ever had. Between Ringo and Buddy, they probably sold more drums for that company than anyone else. Gene Krupa did the same for Slingerland for decades.

You may notice that 60's British drummers are rarely seen playing Slingerland or Gretsch drums. Ludwig was the dominant name back then along with Premier. English Rogers drums were fundamentally different than American Rogers. If I'm not mistaken, English Rogers drums were made by Premier. I'm sure someone can either confirm or deny that.