Hello Dave!...

You mean like THESE?! :-D This is a pic of my 1948 WFL/Ludwig Buddy Rich Super Classic set... WMP ... aluminum badges... hardware... and in the same three ply w/rings shell make up as the 1959 set I do believe. So... with that inner mahogany ply... no ... do nothing in the way of tung oil/polyurethane/lacquer, etc. as that will remove a good bit of the value and actually modify the sound of the drums as well. Clean the WMP, polish the chrome, YES!... but I would leave the interiors completely alone regarding a "clear" or "oil" of any kind. I have to say:

I am a Rogers guy first and foremost, as my avatar pic/gigging set will attest!... but ... I do actually like the sound of the three ply WFL/Ludwigs. They have that unmistakable "three ply thud" as I like to call it, yet with excellent tone/projection. They don't sound quite as bright as the Rogers... ( which are 5 ply/rings ) ... but very nice none the less!

Tommyp

PS: The wrap on these drums is actually very nice and has lots of depth. This was a low light situation picture, thus the slight grainy effect... that also contributes to the "missing cymbals" too! :-D

flowers2Wow! Now that it awesome, to me that's the ultimate. Mine is the B.S. catalog version with a 22" and a single 16. not really a true "BUDDY" set. They are clean though, even the calf heads are hardly used. What heads are you using? Which snare do you have? Man those are nice!Cool Dude

By the way thank you you saved me a lot of work. For sure I'll leave those shells stock! Thanks Again, Dave

Hello again Dave!...

I have the matching snare drum to this set that also has the WFL aluminum badge, and that is the 61/2X14 Ray McKinley model. ( later to be renamed the New Classic, and only in the 61/2X14 size ) Buddy DID play this model snare drum, and there are a couple well known pictures that show him playing this drum... however! ... BR much preferred the 51/2X14 model which was aptly named the "Buddy Rich Model Super Classic". This drum came out in 1947 and stayed in place until 1956 with the BR name. I have to agree with Buddy!... I also play the 51/2X14 BR model Super Classic with this set. The drum I have is a 1955, thus it has a brass WFL badge and not aluminum. A GREAT sounding drum though, and again at 3 plies w/rings. It has a relatively low fundamental given the "thin" shell, but is still quite crisp! I'll attach a few pics of the snare and the snare with the set for you to view... but first:

Heads: I have been a fan of the Aquarian Satin Finish Coated heads for years, and especially so on my vintage drums... thus ... I have the Aquarians on the batter side all the way 'round, but use the Ludwig ( WM old logo ) Medium Coated White on the resonant side of all the toms. It's a NICE combination on these drums... very "fat", yet tons of tone. Quite period, but with a modern "feel". Course, head choice is all completely subjective to personal opinion/taste, but this combination works very well for me, although YOUR mileage could vary! :-D

Would love to see your drums... post pics Dave!!

Tommyp

Hey Jazzbird, I see that you mentioned calf heads. You may already be aware of these - http://www.earthtoneheads.com/

:cool:Hello Tommy, Thanks again for more pictures of your kit. I've got one on our monitor background! I'll post pictures someday but I'm pretty much illiterate with computers. I picked up a digital camera a year or so ago with lots of memory and it could be fairly full,now I must figure out the next step. Tell me am I wrong, wasn't the super classic still the BR model in 1959? I know The 1960 model with the 400 snare did not have his name in the catalog but his#318 sticks were. The Ray Mckinkey or New Classic snare is my favorite for looks. Your '55 looks very much like my '59 but mine just has the reg. butt p33 or ? along with the P87. Are you concered about the pearl changing color at all? Do you cover them up or keep them in cases? Your 5.5 looks very white still, mine might have a hint of real light green. I'll have try the Aquarians. I have some modern vintage and I have mixed feelings about them. Are you Ludwig old logo heads new? I have some 1955 WFL as well.

They are Aqua with strange sizes 20,18,12 and a 4x14 with the beer tap. I have a Blue sparkle '66 16x16 I was using rather than the 18. Recently I found a Aqua 12x15 snare that works really well as a FT along with the 16x18 as a Bass drum. Real Compact.Cool Dude Take Care, Dave

Yes Thanks I have heard of them. Do you use them yourself? If so how are they as far as staying tensioned compared to the Calf? I could always use another snare head or two.

Thank You, Dave:)

Hello Dave!... and THANKS for the nice words regarding my drums. Glad you like 'em!... and the background for your desktop too?! The drums are flattered!! :-D

Being the huge BR fan I am, I am very well versed on his many drums/endorsements, but have to admit that Rogers, and specifically Buddy's Rogers endorsement period, are my personal favorite and the one's I know cold off the top of my head, although I have snare drums/sets from BR's career spanning the years between 1949 to 1979... so that said: I will tell you that Buddy's 2nd WFL/Ludwig endorsement period was from 1946 to 1959, and that is the exact era we are talking about here... so then I went back and checked WFL/Ludwig catalogs up to 1957 as that is the latest one I have before 1960, and YES!... the #900P 51/2X14 snare drum was still in fact called the "Buddy Rich Model Super Classic". After Buddy split to go to Rogers in 1960, the Ludwig #900P snare drum was renamed just the "Super Classic", and the 61/2X14 Ray McKinley became the "Symphonic Model", which is how most guys remember it today. So yes, that is correct Dave!!

The "problem" across the board with ORIGINAL WMP has always been the yellowing/fading, and my WFL's are no different in that regard. They have changed over the years, but not too horribly, as the pics I showed you would attest. My 1955 BR Model snare drum is a very close if not almost perfect match to the rest of the set, which worked out real well! I keep these drums cased at all times unless they're being played/gigged of course, so that does keep the "yellowing" at bay. With that said, I prefer playing the Rogers and use those 99.9% of the time for gigging, although I have brought the WFL's out here and there depending on the gig/venue, but always inside venues so as not to suffer a lot more in the way of UV damage, which of course just speeds along the yellowing of WMP.

Speaking of your Aqua 1955 WFL's: I have the 1949 3X13 Buddy Rich Be-bop model snare drum in WMP with the "beer-tap" strainer which is the father to yours! :-D Buddy requested Ludwig build that drum for him, and he played it with a lot of the smaller groups he was working with at the time. Again at three plies w/rings, it also has a relatively low fundamental, but the 3X13 size actually works in this regard, and the drum has a nice "higher" pitch to it, but retains a lot of that "woody warmth" that the WFL/Ludwig drums of this era were known for!

I'll attach another pic of the WFL BR model set, but this time you can see what the WMP really looks like as there is a lot more depth of color in this pic. Because of the low stage light... ( these were taken right after sound check ) ... the cymbals have almost completely disappeared!... but the WMP wrap is pretty accurate in color. Not too "white" anymore... but not that yellow either! :-D

Tommyp

Jazzbird, re: the Earthtone heads -

No, I haven't used them yet, but I'm intending to get some for my dad's old 1950s Rogers/Champion "Student" set - just a kick, snare & 10" cymbal. He always used real skins - even tucked them himself.

http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb198/GaryN_photo/5727.jpg

(scans by Gary Nelson - Rogers Owners Forum)

The Earthtones seem like a handy alternative to a "tracking the wild steer" and d.i.y.-ing them yourself ~ although, dad's old Haskell W. Harr drum book gives a nice step-by-step.

Thanks. I'm going to look into the Goatskins. That is quite a cute Rogers kit isn't it.Yes Sir