I am the owner of the toms - please see the pics I posted. No - these were not owned by Bonham - but from the years Ludwig first sold the chrome covered steel kits of the Bonham era.

Please see new post - I added pics.

Actually, they are not chrome COVERED, they are stainless steel shells....metal all the way through.......I looked at the other post to see the pics, so no more name calling please! ;)

Paul Thompson responded to my question about the thermo gloss maple rack tom. Here is the conversation...

ME: Paul,

It is in my understanding that you own John Bonham's thermo gloss maple Ludwig drum kit with the 26'' bass drum. There are some disputes reported on the actual size of the rack tom. I believe it was originally 14x12 and was cut down (?) to a 14x10 tom. Some people disagree and say the tom is actually 15x12 and was cut down. Could you tell me the actual size to clear up the matter? Thank you so much and hope all is well.

-brendan

PAUL:

Hi Brendan,

You are right it is a 14" racktom that was cut down (NOT BY ME !) I think the confusion comes from the fact that the Kit was a copy of Carmine Appices outfit which DID have a 15" rack tom. I have two 26" bass drums ! Bonzo only ever used them once from what I can gather, although I do have a video of Communication Breakdown where he is using the full double kit.

thanks for your interest, I hope this is of help!

all the best,

Paul

so there you have it doubters. ahem.

this was all posted at his forum

http://pub17.bravenet.com/forum/static/show.php?usernum=1385772333&frmid=8&msgid=816863&cmd=show

so check it out for yourself.

Ok, I NEVER claimed that the 15" tom was cut down. All I said is it was a 15" tom, not a 14".

One more point....Paul does state that it was a copy of Carmine's kit. And it DID have a 15" tom. However he also contradicts himself by stating that the tom the kit NOW has is a 14 and was cut down.

Consider this theory: The original 15" tom was lost, damaged or stolen then later replaced with whatever Ludwig had in stock closest in size in that finish at the time. Or.....when Bonham ordered the 16x16 floor tom to match the rest of the kit when he took away the second bass drum, he also ordered a 14" tom to match. Then sometime later the drum got damaged and was cut down, either by him or a subsequent owner prior to Paul owning the kit.

No one will know for sure because the only guy who really knows for sure has been dead for almost 30 years.

Now with that said, I'm moving on because I know I'm still correct in my statement that the ORIGINAL DOUBLE BASS KIT owned by Bonham was an exact DUPLICATE of Carmine Appice's kit....12x15 tom and all.

Next!........

Anyone know the dimensions of the black sparkles that were never to be? 16" deep kick and power tom sizes maybe?

I would think standard sizes, he knew what worked for him, and would of ordered those sizes, which were 14x26", 10x14" and 12x15". 16x16". 16x18" 6 1/2x14" supra.

I really liked the band Humble Pie.

Hmmm... The original post claimed that his last kit was ordered with a 6-ply 24" kick. Wondering if anyone can verify this and what the other drums' sizes may have been. One thing about Bonham is that he seemed amenable to using the very latest products from Ludwig and Paiste (i.e. Vistalites, Stainless Steel, Sound Edge). When the 6-ply era was heralded in, so too were the "new" drum dimensions that became "standard equipment" in the 1980s-- for instance 16" deep kick drums and power tom sizes. If somebody has that order sheet for the black sparkle kit, would be very interesting to see.

Below is a link to a site I found with regard to all of JB's equipment. I believe the guy, as I have referenced the pictures in question and they seem to confirm everything he says. Especially cool is the "hire" kit from the Whisky a Go-Go show - that is my kit exactly except I have a 5" Supra-Phonic instead of the older snare.

Also . . . hello! I'm a new guy.

http://www.griptoad.com/JBKITS.html