What's the difference between a Ludwig "Big Beat" and a "Hollywood" set? Looking at the Ludwig catalog (http://www.vintagedrumguide.com/ludwig_drumsets_1971.html) it appears that the only difference is the hardware they came with, and the wrap. Is there anything else?
Scott
Generally speaking, the Hollywood came with two 12 inch toms, the Big Beat came with 12 and 13 toms. That...and the hardware, were the biggest differences. Eventually, Ludwig "got it" and made sure the toms were a step apart and discontinued the Hollywood.
Generally speaking, the Hollywood came with two 12 inch toms, the Big Beat came with 12 and 13 toms. That...and the hardware, were the biggest differences. Eventually, Ludwig "got it" and made sure the toms were a step apart and discontinued the Hollywood.
Actually only the earliest Hollywood kits have two 12" toms. The later ones were 12" and 13" toms. The later big-beat was available with a 24" bass drum as an option. Also the main difference was the hardware that came with the kit. Holywood kits had the flatbase stands...Big beat had the Atlas line of stands.....
The Hollywood started out, originally, with two 12" toms, but then switched (I think it was around 1965) t a 12" and a 13" tom. A couple years after that, Ludwig came out with a new line of hardware (Atlas). A Hollywood kit was outfitted with lighter weight stands, but if it was ordered with Atlas hardware, it changed the name of the kit to a "Big Beat".
A similar thing was true of the "Super Classic" and "Deluxe Classic" kits -It was just a matter of the hardware package.
DOH! Nothing like three guys giving the same answers!LoLoLoLo
That's what I was thinking. Great minds and all.....
Thanks guys!
So...if I set up my '71 silver sparkle kit (which has 12" and 13" rack toms) with Atlas stands, it's a legitimate "Big Beat" kit, and with flat base stands it's a "Hollywood" kit?
Does this mean I can list it as two different kits in my signature? :)
Seriously though, I'm still in the process of piecing this kit back together, and I'm trying to figure out which stands to look for. I'm leaning towards the Atlas stands since they're sturdier. And on that subject, does anyone know ballpark figures I can expect to pay for an Atlas snare stand, cymbal stand, and a Spur-Lok hi-hat stand from the '70s? I've been looking on eBay, but I'm not sure what's fair and what's overpriced (other than the general notion that most of what I find on eBay seems to be overpriced!).
Any advice is appreciated!
Scott
Hard to say what Atlas stands are worth these days. I used to sell them on ebay a few years ago and the best ones always got over $100 each for cymbal stands, $150 for the Hi Hats, $65 for the snare.....etc. Flatbase stands were usually higher if really nice....Ringo and all. I'd say 1/2 that would be reasonable in todays economy, if they are really nice and are the early style Atlas. Got to be careful though as Ludwig used the Atlas name on at least 4 styles of stands. The swivel foot tube legs were atlas, the early Hercules were also called Atlas at first, and then there's the Atlas II series from the 80's......The correct Atlas cymbal stands for your kit should be fold DOWN style legs without the wing screws for the legs. And those are getting harder to find in good shape these days......
