What do we have here? A Super Classic kit sporting Standard lugs and badges, a Standard kit in 20, 13, 16 configuration and champagne sparkle wrap with Super Classic rail, fold out spurs and classic FT mounts or what?
This was on Reverb for sale and I had an exchange with the owner. He had Ray Ayotte look at them and they found the imprint of Standards lugs in the wrap, not classic lugs.
Have any of you seen a set like this? It's built as if it had been in the Walberg & Auge shop.
PS - Interiors were repainted, which is one reason I thought someone had stripped the gear off of a Super Classic, and the badges have a brass grommet not an aluminum one.
Hard to say. Classics and Standards used the same shell during this era. They used different wraps and hardware for the most part. Standards did not use Champagne Sparkle wrap. Thy had a Silver Mist wrap that faded to look like Champagne. Ludwig's Champagne wrap actually has a few different colored sparkles in it unlike a faded Silver Mist. Does that floor tom have holes for a baseball bat muffler? Those were also gone by the inception of the Standard line unless you have an older shell there.
Mike
That note about the muffler hole is a very good clue Mike, and one that would tend to indicate a Super Classic shell prior to 68/69. That shot is actually the 9x13 tom. The same picture of the FT didn't capture the muffler location so I cannot compare that factor for the FT.
I just found an outside picture of the FT shell showing a baseball bat muffler hole there too.
I have had Standards that were painted white on the inside....
Silver Mist on the Ludwig Standards almost always evenly fades to that exact color (often such drums are listed for sale as being Champagne Sparkle, which wasn't available on Standards). I think that is what you have there and the rail and other classic hardware was either special ordered or added later. My money would be on a special order since the bass drum lacks evidence of having the center post mount. These were made in the Chicago plant alongside the regular Ludwigs so getting a rail and spurs installed wouldn't have been a big deal if the customer or dealer were insistent.
I have a piece of this same wrap that came off a damaged snare drum, It is evenly faded to that exact color but still has hints of the original silver in the areas that were under the lugs. I'm not sure why they faded like this but they often did.
Early Standards had the white reso-coat interiors for the first year or so before switching over to the gray Granitone style paint. White interiors would be consistent with the low serial number shown on the badge. I think that is a silver (nickel plate, not aluminum) grommet there as well but with just enough tarnish to it to make it look brass in the photo.
The drums are original Silver Mist standards and all the details look to be correct. The upgraded hardware is a question mark but certainly not out of the question for the factory to have done that upon a special request.
Thanks for the clarification on the original wrap that fades KO. My gut said silver but it just didn't make sense when I thought about it.
Mike
Thanks for the clarification on the original wrap that fades KO. My gut said silver but it just didn't make sense when I thought about it.Mike
It's very odd as it fades evenly everywhere, even under the lugs. The only exception is in areas that were under direct contact such as the edge of the lug castings and where the hoop of the head was against the wrap. It may have been some sort of chemical reaction since it apparently didn't require exposure to light to happen (like the typical UV caused fading). And some drums are still silver so that's odd too. A lot of them have changed to pink though and it is so close that anyone that wasn't aware of this quirk would automatically assume it had to be Champagne.
K.O. - Does the drill holes for baseball bat mufflers impact you view that these were Standards from day one?
