I don't mean to pry, but what's your secret? How the heck have you lived almost 200 years? ;)

Any way to get pictures of those kits for the Vintage Drum Guide page?

Aloe vera juice!

Original hardware can easily be found for any old Ludwig set. As, far as completeness....I have seen maybe 5 that are fully complete with matching snare and hardware. The last one I came across was a 3 hour drive away with an extra 16 inch and a downbeat snare(All in gold sparkle with original hardawre.....price:$150. Missed it sadly:( But, I do think guys are just buying them for rarity and not actual performance....I'd be afraid of breaking that small bass drum!

I gigged with mine for years and my father did before me with it....no problems with breakage. Its just small, yet sounds so huge......small does not equal fragile.....

Sure....but, it was a lot newer then. I still think that a 20 inch can get almost the exact tone if not better.

Well, "better"..."worse"...Who's to say? But, as far as small bass drums, go, the Jazzette is like nothing else out there.

yep, hardware can be gotten after the fact, but my point is that on reeeeeeeaaaallly rare occasions, a kit remains together from the start -hardware and all -just like it was picked up at the music shop 45 years ago. That's the condition of my 1969 Jazzette. And that's the ONLY one I've ever seen where that is the case.

I'm not so particular about the hardware package, as long as it's appropriate, but I have seen SO many "Jazzettes" that have had one thing or another peculiar about them. I don't even count those. They don't even register on the scale. if i counted all of those, then, yes, I have probably seen 50 of them over the years! but the real deal? Nope -Only on blue moon occasions.

Again, I'm asking for photos and any provenance -NOT for me purchasing them, but just for fleshing out the Jazzette page on the Vintage Drum Guide a bit more. *cough* (yeah, sure...) Burger Kin

Imagine all the people that have one sitting in their garage and don't own a computer! There are tons of them out there man!

Yeah, and thats probably the guy who has mine now! Cool Dude

My Ludwig Blue Strata Standard kit is in EXCELLENT condition. It was only made for a couple of years. It came with all of the original hardware and heads and was a one owner special. It's one of my all-time favorite kits - for that reason. I don't value it more than my Slingerland or Rogers kit, but of all the kits I've ever owned, it's one of my top faves. Considering the number of kits I've owned through the years (don't ask!), that says something.

I believe I am finely understanding where you're coming from on this. It's not the actual numbers of these jazzettes. There are many out there.

You're more focused on the absolute complete one owner kit kept in storage under kitten pelts in a hermetically sealed vault with soft music, mood lighting, and a bottle of Passion set to spray precisely two pumps every seven and three quarter days.

I'm not being cute here. I think I really understand what you're saying. My Blue Strata is special BECAUSE of the completeness and condition of it. Forgive me for being a bit dense, but I do eat a lot of vegetables.