Well....no...not exactly. But I look at it like this:

In any collection, there must be a "top" and a "bottom" standard for the collection. That way, you can gauge where things stand in terms of completeness. It's simple, really.

For Jazzettes, I would put the "top" standard (for my standards, anyway) at a mahogany Jazzette that is in perfect condition with the original heads and original hardware. Does one even exist? Probably not. But, nevertheless, that would be the top standard.

Why, exactly is that? For me, it's because that's what most represents the conceptualized ideal of that model.

Next would probably be the black Cortex Jazzette (already pictured and documented in the VDG). I love that kit! I bid on it and lost to Dr. Mark Polis and then he ended up selling it to the present owner.

Then, I would include my 1969 Jazzette as one of the best, most original and complete examples. It's a real cherry.

And there are a few others out there that are really complete and original, too....but not many!

The idea is to take some of these "fabled" Jazzettes that are in perfect original shape, and turn them into photographs with some basic information that we can list in the VDG Jazzette section. Reading what they look like and how nice they are without pictures is kind of....well, let's just say it's not as good as if there were pictures!

Don't get me wrong. I, too, believe these kits are out there. Could they all be owned by people who don't own a computer? mmmmaybe, but unlikely. There have been enough years go by where collectors and drum forums and word of mouth and ads and auctions and friends of friends of friends who would have uncovered more than EIGHT of them by now.

That's the challenge. We know they must be out there. So, let's prove it and we can fatten up the Jazzette section with the proof. Party

There is one Jazzette kit up for sale in Sweden right now, badges got no serialnr. Pretty bad shape though, the WMP on the ft is cracked...

http://www.blocket.se/jamtland/Ludwig_Jazzkit_25756756.htm?ca=11&w=3

I think the point trying to be made here is factory assembled jazzette kits vs a bunch of orphans assembled into a jazzette kit. The actual kits made at the factory are rather rare. Today, most "jazzettes" you see are actually converted marching toms that have been re-wrapped to match other orphans to make a rather cool little kit. This is all fine and dandy, just don't try to pass it off as a real jazzette kit. There was a purple sparkle rewrap kit on ebay for a while that claimed to be a real jazzette kit. The only problem with that claim is that it dated from 1964 and the true jazzette kit wasn't released as a catalog offered kit until 1967. Before then I'm sure you could have special ordered such a kit, but then does it make it a true jazzette? Hmmm

I'm sharing some of the only pics I have of my Jazzette kit....my dad propped me up behind the kit when I was small, so yes these are vintage pics too....The last pic clearly shows the true origins of the bass drum. Dad used the snare, rack and floor toms for a lot longer than the bass drum. He raided the drum for some of its hardware, this is why the lack or a front head. In later years when I got the rest of the kit, I purchased lugs and t-rods and refit the orginal ludwig front head with the now rare small corporate block logo. The bass drum still had its original heads on it when it was traded in.

BTW, there is a mahogany cortex jazzette kit on ebay in germany right now, asking price is rather high, but one does exsist. Just like the one special ordered 1968 black panther jazzette........now if only I could find it again and buy it back.....

O-lugs,

If we are being that particular then several of the Eight jazzettes displayed in pics on that forum page wouldn't cut the mustard as actual jazzettes. Ludwig didn't offer the jazzettes in pearl finishes until AFTER 1973. They were only natural maple, mahogany, and lacquered finishes. How do we get around that? Do we throw all those wrapped kits out of the equation? If so, then we've only got enough for one hand of fingers. For the record, yours falls into this category.

Absolutely not true, as proven by the kit above. It was ordered in Black Panther, a color that everyone claims wasn't out until 1971, but that wasn't true either. Black Panther came out in 1968, and I'm sure you could order a Jazzette in whatever finish you wanted then, not just limited to the "wood" finishes. The kit I owned was ordered in 1968 as a Jazzette and in Black Panther (technically considered a pearl, as was all of Ludwig's wrap finishes of the time, even though we know that the term is not correct) and with a shell mount cymbal holder as well, something that was supposedly not available stock on a Jazzette. It just shows you that back then Ludwig was like BurgerKing.....you could have it your way. :o

By the way another guy on this forum owns a gold sparkle one. That's not even in the little section. So, there are 9.

And that was precisely my point. You can't throw out jazzettes that don't live up your own perceived perfect kit. If they are original, they are jazzettes. If you fix a crack in the wrap or swap a broken lug, it gets tossed because it falls under the refurb umbrella and doesn't get counted. So, where does the line get drawn?

I'm done here. None of this makes sense to me. First we only have 8 total and doubts are tossed out at anyone ever seeing any more. Plenty of people have seen them. But, because they don't fit into a very narrow margin of identity they don't count. So, we take it to the extreme and only look at Ludwigs official cats and that doesn't count because you can special order. The whole point was NO special order changes and mods.

It's like we are defining variables as we proceed through the process. You can't do that. Decide what's acceptable and agreeable and work from there.

This has exhausted me. Every time I thought I understood what was being saught, it changed.

I'm done. Someone else can sort this out.

That Jazzete on ebay is from 1964.Is that corect?I thought Ludwig started at the and of 1966 and or beggining of 1867 to make tham?If this is not corect,please tell me when they started to make tham?

Thank you

I've got an all original Aug. '67, 18,12,14 Jazzette in Gold Sparkle...

Yes, you are correct, mcjnic. That's true about the pearl finish options. But I do not use the catalogs as a Bible. I use them as a reference. It's obvious that Ludwig used pearl finishes on their drums. It's also a given that the Jazzette was available around '66-'67. I highly doubt that the fact the catalogs didn't list those options for the Jazzette would have had a bearing on the legitimacy of the kit, itself. But I grant you that, according to the catalog references, there is a discrepancy.

But, as far as the question "Is it a legit Jazzette?" goes, I think that one discrepancy (the finish options) is trumped by all the rest of the criteria for what a Jazzette is.

Now, is the pieced-together "Jazzette" a legit one? In some ways, "yes". In some ways, "no". The drums would sound the same. They would look the same. But, as Ludwig-Dude points out, the fact they did not originate from the Ludwig factory makes them less-legit in the collectible sense. In a player sense, those criteria are blurred.

I didn't mean to necessarily open a Pandora's box. Somehow, it seems discussions about these little Ludwig gems really brings out the emotions (or at least the emoticons! ;))

My goal (if you want to call it that) is to catalog as many Jazzettes (that came from the factory!) as I can find for the VDG. Hey, if I can't own them all, then I would at least like to look at the pictures! heh heh :p

Heck, I even think it might be a good idea to list some of the non-factory versions and then use those examples for educational purposes. That little purple kit is a BEAUTY! I actually think it's well worth the price the guy is asking, too!

And, THANK YOU for submitting the photos! If webmaster David is looking in, then maybe he would be so kind as to add the BP Jazzette and the WMP B/O Jazzette from Sweden, too.

I have criteria that not even I can live up to in terms of every detail. I admit it. But I am the kind of person that needs to have a "best" example and a "worst" example. As long as Ludwig put the kit together at the factory and everything is matched, then that's what matters.

Mcjnic, the catalogs are not necessarily the Bible in terms of documenting everything that came out of the factory doors, in my opinion. They are a general reference. Where you draw the line for your own collecting style is up to you! I know what I'm looking for and what my standards are and you know what you're looking for! Viva la difference!

Again, if you can produce some photos of all these purported Jazzettes out there in the world, then you would really be helping out the cause for the VDG!

Got pics? Party