The reason not many were sold back then was.....Ludwig was the "rock drummers" drum.....Ringo, etc......if you wanted a jazz kit with an 18" bass you bought a Gretsch. Look out in the vintage market and the most plentyfull brand with 18" bass drums is Gretsch. Its the way it was and its a fact. If Roy Haynes didn't play a Jazzette for years, I don't think the jazzette would have lasted as long as it did.

For giggles, I timed myself. I spent a bit over four minutes picking up on these. If you're careful about search strings and take advantage of internet assists, this really isn't all that tough. I used to work as a Computer Systems Engineer/Network Engineer. I've done this a time or two.

a rewrap

http://www.willoughcraftdrums.com/ludjazzss.html

appears clean as no notes otherwise

http://www.magicdrum.com/fsets.htm

appears clean

http://blog.goo.ne.jp/vunicat59/e/19180d00c1ee2c0bb3b353faf03f223c

Several others were located (another from Willough, one from Bonn, one from France, one from Italy, and two on ebay) that were either rewrapped or had a tom added that was perceived as not original (numbers just a bit too far off). I never count the marching toms. Duh! This is my last post in this thread. Hopefully, it meets with what you're after.

I agree with this 100%.

Only four minutes? Wow! That makes me giggle, too! Well, I don't know why you need to make the statement that it's your last post in this thread. Why? You obviously can be a big help to add these things to the VDG.

I didn't even think about Cherie's stock. I have seen that rewrapped kit, though I didn't think about including it because of it being non-factory. Unfortunately, I don't think she is interested in posting anything for our website, anyway. She does manage to get some awesome kits, though.

Some of those Jazzettes you found do look very nice. Unusual so many of them are outside the country.

So, how many is that in total including searching all over the world, now? -less than 20? So, my theory seems to be panning out as I suspected. Thanks for the input!

I'm not doing this to be difficult, but upon second look through those links, I cannot effectively determine what the status of those kits really is. They all might be rewraps, for all I know. I did take note of the fact that not all of those listed as Jazzettes were specified as having an 18 X 12 bass drum. I suspect that some of the others listed as a Jazzette might have a 14" deep bass drum. I've seen that happen many times. To many, a Jazzette is any kit that has an 18" bass drum.

I hope they are legit sets! That would be awesome! But I can't verify them as of yet.

This is part of my point about being specific as to what gets listed as a Jazzette. That Japanese kit looks SO clean, I am almost as suspicious of it as I am of the one listed as a rewrap on Cherie's site. The problem is, I can't read/write Japanese and I wouldn't know how to inquire further. OsakaBop, where are you? Cool Dude

If there are a whole bunch around the world...imagine how many are in the U.S!

but, see, I don't believe that every four minutes mcjnic could spend looking would produce an ever-increasing number of results. And, again, I have no way of verifying those kits. I should assume that at least some of them are legit, though. So, having said that, if i consider that, say, 50% of those kits in the links are legit, then, what is that? We don't count Cherie's because it's non-factory. We don't know for certain that all the sets listed in the links are accurately listed as real Jazzettes -no pictures. And the Japanese kit has my red flags up, too. But, let's say there were 3 of those that pan out. That's not too many.

I thought the same thing as you, at first. There MUST be a lot more out there if there are that many outside the country.

But the Jazzette was NOT a popular drum set in all the years it was produced. As Ludwig-dude pointed out, Ludwig was not the jazz drummer's drum company. It came out when everyone was starting to play big drum sets and take the resonant heads off! What good would a little old jazzy kit like a Jazzette do anyone at that time? All the jazz guys were playing Gretsch.

And, speaking of Gretsch. Whenever you see a vintage Gretsch kit with a matched 18" bass drum, then just watch the fireworks that all the jazz guys start over it. WOW!

If, all together, we can come up with 30 legitimate, verified matched, original, factory Jazzette kits by this time next year, then I'll eat my words. How's that for a deal? :Santa:

Let me ask some sidebar questions related to this subject;

What would you guys determine to be a reasonable number for Jazzette kits produced between 1966-and 1980 that are still intact?

Maybe an even easier question to ponder:

What do you guys think would be a reasonable number of Jazzette kits for Ludwig to produce in a given year within that timeframe?

Do you think they might have built 100 per year?

50 per year?

20 per year?

And, of those, how many do you think actually sold? -every single one? -half?

What do you think would have been the busiest year for Ludwig's sales of Jazzette kits? Why?

What do you think the slowest year of sales for Jazzettes would have been? Why?

I have some of my own theories, but I would like others to respond, first, please. Thanks!

O-Lugs, have you posted requests for pics in the other drum forums/publications yet?

It would be great to see as many sets as possible all in one place.

Maybe offer a "credit of ownership tag" with the pic if the owner consents to posting their set?

Join the Vintage Drum Forum Library of Jazzette Owners type thing...... if WebMaster and Admin would permit, of course.

Thinking out loud here, pay no attention if it doesn't fit your quest......

Hi, kevins! Not yet. I will probably hit Ghostnote and Mike Dolbear's forum next.

That' GREAT idea, for the Jazzette owner's forum! I love it!!