IIRC they wouldn't have used granitone in 1970. I think you're spot on dating the drums to 1976. They didn't replace the point B/O badges until the very end of the 70s.

"Granitone" was first used on the Ludwig Standard drums (not Blue/Olive badges) in the late 60's. It was first shown on the '71 catalog on the Blue Olive badge drums as Lud-Cote interior finish. The 12xxxxx serial number would be earlier in the 70's in most cases. I would expect these drums to be 3 ply with re-rings.

Mike

These drums belonged to Duck Traylor, the drummer for Dynamite Butch and can be heard here on their track from 1974: "Hung Over You" further leading me to believe that they are older than the "1976" serials would seemingly indicate.

[ame="https://youtu.be/4y5VNKHk3oY"]https://youtu.be/4y5VNKHk3oY[/ame]

I agree that these drums are from a bit earlier than 1976. The resources that indicate a wide range of serial numbers are from 1976 are not very accurate. Most take information from Rob Cook's original dating chart from his 2003 book (often without giving him credit). Rob relied upon information from Paolo Sburlati and others, but some of that information was a bit flawed. After reviewing Rob's raw data and gathering a large amount of additional information, a more accurate estimation tool is available.

The "out of sequence" phrase is also greatly misunderstood. Based upon the information I have gathered, with the help of some on this forum, the serial numbers in the early 1970s are not any more out of sequence than in any other period of time. It is just that the use of serial numbers by Ludwig for this time period had not been thoroughly researched until recently.

That sounds like a great kit with some history. If I had to guess I'd say early 70s. Ludwig used the pointy badge for most of the 70s and Ludcote was first used in the early 70s, I believe.

Those badge numbers are 1976, put money on that. I ordered and purchased a Ludwig "Pro Beat" kit in July 1976 at Marvin Kay's Music Center in Jacksonville, FL. 24, 13, 14, 16, 18. I know that date is correct, because I returned in June 1976 from a 5-month Navy deployment with money saved up! The pointy badge numbers are 114xxxx. All had granitone interiors except for the 13" tom - it was clear varnish inside.

Because the fad in the mid-70s was to remove the bottom heads, I wanted the interiors of the drums to match, so I returned the 13" tom to Ludwig (via Marvin Kay's) and asked them to spray it. (This was fall 1976.) Instead of spraying and returning my tom, Ludwig sent me another 13" tom with a slightly different application of granitone. It's badge number is 159xxxx. So your 12xxxxx is definitely 1976. BTW, the hardware with this kit all had the swivel feet. I still have this kit.

Regards, Marty Black

Marty thanx for serving , God bless !

But it is possible that drums could have been sitting around in the Ludwig factory? Built in 75 or earlier?