"Will this situation change one day?"

NO.

Please expand upon that answer if you will! ;)

But Fender never really even came into the light until after the 50's. None of the Beatles played Fender guitars, so the demand for Fender guitars cannot be tied to the Beatles hitting town.

Quality control issues aside, the 1960's was when music reeeeally started to change -the world started to change. I think that any musical instruments associated with that time have an inherent "thing" associated with them that musical instruments from other eras don't. Maybe the quality control issues associated with supply and demand are actually indicative and reflective of other issues going on in the world at that time.

And to add even another splinter to the pudding, why does a new Ludwig Legacy kit command a higher price than does a vintage facsimile (in excellent condition, of course) while, at the same time, a new version of a Fender Stratocaster is of much less value than a vintage one?

Personally, I like to believe that drummers aren't as gullible as guitarists.

what about the RB Cadillac Green Gretsch sets?

i don't even wanna know what one of those would go for.

i played the one at Maxwell's Naperville store and it didn't impress me "THAT" much. the set sounded just as good as some other Luddys/Slingys but i will say that the snare drum took my breath away.

i think when it really comes down to..is that no matter how much we wanna deny it..this is predominately a "guitar players" world. WWWWAAAYYYYYY more people play guitar then drums. and the whole world can identify with a guitar not a drumset.

maybe that has something to do with it?

Hmmmm

and for my guitar players out there..

my dad's got a buddy who has a 56' Goldtop and you should hear that baby sing!

Herein we have a reversal of "fortunes", so to say. Look at where all the parts of a new Fender are made...China, for pennies on the dollar. And all the parts of a new Ludwig Legacy, well, they are made in America, where the reverse is true. And the other thing, there are far too many git-fiddle players out there than drum-beaters. So, there is you may have yer annsers. More players buying more Chinese made parts that are far cheaper to produce. Sound good to ya'll?

And the fact that Fender was not really a big player is only because when the Beatles hit, they were much cheaper and easier to get than the high dollar gear those boys had. So that is why Fender got so big, so fast, IMHO....which don't mean chit

Are you sure about that? It appears, to me, that the lugs, rims, lug screws, bass drum spurs, mounts and all the other little odds and ends are Chinese-made. If I am wrong about that, then I apologize! But....meh, I don't think so. I think that the new Ludwig Legacies are more UN-American than not. They don't look like a vintage American drum set...and yet they are called "Legacy" and are marketed as such. Hmmm....

LOL! And I'm hoping that drummers' love for truly American vintage gear will grow and grow! C'est la vie!

right you are Mark!

except!

for vistalites. they are over seas.

i asked a sales rep why i couldn't get a better selection of drum sizes and he told me because they outsourced them from over-seas.

sad..but true. and i believe the same goes for wraps. that's why only certain sets come in certain color configurations. Ludwig is owned by Conn-Selmer anyway!

it just aint' like the old days CryBaby