I have recently acquired a Ludwig kit that consists drums the previous owner collected along the way. I looked at the online guides and can't see 7 digit numbers listed.

All drums have B&O badges with pointy corners. I have no doubt that the drums are original, but just wondered if anyone had any insight onto dating the 7 digit serial numbers?

The 20' floor tom is mahogany internally and the wrap is coming away at the join.

The serial numbers are as follows

1353968 16' tom
1353969 13' tom
1512733 22' bass
1528925 20' tom
1529284 14' tom
1832992 15' tom

The kit is champagne sparkle. Having done a little research, it seems that the Champagne finish was offered right through to the 1976 catalogue (can't find 1977/78) but not in the 1979 catalogue. Not sure if this meant you couldn't get them though.

Cheers.

! Check the vintage drum identification link on this site and look under serial numbers down at the bottom of the Ludwig numbers you get into 7 digits... looks like those drums are around 1976.

Seven-digit serial numbers are very common. All the guides I’ve seen indicate they’d be from the late ‘70s. By the way, I’d love to see pictures of the 20” floor tom. I’d also love to add one to my champagne collection one day.

Hi Jim & thanks. Yes, that's what I thought on balance, but there does seem to be a few gaps.. i.e. were all records for 77/78 lost? Also i read that some 1970 drums had 7 digit, but I guess no way to know for sure, think I was just interested to see.

1972 896xxx - 916xxx
1976 917xxx - 1290xxx
1978 xxxxxxx
1979 xxxxxxx - 2013537

Cheers Zach, I'll get a picture on here over next few days.

Knowing "for sure" is always the challenge... but I'll tell you what, there were/are some people on this forum that know so much about vintage drums it is just incredible.

Sounds like a beautiful kit... I have a Ludwig keystone badge champagne kit I hope to finish in retirement.

Looking forward to pics.

Originally Posted by NMac

Hi Jim & thanks. Yes, that's what I thought on balance, but there does seem to be a few gaps.. i.e. were all records for 77/78 lost? Also i read that some 1970 drums had 7 digit, but I guess no way to know for sure, think I was just interested to see.

1972 896xxx - 916xxx
1976 917xxx - 1290xxx
1978 xxxxxxx
1979 xxxxxxx - 2013537

Be very careful using the online dating guide you quote above. It was developed by Rob Cook in 2003, using information he gathered and information shared by other drum enthusiasts. Much of the later Blue/Olive badge section is based upon information provided by Paolo Sburlati, but the source of Mr. Sburlati's dating information is questionable. Rob shared the raw information that he used to develop his table when I was developing my own serial number-based dating guide. I found what I believe to be at least one significant error, namely the 1976 date on a Sburlati set with serial numbers in the 917xxx range. This greatly impacts the table. None of the other online guides really address the 1970s and those that do all seem to just steal from Rob Cook's 2003 work. Therefore the same inaccuracies are repeated and perpetuated. Note: I am grateful to Rob and the others who developed the first dating guides, but by collecting much more information, an improved guide was possible.

Understand that there are not missing records for 1977/78, but rather no records at all from Ludwig relating serial numbers to years of production from the early 1960s through the 1970s. All of the dating guides that have been produced so far are based upon compilations of serial numbers and date stamps taken from drums which had both. The information is relatively available from late 1963 through 1971. Serial numbers started in late 1963 and date stamps stopped for Ludwig in the 1972 time frame. Any estimate for drums made from 1972 and newer are just estimates and less precise than in earlier years. There are some purchase dates reported from original owners which help to refine estimates for the later 1970s, but there is still a bit of flex to the numbers.

Your drums span a significant number of serial numbers, representing several years of production. Is the 15" tom a three or six ply shell? That might also help to date it.

Thanks Rick, that's very informative.

The 15" is indeed 6 ply.

Mac

Based upon the serial numbers you provided and the 6 ply shell on the 15" tom, I suspect that the bulk of your drums are from about 1976 or so and the 15" tom is from about 1979. Note that these are estimates based upon the information I have gathered and are subject to a few caveats which are all described in my guide.