The seller is a member here on this forum.

that seller is a member here,by the way...

double spurs were an option when ordering as were the dual mufflers. Ludwig still had stock of the round knob mufflers when they were using baseball bat mufflers. they continued to use round knob mufflers on marching drums. so, its possible that those could have been requested as well. he also mentions however that the rail has been moved. so, if the other things were a concern for you. that's one thing that is certain and would need to be considered.

mike

So he's a VDF member? This is the same guy selling the Oyster Black kit and insists that they have consecutive serial numbers! I already posted about this... http://www.vintagedrumforum.com/showthread.php?t=39396

I figured he was probably a member here, I just didn't know his screen name. Seems like a good guy and was very knowledgeable. He really took the time to talk to me about the kit and all the possible scenarios that could have lead to these anomalies. I'm fairly new to vintage drums - even though I've been a drummer for my entire life - so I just want to be certain of what I'm getting. Thanks for all of your input so far...

Rick

yes, kevin is roundbadgedude on here i think.

mike

Ok, cool. And don't get me wrong here, I trust his opinion - I'm certain that he knows way more about vintage drums than I ever will. I just also wanted to see what some other people's thoughts were on these drums, as this is definitely not the norm for a mid 60's Downbeat kit.

Thanks again,

Rick

Yup, roundbadgedude has this kit, and the Luddy BOP listed in the "For Sale" section of VDF.

Hugh

hi Rick, its me, Kevin. hope this post can help answer some of the questions regarding the kit!

heres the background i have on the kit:

i purchased this set from a gentleman who purchased it from the original owner, he stated the original owner purchased this kit from manny's music in NYC when he was in his 20's. the original owner had the drum tech at mannys move the rail from the 1 o'clock position to dead center atop the bass drum, and the tech did an excellent job, even drilled the correct sized holes and placed them perfectly to have the rail centered.

i have seen a few examples of 60's keystone kicks with dual disappearing bass drum spurs front and back... i think my most recent was an 18" kick drum in silver sparkle i sold to a guy out in LA. i know its not so common but i have seen it. maybe someone on here with a kick with those can post a pic or their insight? thanks in advance!

the badges place the kit at the mid 60's, and i know it is a transitional period for these drums before they switched to the natural maple interiors. i assume since it being a transitional period, that is why the kit features the round mufflers as apposed to the white baseball bats. i have seen a few toms feature top and bottom mufflers recently, i believe i sold oldmanbenny a silver sparkle 14x14 floor tom last month that featured top n bottom small round mufflers. again, its not so common, but i have seen them before. maybe a member with top n bottom mufflers can post a pic of his and provide more insight? thanks in advance!

lastly, its my assumption that this kit may have been a special order kit. if u consider the original owner was picky enough to have the rail moved up, he probably ordered it to his specifications. but i can't say for sure.

i can say the kit is clean and original factory issue from ludwig, looks great and sounds excellent! I'm really digging the 14" floor tom, it can go high or low and sounds fantastic either way!

hopefully a really knowledgable ludwig guy can come into the thread and help clear up some of these things. i know in the mid 60s after ludwig was cranking out so many kits to meet demands, there are several bizarre things that happened, including mixing white and clear interiors, mixing b/o + keystone badges, small toms with big lugs and vice versa and so on.

thanks to everyone who can shed some light!

Rick is a really nice dude and a Yamaha/Zildjian artist and a monster Jazzer in NYC! i hope to sell the kit to him cuz i know he will bang on this baby the way it deserves!

Hey Kevin!

You're too kind haha. Yeah man, as you said I'm just looking for some additional expert opinions. Although, I'm sure your explanation (and Mike's) are dead on. If anyone out there agrees or disagrees please post to this thread.

Thanks,

Rick