I know there has been a thread or two about Buddy Rich's Ludwig kits from the late 70's - early 80's with Modular hardware, but after talking with a few fellow "Buddy freaks," I've heard that his last Ludwig kit had a 26" bass drum. Assuming he had just kept his 24" until the restored Radio Kings, I had never thought to really look but it does look a little bigger... Are my eyes playing tricks on me? Taking a look at the Drum Channel's "Buddy Rich : Up Close" footage from '82, his bass drum definitely looks like it could be a 26".
The main reason I ask, is I'm wondering if Buddy actually had a set with the 24" and the huge bulky triangular Modular mount on the bass and 13", or was it only until he got the last kit that he had the true Modular hardware installed? I'm assuming the last kit was the only Ludwig he had with a 26", but now I don't know what to think...
Here is a photo from Mike James' site, showing Buddy in Disneyland also from 1982, playing a kit with the true modular mounts, but I would swear that bass drum looks like a 24"... http://www.mikejamesjazz.com/media/br_images_contributed/br_gary_kindt/br_disneyland_82_02.jpg