Hey John!...

Yes they are legit. I helped this seller with the dating and dialing in the when/where. There were some areas that he has taken some "heat" on, as in no supporting "paperwork/provenance".. plus .. he was originally asking for an exorbitant amount of coin, and that scared off a lot of "possibly interested parties". It would appear now that he has located some proof according to his ad! The FRAMED bass drum head hanging on the back wall is the original head off this set. Buddy WAS with Harry James during his WFL endorsement, that is a fact. The small "problem" is locating an actual picture of Buddy PLAYING this set while with Harry James. I went through ALL my stuff from this endorsement period, and couldn't come up with a picture. PLENTY of Buddy playing his Rogers Celebrity's while with Harry James... but nothing with the WFL's. I think the main reason for that is not many pics were taken during this period. My BR collection is HUGE!!!!!, and I had nothing. Still... I believe they are absolutely legit!.. and Buddy did indeed play WFL's while with Harry James BEFORE switiching to Rogers in 1960.

Tommyp

It is odd that there weren't many photos taken but as always Tommy's on the mark.

I do have trade endorsement pictures of the WFL period in question, and there's no question that Buddy was playing them and no question as to who was playing with at that time.

And I don't mean to hijack the thread but a question for Tommy. Upon Buddy's last and final foray with Ludwig from 77' to 81'-82'ish, was he using a SpeedKing at that time? I have seen video of him with a Speedking and was wondering if either that was part of the deal or was he using it because he wanted too and liked it?

I do remember seeing him with the Swivo-Matic with the Radio Kings after the Ludwig burn out.

As you had answered an earlier question about his pedal use for me and his liking of his Rogers Swivo pedal I have also wondered about his going back and forth from one to the other. As we all know if "The Man" didn't like he didn't play it for the most part or at least not for very long anyway.

Thanks

BGT

BGT!...

Interesting question on the BD pedal preference, and one that I have researched in the past as well! Before that though, LOOK what I finally found, and what's interesting about this is that it never showed in some of the past searches I did. As to WHY that is, I don't know, but here is what we have been looking for: LIVE performance of BR with Harry James playing the WFL's with FULL monogram shield featuring BR and HJ... EXACTLY like the drums that are for sale. I have chatted with the seller.. ( as recently as today actually ) .. as he had originally contacted me for help on dating these and helping with their authenticity. As mentioned prior, I have every inclination that these are the real deal. Anyway... here's the link.. and .. stay with the performance as once the camera pans out, you can CLEARLY see the EXACT SAME front bass drum head that the owner has with his drums. [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCdiHBe5rks&feature=relmfu[/ame]

Tommyp

Would you or the buyer be a little concerned that what we see on the little TV is a similar, almost kit, with a, not even close front BD head ?

Seriously OddBall?...

Check the video at approx. the 4:18 mark... then cross reference to the pic of the ORIGINAL BD head that is framed. They are extremely similar. Furthermore, what I was saying wasn't that the set in the film IS the exact set the seller has.. rather .. it shows Buddy PLAYING a set of WFL's with Harry James, SAME ERA as the seller's set. It's a well known fact that Buddy played/used MANY sets while with WFL/Ludwig... and he gave away just as many. Finding a PICTURE of him playing his WFL's with the monogrammed head featuring Harry James is difficult. There just aren't that many... and I have a TON of media, "everything BR". So... again... never said the drums in the performance on YouTube ARE the drums the seller has, more that here is an actual view of the WFL Harry James era drums with Buddy.

Tommyp

I know when I saw BR in 1975 when he did a concert at our high school he was useing Slingerland drums and a Speed King foot pedal. I was helping his roadie and checked out all his drums and hardware. But I can't remember the snare. I know it was metal.

You have to look at it from a reader`s view,..in your post you wrote FULL monogram, with relation, and then ..EXACTLY like the drums for sale. It can be misinterpreted

Still, Buddy has two FT and a very different Bd head, so yes they played together, and maybe Buddy changed the logo with each drum kit, and left the FT out once or twice, It`s not Exactly like,..it`s similar kit,..and FULL related monogram !!

It`s gonna be hard to get the right paperwork, especially for guy`s like you who would love to have a Buddy owned and played kit. But short of get`n hair outta the hoops-head contact and doing a DNA search, it may never be known.

I`m sorrry I don`t have a prestigious vocabulary or skilled in sales, but what you wrote mis-lead me !!

Are you gonna Order me back to port now ??

Buddy changed brands as often as Yankees change underwear ... about once every season or three. He was known as a Slingerland endorser for a good chunk of the 70s ... until he jumped ship to Ludwig ... again.

One of my favorite comments from him was that there wasn't a 'best' drum out there. They are all good ... and he should know! He's pretty much played 'em all.

Vibes!...

That would be correct as Buddy was still with Slingerland in 1975. He split Slingerland in late 1976 and returned to... Ludwig!, and for the 3rd time! If the snare drum you saw was "metal", that would indicate that it was the Fibes SFT690/COF as that was the only metal "covered" snare that he played during this particular period. Slingerland lured him back to one of their snare drums with the BR/TDR 10 lug in WMP, and Buddy liked it... until he didn't ... and he went back to the Fibes SFT690 which infuriated the C R A P out of Don Osborn Sr., then president of Slingerland. It was to be a MAJOR thorn/bone of contention between them. Eventually, and not long after you saw him, Buddy went back to Ludwig. Regarding the Speed King:

That is interesting as Buddy LOVED the Rogers Swivo-Matic BD pedal and used that one almost exclusively after leaving Rogers in late 1966. The Swivo was present with both Trixon/Vox and Fibes before he signed with Slingerland in 1967. The fact that you saw him with a Speed King is absolutely possible as before he was with Rogers, the Speed King was it! He really favored the Rogers Swivo though, and returned to it 'till his passing in April of 1987.

Tommyp