Pictures please.........

Thanks

Late 70's 6 ply as far as I know is supposed to be poplar and maple,I had a late 70's COW with the rivets,and have a 1984 S/L kit with a 6 ply bass.

The COW drums are heavy as heck,and the plies in those look similar color wise,it almost looks like they could be all maple.

The S/L kick has plies of very different color and looks like mixed species,I read on the vintage drum site that they were North Carolina Poplar and Maple.

From my limited experience poplar can be different colors. Sometimes it is green, sometimes it is grayish and sometimes it is kinda brown. If I'm not mistaken, on the 6 ply luddies, the poplar will be the thick plies. It is a cheaper wood so it will be the thicker plies of the drum. The maple will be the thin golden plies, usually on the inside and outside. I think there might be a small maple ply in the middle also.

Someone please chime in if I'm mistaken. Thanks

Ray

This is from the Ludwig company site:

"Beginning in 1976, the Classic series was made with new molds and a new construction; small (6" and 8") toms were 4-ply and larger drums were 6-ply maple & poplar, with no reinforcement rings. These shells were not only stronger but less expensive to make. The interior was a clear-coated natural finish."

There ya go, maple/poplar lay up. The 6-ply shells make for some of the most resonant drums you'll ever play. If I remember right... the lay-up goes (from inside to outside) maple/poplar/maple/poplar/poplar/maple. I know for sure that there are two poplar plies that are glued together, just not sure if the dbl. poplar layer is inside or toward the outside. Makes more sense it would be on the outside half.

John