The old Ludwigs seem like a nice first real drum set.

In 1966, I helped my Dad paint his Aunt's two-story wood frame house, to earn enough money to buy this Kent double-tom kit (double-tom, because they looked cool and a double-tom kit was lefty-friendly.) I ordered it from the Kent factory, which was near my Jr. High School. In Champagne Sparkle, still my favorite wrap 50+ years later. I cannot remember for sure, but I think it was 20/12/13/14. In 1969, I put the Ludwig reso head on the bass drum, hoping that people would think I was playing Ludwig (which I couldn't afford). I played this kit until 1976, when I finally purchased a real Ludwig kit.

Regards, Marty Black

It was. It was all original with original heads and a Ludwig Standard 18" cymbal and Ludwig Standard 15" hi hats. They were Swiss made Paiste. Although at the time, an old drum set wasn't considered "cool". I really wanted a new set of Ludwigs. Typical teenage thinking.

Here are three pictures. One with a few mods, being a double mount added so I could add a second rack tom and a cymbal stand along with removing all of the heads. The second picture is with a few more mods. I never got rid of that drum set, although it did suffer some indignities along the way.

Fortunately I didn't throw anything away so I was eventually able to restore it back to close to stock, rewrapped in vintage BOP.

Wow! Spectacular photos and good stories! Like some of you, I started playing the snare drum in 4th grade. Parents rented a snare because an older brother wanted to play trumpet, but he quit after a year and my parents had to sell it for a loss. They wanted to be sure I stuck with it. During 7th grade, they bought me a 1967 Ludwig Super Classic in WMP. A neighbor had gone off to college so the parents sold his drums to us. For $200, we got the complete set, including the porto throne, Ludwig/Paiste hi hats and a Krut crash/ride. I have a photo of it in a box somewhere…

Josh

My kit is not a catalog config. 12", 14" and 22". The drums belonged to a cousin. She played them in school but had developed an extreme weight problem and had to give them up. I think we paid $325 in '77.

Found the first picture of the kit right after I got it home and set it up. Mom demanded a picture so of course I had to make a funny face.

My story is very similar to a few of you guys. 1966, 4th grade school band; rent to own Acrolite snare. Then 1967, Slingerland Stage band 20”, 12”,14”. Paiste/Ludwig 14”hats and 16” crash. 1968 got a Zildjian 20”, A ride.Still have them, as seen in outside picture; set up at church during the pandemic.

Sure would like to rotate those pictures! Can’t seem to find how to do it, though…

There you go then...

CheersD' Drummer

1st pic - is what I used to use as my “kit” in 1966 when I was 6 years old- a 1911 Ludwig & Ludwig 4x15 snare left of the chair with an 11” Ludwig cymbal. The snare was part of an old “trap set” that my older brother got for Christmas in 1956. I started playing that snare as early as I can remember - age 2 or 3. I also remember watching the Beatles on Ed Sullivan in 1964! I used a wooden magazine rack for a kick drum, and a coffee can for a tom (not pictured) with that chair. The kid in the red Indiana marching 100 sweatshirt is me attempting to give a neighborhood kid in the chair a lesson on how to (improperly) hold the traditional grip in the right hand. This was in Bloomington, Indiana when my Dad was getting his PHD in music ed. Mom worked as a secretary for Fred Ebbs in the band department at I.U. laying out formation models for the “Marching 100” halftime shows. (I started out as a lefty playing along with my brother’s Paul Revere & the Raiders record)

2nd pic -   me again at age 6 with that snare. That’s an old I.U. marching 100 band hat I’m wearing. I used to have a neighborhood marching “band” of a few kids and we’d march down the street to the neighborhood houses with me playing a cadence, along with a cacophony of toy whistles and halloween cymbals played by friends.

3rd pic - is Christmas morning 1968 (now living in Canada - After Indiana- Dad became a professor and band department head at the University of Alberta), when I got my first “actual” drumset at age 8 - a red mother of toilet seat “Audition” set (probably made by Star (Now Tama)). I’d learned to play along to Cream (Ginger Baker) with my older brother’s Wheels of Fire album.

4th pic - my 10th birthday with the Audition kit (Note: the 1911 L & L snare is still there - only Dad had painted it red to match the kit). Note the period correct “Major Matt Mason” space station & space crawler on the table to the left of me. I’d moved onto playing to Blood Sweat & Tears and Procal Harum.

5th pic - Finally a full sized “Durham” drumset (definitely an early Pearl set) with a 16” Zildjian fast crash & 14” New beat hi hats. Christmas 1971. I’d graduated to playing along with Chicago, Zeppelin, Sugarloaf, and Yes’s Round about. I’d then sold the red kit (along with the 1911 Ludwig snare) to a kid at school for $25!

That’s what really got me into old drums - letting that snare out of my hands! DOH

P.S. addition to my post above. I still have the Ludwig cymbal (zoom in to see the logo stamp)
and Leedy pedal that originally came with the 1911 L&L snare, along with another odd one off bass drum foot pedal that was manufactured in Chicago. Originally that trap set (as my Dad would call it) had a large red bass drum with it as well. He’d given that to my older brother for Christmas in 1956. He’d picked it up from an “old codger” as he referred to him when he was a high school band director in Janesville, Wisconsin (not too far from Chicago).