Do any of you gurus know when Ludwig stopped using Mahogany on their 3 ply shells? I'm still trying to date this thing!My set has: (Inner ply to outer ply)13" Mahogany/Poplar/Mahogany16" Maple/Poplar/Mahogany22" Mahogany/Poplar/MapleAs you can see, all the shells have a different ply configuration!What is this thing!?
A better way to date Ludwigs is to use the date stamp, or the serial numbers (plus other factors) then straight up shell construction most of the time.
Anyway I'll give you a little insight on 3 ply molds. Up until about 1960, 3 ply shells always consisted of mahogony poplar mahogony, unless the outside finish was a lacquer, then it would be maple because maple is a much less porous wood and allowed a much smoother surface. After that point they started using maple as interiors as well as mahogony. The maple was usually just raw maple, no lacquer or any type of finishing. In 1962 they started using their famous resa-cote on the interiors until 1968. Between that time frame, the interior plies varied between maple and mahogany, despite advertising as mahogany. It all depended on what was in stock that day at the factory, because as we all know, Ludwig was quite hectic with orders after that wacky beetle went on the Ed Sullivan Show.
The mahogany wood itself stopped around late 1968, although still can be seen on drums after to use up stock. They switched to a maple configuration with clear lacquer interior.
We're gonna need more information on your drums however if we want to correctly date it, because it can be through a number of years.
what kind of badge?
any date stamps?
serial numbers?
white or clear interior?