It is a little tough to tell from just the one picture, maybe post some pictures of the badges, inside with any date stamps, closeup of the BD spurs and FT mounts.

Maybe some of the other Ludwig Gurus can tell just from this picture but I think that would help

Michael

It`s Ludwig. It`s so new it could have been made last week ! The Keystone badges are really big.

No reason to doubt it's a real Ludwig from what you've said, but it's a certainly a modern kit. The mini-lugs and badges point to that. The previous owner likely painted the interiors.

Looks to be Ludwig but I'm not sure what exactly and I can't see the details well enough to tell for sure. The floor tom looks like it might be a converted 12x15 marching drum and as such it would have had the small lugs. An 8x12 tom also would have the small lugs although that almost looks like the newer style badge on it (the floor tom badge almost looks like it could be a "transition" badge from 1958-1960 with the blue oval logo). The bass drum is a bit odd looking. I can't tell if it has the larger lugs (which they should be) or the small ones but their placement seems a bit "off" as though they are too close to the heads. The badge is likewise oddly situated for a bass drum. Possibly some type of conversion from a floor tom , marching drum, or other 18" shell. For comparison here's a picture of my 14x18 bass drum.

Shells should be three ply with Re-Rings if they are vintage enough to have the smaller keystone badges (assuming they are old ones, I really can't see them that well) and "factory" white interiors. They look to have been re-wrapped regardless as Ludwig did not offer that color back then.

It doesn't match any catalog set from any era but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Even if pieced together (or converted) from various Ludwig drums of roughly the same age it would be the same as a catalog set as all the drums were made the same way with the same wood layup and edges. My guess is that this was someone's "project" at some point in time. If they sound good then I wouldn't sweat the rest.

Let us know what the insides are like. Re-rings would indicate vintage drums (or else brand new top of the line Legacy Ludwigs...which seems unlikely).

I agree with K.O, that bass drum looks like it may have been converted from a floor tom. To me the whole kit looks like it may be an assembly of older Ludwig drums converted into a nice players kit. Hard to say from just seeing the outside though.

https://www.ludwig-drums.com/application/files/8115/1518/2678/2017_Ludwig_Order_Guide.xlsm

It looks like you can custom order those sizes and that finish. The link above is to the custom order form.... seems like a ton of options!

It’s a beautiful little kit. :)

Nice looking kit. The badges appear to be in different locations on each drum so it's likely a re-wrap of different era drums. Interior shell paint would help tie it all together to look the same and to hide any filled holes.

Photos of the shell interior and bearing edges would help. Badges appear to be no older than ~'84.

Also, it's my understanding that Ludwig will not change the locations of badges on their custom orders. I've read that people have asked Ludwig to position the kick drum badge near the front and Ludwig would not do it.

That does not appear to be an entirely vintage kit, but it is a more a mix of vintage and modern. It is most definitely a re-wrap. Ludwig currently does have that wrap color, but i'm going to say that it's a 90's Keystone badge converted toms, and if the bass drum spurs don't have any extra holes in that location, then it could very well be an original 18" bass drum. Although the Keystone badge is more modern. The floor tom was/is an actual converted tom, and the regular rack tom looks original size wise.. Also, the floor tom brackets are not original, nor are they Ludwig and appear to be generic, Pearl style cheapo brackets. The wing nuts on the brackets are also an indication of that. This kit is a very well put together, player's franken-kit. If the price is right, go for it. If the seller is asking for more than $500, i'd pass on it. Interior pics would help determining the age of the drums as well..

Cheers,

Rob

My first thought was that it's modern, I recently bought a new set of Classic Maples & that's what the badges look like (you can order those or the parallelogram 70s style), but your point about the FT legs is right on.

Also, I can see one spur leg, but not the mount & it doesn't look like Ludwig, vintage or modern.