Hehe, a very cool story :) Makes me wonder just how many Standard Luds are floating around with factory installed Classic lugs hehe. A few hundred I would guess.

Yea, the owner wanted $700 for the kit due to all the damage on the wraps and the fact it was missing the original snare. I suspect I would have paid a couple hundred more with the original snare. The Slingerland snare I bought was tagged at $175, but he knocked off $75 so the whole show was $800 which I think is a bargain for such great sounding drums.

It will be a nice summer project to work on. I'll definitely get before/after pics posted here so you can check it out :) Still haven't decided on whether I should either rewrap or refinish the wood....decisions, decisions. I've never wrapped a drum...just stain/lacquer work. Been reading about the process and it doesn't seem all that difficult.

Cuttle

My bad. I thought by 68 Luddy was Maple/pop/Maple on all their kits. I didn't realize that they did the same as Slingerland. Mind blower. This can't be right. Can I Phone-A-Friend? Did they really really do this? ... 'cause you are really putting me out of balance with this one.

...i need a hug...

Yea, they have to be mahogany because they have a darker tone than I would expect for a maple kit.

I love the mahogany Slingerland shells for the rich, dark tones. Not as resonant as maple but in some situations that can be a plus.

Cuttle

[COLOR="DarkRed"]Hmmm...you are experienced with lacquer, but not wraps. That's a tough call.

One argument would say that if rewrapped, they should be done in a color which was available back in the day. One could also say that Standards weren't natural wood back then.

However, the retort would be you got the kit for basically nothing, and if they are gonna be yours to play or you aren't concerned w/ resale value...go for it and do what you do best.[/COLOR]