From my understanding they started in the early 60's and went to about 1967. I'm sure a Ludwig expert can validate that. The paint also was rumored to be just a ceiling white that they had laying around.

Excellent drums and very collectible. Not much more to say. If I had a Ringo Oyster Black Ludwig snare with white interior I would be whistling dixie, or any popular Beatles tunes!!

Hope that helps

David

Yes, in general, the white painted interiors are assigned to the 60's. The interior ply that was painted was either maple or mahogany. All kinds of stories behind "why" they used white paint. Some speculate it was just used to seal and cosmetically cover the interior.

The white painted interiors also usually included the baseball bat mufflers and rounded bearing edges which all helped to give them the sound. That could be a "yeh" to someone and a "neh" to another.

Ludwigs of the 60's were great drums in my opinion. The only Ludwigs that I liked better in some ways were the drums of the late 60's and early 70's. They had the same poplar core three ply shells but they were not scarffed together with the wrap tucked into the joint as they were in the 60s. The only problem with those later years, was that the glue they used to glue on the wrap often shrunk and pulled the wrap seams apart. This didn't have any bad effect on the sound, but looked bad.

I have kits from both eras and they still sound like Ludwigs either way. It's my favorite vintage drum sound.