Hi Leedy!

That's odd about the bass drum not having a vent hole and badge. Bass drums and snare drums always had badges...at least to my knowledge. My 1965 Modern Solo outfit has black/brass badges on the bass, but no badges on the toms. Maybe member slingerfan will chime in about this.

-Mark

Thanks, Mark. I also thought that this was odd. I hope that some other members can chime in.

It is not a good idea to date drums by serial numbers alone, all the drums attributes should be taken into account. The fact that your two toms have badges tells us that they can be no earlier than mid year '66. Black/brass badges with serials 115xxx and 118xxx would be expected for later '66. Some additional information would be helpful: Are the tom interiors clear or do they have the beige stain? Do the FT leg mounts have the wing T screws to adjust the legs? Small knob tone controls? Mark is correct about the bass drum. There is no era when the bass drum did not have a vent and badge so pictures would be needed to positively identify that. Perhaps a post factory tom mount has been installed where the vent and badge were originally located? Hopefully you can post some pictures.

Hi slingerfan!

All excellent points! I'm interested in finding out more about that bass drum with no vent and badge!

-Mark

You nailed it slingerfan. There is a Ludwig tom mounting post on the top center where the badge would have been. The drums are in Austin and I'm in the Houston suburbs. So, I can't answer some of the questions. I'll ask my daughter and son in law. I think that, if someone is inclined to do it, a mid to late 60s Slingerland tom holder plate could be placed over the holes for the Ludwig holder with the down tube using the same larger hole. The Ludwig tom receiver holes on the rack tom can easily be covered by a Slingerland diamond shaped plate. I'm pretty certain that the drum interiors are unpainted with the thin mahogany innermost ply. I don't know about the tom leg wing screws or the tom tone control knobs. I'll find out.

Maple would be expected for the drum interiors in '66, either clear or beige stained (later).

Maybe but I think not if you're planning to use the Slingerland Set-o-matic base. The Ludwig bracket hole pattern forms a diamond shape whereas the Slingerland sits square to the front and back heads. If you turn the Slingerland base 45 degrees sideways to form a diamond then the notch in the tube throws everything off kilter. You could work around if using a single set-o-matic (although it would still look odd) but not with a double. Looking at one just now maybe the Slingerland would hide the ludwig holes if put on straight but you'd be drilling another 4 holes.

Assuming everything has already been converted to Ludwig it would make more sense just to leave it than to tie up a bunch of money in more parts that really aren't going to work any better. The average potential buyer won't know enough to care and anyone who is knowledgeable enough to care is probably going to notice that things were changed around due to the lack of a badge anyhow.

I would tend to agree with K.O. about the Ludwig tom holder...just leave it as-is, rather than drill more holes for a Slingerland Set-O-Matic base.

-Mark

Leaving the Ludwig hardware in place seems to make sense if it is doing the job. The anal retentive collectors would not be candidates for this drum set. They constitute a very small percentage of the market.