Very classy kits. Does Ludwig still sell the salesman wrap kits? I thought it was a limited run, but Forks drum closet sold a new one a few weeks ago.

Don't know about availability of the salesman sample kits, but be prepared to get some Black Keys requests when gigging with them. I am a transplant to the Akron Ohio area, so I missed out on seeing the BK's in the early years, but I have met Patrick Carney briefly on a few occasions, he's seems like a pretty down to earth guy despite their crazy success.

I'm a fan of them. One of the bands I play with plays I Got Mine and Gold on the Ceiling. Maybe Carney will get another unique wrapped kit from Ludwig in the future.

As far as I know there was only enough wrap to make so many sets. Of course they could always get more made up...or you could have it made and then supply it to Ludwig to put on new drums. It's been a while since I looked but there were still a few new sets for sale on ebay a while back, but they were all from that same production run.

I was buying a snare drum thru Russo music, dealing with Steve D (no longer affiliated with that company...unfortunately) and he asked if I needed anything else and I jokingly replied (email) yeah, I need one of those Ludwig Salesman kits in the Downbeat sizes...and within an hour he shot me back a price I couldn't refuse. Not long after that the 16x16 popped up on ebay and I snagged it as well (part of a larger kit that the owner wasn't using). I have nearly 40 drum sets and most are vintage(ish) but these are some sweet sounding drums with a definite vintage vibe.

To the theme of the thread...

After 6 years of high school wood shop, I have a real appreciation for precision woodworking, hand craftsmanship, and people who still have all their fingers.

My (if I win the lottery) wish list of modern drums is full with kits from the makers mentioned in the thread (Noble and Cooley, Treehouse, Q, Cravotto etc.), but I am lucky enough to already own a modern kit that rivals those, at least when it comes to the craftsmanship of the shells. I know I have posted pics of this one in other threads, but hey, I only have three kits, and I REALLY love this one. You know, it's like showing off pics of your kids...any chance you get, right?

It was a right place, right time, CL situation. The builder (Ian Witt) who lives my local area posted the 3 piece kit (18 bass,10 tom,13 floor) for $1800 to start (if memory serves) and dropped the price a little over a few weeks or so. When he was down to like $1400, I offered $1000, and he surprisingly took it, saying that he really needed the money to help fund a project that he was doing with/for Noble and Cooley I think. The hardware on the kit is adequate and light, but not quite up to par with level of the shells. The shells are phenomenal, all three are steam bent from the same plank of locally sourced sycamore wood with cherry re-rings. Oh, and a few days after the deal, he noticed that I had an 80's Premier Royale kit on CL, and since I had bought his personal kit leaving him momentarily without one, he called me up and we traded straight up for the single ply maple snare pictured.

Hate to end it with a bummer but...I have since read some forum threads (not on VDF) that the builder Mr. Witt was accused of some late deliveries on drum orders or worse... I don't know any of the details of any of that, I can only attest to the fact that he was very professional and timely during our transactions, and the drums he makes are really something special.