If that mahogany kit was mine, then it wouldn't leave me for a penny less than 10K....don't care what the "fair market value" is or not! That kit is just drop-dead gorgeous....nicest looking mahogany "Jazzette" I've ever seen....It's always something, though....It actually doesn't quite tick all the boxes -as far as proper Jazzettes go....close, but not quite...Ideally, it should have the matching Supra -even though the Downbeat, in and of itself, is a more desirable drum -and certainly compliments the shell pack of this custom-ordered kit. Of course, anyone could easily find a 1967 Supra and bring it a notch closer...but the matching Supra, along with the proper hardware package and cymbals would make it a museum-quality example of a mahogany Jazzette. I wish I had one like it, Downbeat and all! ;)

Saving the picture is all I could afford

Saw a guy playing a set just like that at an outdoor gig in Champaign, Illinois probably 14-15 years back. We were playing across the park under a different tent but I heard some jazz so I wandered over before we started. It was like 105 degrees that day, only time I ever played a gig in shorts. Anyhow I knew what it was and was quite impressed. It was mahogany finish in somewhat rough shape....still I was lustful. I didn't get a chance to ask him about them. I had to scurry back across the park for my gig and they were long gone afterwards.

I'd (almost) kill for a Thermogloss Maple Jazzette, I'd swoon for a mahogany one too, but I'd even be happy with this little purple number...(other pictures I saved from somewhere along the way).

I suppose you could come reasonably close to recreating a Maple one with Legacy drums and a Maxwell rail. Can't really replicate the look of that aged nitro lacquer though and the lovely patina it accrues with the passage of a few decades. Maybe that "Golden Slumbers" finish if Ludwig still offers it. Sure to be cheaper than the real deal, the keystone badge is back....hmmm.

I always have trouble posting pictures here. Any tips?

I have a Jazzette kit in gold sparkle. Somebody replaced the rail mount on the bass drum with a Pearl mount, though. It's a shame, but the plus side is that I was able to afford it that way! 😄 I gig it out all the time...still sounds phenomenal!

The point is, at least ONE 12x18 3-ply gold sparkle bass drum exists! I wish you luck in your search, and hope you find one in original condition!

For the longest time....back near the turn of the millennium, I started looking for Jazzette kits to be used in a studio where I worked a lot. I couldn't find a single one that didn't have some kind of issues. Then, as the internet collecting thing grew, a few of them started to appear. It was either a case where people who had nice ones didn't want to let them go....Or, that the nice ones that were for sale, were commanding exceptionally high prices.

The irony is that I probably could have found a Gretsch bop kit for all the effort I spent looking for a Ludwig Jazzette! And now, a Gretsch bop kit in nice shape is off the charts expensive and nearly impossible to find. I'm talking nice round badge ones that aren't all hacked up.

I had a nice mahogany JAzzette set..no snare..no extra holes etc..listed on eBay..maybe 15-20 years ago..only went for around $950..I recall!

Another time..I found a 12 by 18 BD...with a double Tom mount on bass (factory)...with a 3 by 13 snare coming off of it..Cant remember the model name of those 2 drums!..I sold the BD separate..I remember..Luther Grey Bought it...

That's the Gold Coast model. Here is the catalog shot. And a real one that Bill Maley also sold.

Mike

Thanks,Mike..I found the set in a Vintage Guitar magazine..years ago...Those guitar guys didn’t know what they had back then!...I bought a WMP Dyna out of there too..$100!..But,had a bunch of shellac glopped on the inside...I got $700 for it though..so..not bad....