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You can read this and dozens of other stories at www.NotSoModernDrummer.com. The story below was written by Rick Gier for Not So Modern Drummer on April 23, 2023:
Rick Gier:
Rick is a well-known contributor to vintage drum forums and magazines, and is the author of books about vintage drums – “Serial Number Based Dating Guides for Vintage Ludwig Drums, Main Line Drums 1963-1984 and Standard Drums 1968-1973” AND “The Gretsch Serial Number Dating Guide”. His deep research is based on the study of thousands of drums and investigations into the nooks and crannies of historic drum production records. His knowledge is invaluable to vintage drum collectors in identifying and dating instruments.
Rick’s article – Ludwig Finishes Of The Blue/Olive Badge Era:
Last month we looked at the finishes which Ludwig used on its 1960s Keystone badge drums. This month we move into the 1970s and early 1980s. This study reviews data gathered from a representative sample of Ludwig Blue/Olive badge drums produced from very late 1969 (earliest date stamps are Thanksgiving week 1969) through about 1984. Drums with the reissued Blue/Olive badges seen more recently are not included.
The data started with a group of 6,450 vintage drums possessing one of the four styles of Blue/Olive badges used by Ludwig during this time frame. Information from 198 of these drums did not include the finish, so these drums are excluded. An additional group of 103 wood shell drums were excluded because their original finishes could not be determined. Some of these were rewrapped, others were refinished in wood stain and some were repainted. It seems likely that some drums which now appear as finished wood shells started that way while others originally had wraps. A small number of Metal shells had been refinished or painted. When their original finish could be determined, they are included in the study. After removing all 301 drums whose original finish could not be determined, a group of 6,149 drums remained for use with this study.
The data used for this study was originally compiled to develop a serial number-based dating guide. The data is not from Ludwig production or sales records, but from drums encountered by the author since 2011. The majority of the information comes from drums listed for sale at eBay and Reverb and numerous other online vintage drum sellers. Some drums were mentioned on drum forums while information on others was provided by owners directly to the author. A few people supplied lists of B/O badge drums that they compiled independently. The data does not include drums lost during the last 40 to 50 years or quietly held by their owners.
This study involves a small fraction (about one half of one percent) of all the drums that Ludwig manufactured with Blue/Olive badges. This study should be interpreted as definitive evidence of the relative proportion of Ludwig finishes produced during the time period. However, relying upon what is believed to be the largest database of vintage Ludwig drums in existence, it provides insight into the finishes used by Ludwig which have appeared in the resale market in the last dozen years.
Please share information about any vintage Ludwig drums you possess with the author by sending an email to Rick@GretschDrumDatingGuide.com. Doing so will add to the database and support more studies like this.
The total number of drums with each finish is shown below. The vast majority (87%) are in the first five finish types – Metal, Sparkle, Pearl, Vistalite and Cortex.
In addition to metal shell Acrolite, Supraphonic and Super Sensensitive snare drums, the Black Beauty snare was reintroduced in about 1977 and Ludwig offered Stainless Steel drums. Acrolite finishes changed from Anodized to Matte to Smooth powder coat to Textured powder coat.
A number of different colors of Sparkle finishes were available. Silver and Blue are the most often reported Sparkle colors, just as they were in the Keystone badge era.
The ‘Bowling Ball” versions of the Oyster Black and Oyster Blue Pearl wrap replace the original versions during the 1970s. Fewer Pearl wraps are seen than in the 1960s. The new version of White Marine Pearl has a more pronounced parallelogram pattern.
Vistalite acrylic shells are prevalent during the Blue/Olive badge era.
Cortex Finishes grow in popularity during the period.
They show up with wood-look finishes and solid colors.
Ludwig offered natural wood finishes in additional to their wood-look Cortex wraps.
Ludwig described these as “Real Wood” and Thermogloss in catalogs.
Mod finish drums mostly appear in the earlier part of the study period.
Silk finishes are seen in modest quantities.
Other finishes are seen, including Black Panther wrap, Chrome over Wood, a very small number of DUCO lacquer and one textured plastic shelled drum.
The original story can be seen: HERE
About Not So Modern Drummer:
The magazine is currently owned by George Lawrence who is a valued and passionate member of our drumming community. He was the drummer for the band Poco for 12 years, teacher at Memphis Drum Shop, recording session player, producer of the Nashville Drum Show and owner/administrator of DrumSellers.com which is Not So Modern Drummer’s buy and sell site. To get an understanding of his contributions you can learn more about him in an excellent Innovative Percussion Artist Feature HERE
The Not So Modern Drummer magazine was first published in 1988 by John Aldridge who created and ran the magazine until he sold it to Bill Ludwig III in 2005. In 2008 George purchased the magazine from Bill and is the editor, publisher, and photographer of the magazine. Consider supporting Not So Modern Drummer: HERE
