Vintage Ludwig Downbeat Drum Kit 1965-1966. This kit is a very nice set of orphans. This is a very nice players kit. Vintage 3ply Ludwig mahogany, poplar, mahogany shells with maple reinforcement rings. This kit sounds absolutely incredible under microphones. The size configuration is 14x20 kick , 8x12 tom , 14x14 floor, 5x14 Jazz Festival snare . They all have their original silver sparkle wraps. The seams for all drums are rock solid and are not lifting. The floor tom is the only drum of the kit that has a date stamp which was hidden underneath one of the large mount washers. The date stamp reads APR 18 1966. The 8x12 rack tom interior appears to have been repainted as there is no date stamp and the white is brighter than most vintage Ludwig. The bearing edges of all the drums are 100% original and in good condition. There are NO EXTRA HOLES on any of the drums. All of the shells are in round and tune up perfectly. The wraps on the tom, floor and snare have almost zero fading. The kick wrap is faded slightly more as seen in the photos. The logo head on the kick drum is NOT ORIGINAL. All of the hardware appears to be original for all of the drums. The rail consolette on the kick is extremely nice and tightens like a champ with absolutely zero slipping. There is very moderate pitting throughout the chrome on the kit, nothing egregious. The hoops for the kick have their original paint applique. The Jazz Festival snare has a red baseball bat muffler, the rest of the kit has white baseball bat mufflers, all of which are present and functioning perfectly. There are some places on the floor tom and kick where the maple reinforcement rings are very slightly seperating from the shell which is normal for a kit of this age. I tried to take the best photos in natural daylight coming from a skylight to showcase the kit in its entirety. Since ebay only allows 24 pictures per listing, I chose the best photos accordingly. I can and will provide any and all additional photos of any part or detail of the kit the potential buyers might request. \
snare stand is not included in sale.
The Serial Numbers are:
Kick = 290123
Tom = 446650
Floor = 274168
Snare = 101673
These numbers to the best of my knowledge put the kit in the 1965-1966 range.
This kit sounds and plays beautifully and has that incredible vintage ludwig tone and mojo. I will pack and ship these SEPARATELY with expert care. I will ship them immediately after payment. I have tried my absolute best to describe these drums and I will answer any and all questions. Thank you for reading!