Caddy's Ludwig kit w/Zildjian cymbals

larryace said:
Supraphonic....hiding in plain sight, great name! I wonder if there is a Radio King member yet.......
........It had major high and low spots, dead zones on the head, and you're right, as soon as the tom was put on the mount, 90% of the resonance went away. My question is are your bearing edges original? Or did you re-do them? Do your drums have re rings?.....
....Soooo what about your edges?
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Hmm...I might have to register again with the name Radio King so I can sell it later for big bucks!

My edges are still factory, I'm pretty sure. They're definitely not flat, but they're not THAT far off to make too big of a difference. All I can say is that they sound great, construction imperfections included. Yes, they have the big ol' reinforcing rings and thin shells that give it the sound I so crave...
 
So many lovely things to play on in that basement of yours! Great kit. Did you paint that logo yourself?

I love the Slingerland snare.
 
caddywumpus said:
Yes, the RIMS-imitation mount makes a HUGE difference in this particular case. Having the tom mount on the shell significantly cut down on the resonance, so I took it off. Now, there's a spot on the tom (above the snare, in the picture) where there's a couple of holes and a nice section of finish (from being under the mount all these years). I keep that part facing me.[/QUOTE

I forgot about this kit of yours, and reading this again reminded me. I happened to come across 2 original RIMS mounts, 14" and 16'... USED and in perfect condition. Like you advised a long time ago, I used them for my stand mounted floor toms. The difference is amazing. Along with Evans Genera G2 coated heads, I cant believe the difference. These heads compliment vintage shells perfectly(imo).

Anyway I have a few holes left from the original mounts and found that crumpling up a piece of clear plastic baggy(like for a sandwich), plugging the holes and covering them with a small piece of clear tape gives the look of the surrounding finish. Just a tip or suggestion for anyone interested.
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Nice set up Caddy! I love those old Lud's!
I also hate stands. I fly three cymbals from one stand on one of my kits too.
The hardware options of today make anything possible.
 
Nice set, you are a lucky one!

These Ludwig were my dream when I started playing drums (around 1974!), but were very expensive and almost impossible to find where I lived. That's why I finally bought a Slingerland set which suddenly appeared in a music instrument shop 80 km away from our home. Sadly, that set was not that good and Ludwig remained my unsatisfied dream.
 
Looks like a blast to play and very easy to gig with. I'd say you have a winner.
 
Wow! Thanks for the replies. This thread is making a comeback!

To update, I have since swapped out several of the cymbals for similar ones. I now use a 50s 18" instead of the 60s one. It has a slight warp on one side, almost like a flange, which I think adds to its great sound. I use these Zilco/Zildjian hats occasionally for really quiet gigs, but I've since been using a pair of 15" 50s hats that sound A-MA-ZING! Also, I've swapped out the 16" crash a few times, and I'm still looking for a more perfect specimen...

I've also started using different snares with the kit, like a pre-serial Ludwig Auditorium in green sparkle and a 70s 402 Supraphonic. I mostly use the Supraphonic with my Super Classics, but occasionally I mix and match. Keep it fresh, right?

Wy: The logo is done in sharpie!

crdirtRider856: Yeah, absolutely! Man, RIMS make all the difference in the world!

bobda: Yeah, you can do virtually ANYTHING it seems! I still don't get why guys will haul around these huge, bulky double-braced and "as thick as an elephant's leg" cymbal stands.

sacco: Someday your dream kit will come...

alparrott: Yeah, it's DEFINITELY a winner! It's a little finicky, like most vintage Luddies, but it seems the more I experiment with tuning it, the sweeter and sweeter it sounds...
 
caddywumpus said:
bobda: Yeah, you can do virtually ANYTHING it seems! I still don't get why guys will haul around these huge, bulky double-braced and "as thick as an elephant's leg" cymbal stands.
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I bought lightweight cymbal stands for both of my gig kits. They cost about $30 each. They are sturdy and strong. I also bought used lightweight hat and snare stands from beginner kits like the Tama StageStar. I paid almost nothing for them. Drummers upgrade and they sell them cheap. They work fine! My hardware bag weighs half as much as it used to! The pearl clamp type cymbal arms are light and strong also. I have several of them.
Gone are the days of lugging around heavy stands for me!
I discovered this when I bought my Pearl Rhythm Traveler kit and My Tama StageStar kit for practice and small gigs. You don't need big drums and stands for most gigs, so why bring them. The other good thing is that if anything happens to this equipment, It can be easily and cheaply replaced. I no longer worry about my gear at gigs. I only have to guard my cymbals and my snares. I sometimes bring cheap snare drums also. I put a coated PS3 on a cheap 13 x 5 snare and it sounds fine in a small club. I only get between 50 and 100 dollars for these gigs anyway, So why bring out the best! As long as the drums look good, No one knows the difference anyhow.
 
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caddywumpus said:
Wow! Thanks for the replies. This thread is making a comeback!
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You can thank me for that :).
Nice stuff.

caddywumpus said:
Yeah, you can do virtually ANYTHING it seems! I still don't get why guys will haul around these huge, bulky double-braced and "as thick as an elephant's leg" cymbal stands.
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That would be me. I don't have a lot of gigging experience (Read: no gigging experience) so my big stands aren't an issue...yet.
 
DSCRAPRE said:
I don't have a lot of gigging experience (Read: no gigging experience) so my big stands aren't an issue...yet.
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They have their place for me...at home. I use them, but I don't lug them around. If you gig less than a couple times a month, I could see it not being that big of a deal, but if you play out more than that, the lighter stands and smaller kits really start making sense after a short while. For me, it's not the weight, necessarily. I consider myself a pretty strong guy, and I could handle it, but it's more of a space issue. I'd never be able to fit 2 giant double-braced stands with 1" diameter pipes into my tiny suitcase, and I'm NOT willing to get a large hardware case on wheels because it would just be a huge pain in the butt compared to what I'm doing now...
 
That is one amazingly beautiful drum kit ! I'm certain it must sound absolutely amazing - the tones must be over-the-top great !

Thanks for sharing your photos !

Best,

Bongo
 
Bongo John said:
That is one amazingly beautiful drum kit ! I'm certain it must sound absolutely amazing - the tones must be over-the-top great !
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Oh, it does alright! Man...it has THE vintage sound! I've since delved into the world of vintage drums, and there's something magical about this kit that I haven't heard in any other vintage kits. Well, besides a Gretsch 3-ply round badge that I've played that is...
 
Nice !!!

The old Ludwig sound is so great. You might have a lot of fun with it !

Your couch seems conforable ;)

Tommy.
 
caddywumpus said:
Yeah, you can do virtually ANYTHING it seems! I still don't get why guys will haul around these huge, bulky double-braced and "as thick as an elephant's leg" cymbal stands.
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Um... that would be me
I'm not the biggest fan of sparkle finishes (i like fades and the natural colour of the shell) but that sparkle really stands out and looks amazing and all sparklyish :)
 
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