A Ludwig question

Larry

"Uncle Larry"
I have a set of 1976 - 3 ply Ludwigs. I am looking to change the original bass drum spurs to something that is more heavier duty. I don't want to drill new holes, but I will if I have to. Does anyone have any recommendations for bass drum spurs that are way better and that would fit the existing Ludwig hole pattern?
 
Are these the curved spurs that are 5/16" diameter? The only thing you could do is bump those up to the 1/2" ones, but you would have to make the big hole bigger to accommodate the bigger curved spurs. I have a pair if you want them for a good price.

Otherwise, you have to re-drill.
 
Hi Larry.

You know me, I'm certainly no Luddy expert on this site, however, I have heard that there are Ludwig spurs out there from the next gen period through the early 80's where the spurs were changed from the bent spur design to the telescopic and the hole pattern was/is the same.

Also, there are Gibraltar spurs (telescopic) that only need a little filing in one of the three holes to make them work that I've seen on player's kits that guys got fed up with because of the loosy goosy on the old spurs.

What's wrong with yours?
 
Pick yourself up an old 80's Ludwig beater BD, preferably a 20" and you'll probably have the right spurs and you can make yourself a gong tom.

:)
 
I have curved, not bent spurs. I have a 60's Ludwig kit with the bent spurs. They SUCK! The curved spurs are better, but not much. They are still lacking IMO. Later generations of Ludwig spurs were much heavier duty, but I'm pretty sure the hole spacing doesn't match.

The drum doesn't walk away, so technically there's nothing wrong with them. I just want better spurs. They seem too weak. I don't get a good feeling from them.
 
Pick yourself up an old 80's Ludwig beater BD, preferably a 20" and you'll probably have the right spurs and you can make yourself a gong tom.

:)

Great idea, except I don't know what to do with a gong drum. Philippe, do the 80's spurs fit the early to mid 70's hole pattern?
 
Given the age of your kit, you probably have the smaller curved spurs (also known as disappearing spurs). Going to the larger 1/2 inch spur requires a larger hole, for the spur. The mount holes remain the same, but the large hole for the spur will need to be enlarged. And there lies possible trouble. The 3 ply shell might not take the larger hole so well. You start getting a narrower patch of wood between one of the mount holes and the spur hole. I'm pretty sure that when the 1/2 inch spur came out, Ludwig had switched to the 6 ply shell. A thicker, stronger shell.​
What Ludwig did, during the "power" years, was mount 2 sets of spurs on their 16" deep shells.​
John Bonhams thermogloss kit had double sets of the "nail" type spurs. Ludwig did that, rather than put fold outs on the 26" kick.​
 

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I did not think of the nature of the 3-ply shell. I would recommend against making that hole bigger then :(

But Larry, you said the drum doesn't creep forward on you, right? I think it's just something you have to get used to. I remember after playing heavy Tama's for a while in the 90s, then playing a Ludwig with the curved spurs, the drum felt like it bounced moreso than normal, but it didn't creep forward.

NOw, with my 26, I have one pair of the 1/2" curved spurs and that drum doesn't move at all. I also don't have a tom mount so the drum is alone, and it's quite solid. I would think with the 5/16" spurs I'd get the same result.
 
I feel that you could enlarge the hole for the thicker spurs without any issues from the 3 ply shell. If you are worried about the shell cracking then make a metal reinforcing plate from sheet metal to template the spur mounts and install the plates inside of the drum.
 
Larry, have you thought of adding an additional set of front hoop mounted spurs, & retain the originals in place?

I like this option the best. In the early 80's I had a set of Eames drums built. I outfitted them with Ludwig bass drum feet. I recall that the mounting holes and the hole for the spur itself were SO close, I was worried about the shell breaking. It never did, but the Eames shell is a much thicker, more substantial shell. I don't know that I would want to risk my only 24" bass drum with it's thin shell by installing the 1/2" spurs.
 
Friends don't let friends drill holes.Opening up the telescoping hole...in my opinion,is NOT a good option with a thin 3 ply Ludwig shell.I have the 5/16 spurs on my 71 OBP bass drum with two mounted toms and with a drum rug,it's not going anywhere,and it's certainly NOT going to tip over..

The same with my 71 Standards that had the telescoping club date type spurs,again with two mounted toms....they never creeped on me.

And in both cases,supported the drums just fine.Both were 3 ply.

You're fretting about nothing Larry.Those spurs are up to the task.You just may be too used to the overkill spurs of modern drums.

If it will make you feel better,then just get a second clip on type,and mount them on the batter side.

Those stock spurs are plenty strong.

Steve B
 
Yea, I am fretting over nothing. But TBH, if you were to say, Hey Lar, go to company x and get product Y, they fit right in and are a major improvement.... I'd do it.

The older Ludwig hardware is designed with what I call Depression era mentality, just enough to get the job done, and not a gram more. Don't waste material.

Friends don't let friends drill holes, yuk yuk. I think I've heard you dispense that before.
 
My suggestion, in the "OMG don't drill", "don't enlarge holes" side of things, is the new Ludwig Anchor spurs.

If you ever decided to sell the drum (or kit) the drum will have your stock spurs ready to go, and the drum will have no mods to it--just keep track of the 2 lugs :)

You can keep the posts to the spurs you have on the drum to keep it stock, but take out 2 lugs, and put the new Anchor spurs on.
These things are really substantial, without much of a footprint, and will adjust to whatever you want to do height-wise (flat, or up there). They have memory locks too!

These should be out pretty quick. The Atlas mount is now available, so these won't be far behind.

I saw them listed at $109, but heck, people are shelling out $80+ for a snare strainer and not thinking twice forcryinoutloud. There were pretty frickin' cool when I saw them at the Chicago show.
 

I was going to suggest a couple DW claw hook clamps, then add a couple gull wing spurs, but I like Angus Macinnes's suggestion better. Plus it's still Ludwig.

http://store.dwdrums.com/p/dwsm2141-claw-hook-clamp?pp=10

BTW, I run the Ludwig 5/16" spurs on my 20" bass drum, and the 1/2" spurs on my 22" & 24" bass drums, without a problem. I did enlarge the hole on my 22" bass drum, but it's a fiberglass Blaemire shell, so I wasn't worried about a strength problem.
 
Besides the Supraphonic,which was a cost saving measure that turned out to be lighting in a bottle......That new Atlas hardware is just killer stuff,and with the new mounting system,with the exception of the lugs and the vent/badge hole,you really don't need to drill a shell at all .

The shorter spurs are a lot sexier than those superlong and thick ones that look like landing gear struts.

Steve B.
 
I will first state that I haven't stage tested my solution to my weak-ass spurs yet, but I got one of those hoop mounted anchors like Ringo used made by Gibraltar. The idea being that the anchor will take care of elevating the front of the bass drum while also digging in to the rug thereby leaving the spurs with the less stressful job of preventing the drum from rocking left/right. So far so good.
 
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