Caddy's Ludwig kit w/Zildjian cymbals

caddywumpus

Archnemesis of Larryace
So, here's my gigging kit:

1970 Ludwig Downbeat in Silver Sparkle finish, Blue/Olive badges, clear maple interiors
12x8 tom
14x14 floor tom
20x14 kick drum
14x5 1965 Slingerland snare in gold sparkle finish, 3-ply, clear maple interior

Cymbals:
14" Zilco top hat, 14" early 70s Zildjian New Beat bottom hat
18" 60s Zildjian
19" late 70s/early 80s Zildjian (hollow ink logo)
16" 50s Zildjian
24" K Light Ride

So, let me point out a few of the finer points, as I've talked about this kit in previous posts.

The first couple of pictures, you can see that all of the hardware, minus the high hat stand and throne, fits nicely into this old beat-up suitcase. Then, there's some drum porn.

In the second to last picture, you can see how I mount the 3 cymbals off of the one Yamaha 600 cymbal stand with 2 Gibraltar splash boom arms. Yes, the 24" K Light Ride is mounted on a splash boom arm, and it's never toppled or even tipped. In the last photo, you can see that I didn't spring for the vintage Ludwig logo head, but made one myself. I removed the Remo logo with nail polish remover. Then, I drew the Ludwig logo with pencil and colored it in with a sharpie. From more than 2 feet away, you can't tell, but I included a close-up so you could see my dirty little logo secret.
 

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Awesome yet again, very very nice, the Silver and Gold theme reminds of yukon cornelius on Rudolph the red nose riendeer, lol.

Classy looking and the Rims mount on the tom is a sweet touch.
 
That couch looks comfortable... oh and the sets nice too. I especially like that hardware case., Carry on? I m also a big fan of mounting as many pieces onto one tripod as is feasible. I have....nevermind, another thread, another time.

Thats in great shape for a 70's too. We ve touched on this before, but does the "rims" mount make a *huge* or *minor* difference in the resonance of that tom?
 
Man you have some cool stuff!

That kit looks cherry... like it could be a few months old, not 38 years old!

It has such minor/piffling wear for it's age.
 
That kit looks cherry... like it could be a few months old, not 38 years old!

It has such minor/piffling wear for it's age.

Looks can be deceiving! It's definitely a "player's" kit and snare. I call this my "looks pretty until you get close" kit. Well actually, I haven't ever called it that before right now, but it's fitting.


That couch looks comfortable... oh and the sets nice too. I especially like that hardware case., Carry on? I m also a big fan of mounting as many pieces onto one tripod as is feasible. I have....nevermind, another thread, another time.

Thats in great shape for a 70's too. We ve touched on this before, but does the "rims" mount make a *huge* or *minor* difference in the resonance of that tom?

The couch is VERY comfy. I've never come across a more comfortable couch! Many of my friends say the same about it. My wife doesn't like the look of it, so it stays in the basement...

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.

Awesome yet again, very very nice, the Silver and Gold theme reminds of yukon cornelius on Rudolph the red nose riendeer, lol.

Classy looking and the Rims mount on the tom is a sweet touch.

The silver and gold doesn't really thrill me together, but the people I gig with don't seem to mind. They just see a bunch of sparkles, and it's all good! Once they hear the kit, though, that's when the bricks start dropping...

Thanks for the compliments, guys.
 
Beautiful set, very streamlined. I like how you use few stands and attach more stuff to them. I do the same - I have seven cymbals, a cowbell, a hihat and four toms mounted on three stands. I don't like the forest-of-stands effect around a set and your sparse hardware shows off the beautiful shells.

Amazing you can fit all the hardware in a suitcase!
 
Amazing you can fit all the hardware in a suitcase!

2 cymbal stands
2 splash boom arms
kick pedal
snare stand
stick holder
floor tom legs
tom mounting clamp

There's even some room left for when I take out my 18" kick, I can throw in the riser attachment. Also, I occasionally thrown in a cowbell mount. It's great not to have to hassle with a huge trap case anymore!
 
Very nice Ludwig set, I alway's liked the Silver Sparkle & black too!
and WOW, Amazing....I can't believe that your hardware fits into the suitcase ;^)
 
Nice one caddy! Makes me wanna start looking at getting something "vintage" again.
Same way with me as well. I use just a few stands and attach clamps and arms to accomodate. Nice!
 
Caddy,
That's a sweet player's kit! I officially want to have first dibs on that kit, should you happen to want to ever get rid of it. Those 70's 3-plys are the sh!t.
 
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How do you like the round felt beater on the Elim? What the difference ?

P.S- The Luddy heads seem more sure of themselves than the Dubs. How many kits do you have?
 
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Really solid setup. Cant go wrong with something like that. Looks really nice.
 
Beautiful kit, great setup, and sweet pies... but the best part of the whole thing is the way your hardware fits into that suitcase!!! 0.0 WHAT'S THE SECRET? I just spend a good 15 minutes packing up my hardware (all the usual suspects + a splash extension and an another whole stand) and cramming it on a cart with my set for a gig today!
 
Beautiful kit, great setup, and sweet pies... but the best part of the whole thing is the way your hardware fits into that suitcase!!! 0.0 WHAT'S THE SECRET? I just spend a good 15 minutes packing up my hardware (all the usual suspects + a splash extension and an another whole stand) and cramming it on a cart with my set for a gig today!

The secret is the Yamaha 600 Cymbal stands and playing Tetris a bunch while growing up.

One of my personal prerequisites for packing my gear up is to not take stands apart, but rather to collapse them all. The Yamaha stands were the smallest-collapsing, yet sturdiest stands I could find, so I went with those. I'm not a Yamaha drum fan in the least, but I do like these stands.

I start by putting in the cymbal stands diagonally, kick pedal on one side, snare stand on the other, and then the rest of the clamps and whatnot just fit around those main items. It's magic, really. And, it only takes me about 15 minutes total to set up the whole kit and stash the cases. During the set, I might fidget with a stand or clamp just a little, but the set up is pretty comfortable for me.

Really solid setup. Cant go wrong with something like that. Looks really nice.

Thank you. I think so too. :)

How do you like the round felt beater on the Elim? What the difference ?

Oh, is that an Elim? I don't think I ever paid attention...

I like this particular beater on the drum--warm and full. It really brings out the woodiness and resonance of the drum shell. I couldn't care less about what pedal it's attached to.

P.S- The Luddy heads seem more sure of themselves than the Dubs. How many kits do you have?

I currently have 3. DW for the studio and prestigious gigs. Ludwig for every other gig and for specialty studio gigs. Premier kit to teach on.

I don't really have my eyes on any new kit in particular, but if I find a good deal on a nicer kit (read: killer deal of the century), then I'll be looking to sell the Premiers...

Caddy,
That's a sweet player's kit! I officially want to have first dibs on that kit, should you happen to want to ever get rid of it. Those 70's 3-plys are the sh!t.

Thank goodness! I thought you were going to say, "should something happen to you...".

The late 60s/early 70s 3-ply with clear maple interiors ARE the shiz-nit, dawg! I think that this kit is going to stay with me for a while. That's a very flattering compliment, though. My Luddies and I thank you!
 
Hehe, silver and gold sparkle...that are two great looking wraps!!
Well, it`s a vintage Ludwig and a vintage Slingerland...isn`t that amazing?!

Really nice eye- and ear-catcher Caddy...

By the way, what music do you mainly make? I can`t imagine really...

Thanks for sharing your photos, true candy!

Karl
 
Hehe, silver and gold sparkle...that are two great looking wraps!!
Well, it`s a vintage Ludwig and a vintage Slingerland...isn`t that amazing?!

Really nice eye- and ear-catcher Caddy...

By the way, what music do you mainly make? I can`t imagine really...

Thanks for sharing your photos, true candy!

Karl

Hmm...I guess it's more "drum candy" than "drum porn", huh? You made me think of Hershey's Kisses with the silver and gold wraps.

What music do I MAINLY make? That's a tough one. I play rock, blues, jazz, funk, and latin on the kit, but they kind of bleed together. You know, one heavily influences the others, and vice versa. Mostly, lately, I've been playing world music gigs. There's a booming scene here in Portland. It's a lot of fun, and stretches me in ways I'm unfamiliar with. Also, I've had a couple of classical gigs lately, but that's besides drum set. I also write my own stuff, which is in the range of "acoustic singer-songwriter" to rock.
 
Supraphonic....hiding in plain sight, great name! I wonder if there is a Radio King member yet...
Hey Caddy, my first real set of drums were 1976 Blue Oyster Pearl Ludwigs, purchased new in 76. The bearing edges were for lack of a better term...all caddywumpus and shit. 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? Mine did, thick ones too. My bearing edges majorly sucked right from the factory, and I was soured on Ludwig for a long time afterwards. Looking back I wish I had that old kit back. Soooo what about your edges?
 
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