Ludwig Rocker mid 1980s - A Weekend Acquisition

[larryz]

I saw these on my local Craigslist and made a impulse decision to buy them. They looked way better in perso than in this dingy photo. I don't know much about this line of Ludwig drums other that they were made in their Monroe, NC facility in the early to mid 1980s. I fell in love with the red color wrap I guess. Plus BoneyBeavBrother had a similar kit inthe same color that I've long been an admirer of. The drums said "early MTV" to me. Inner shells coated with Granitone or grey speckled coating. Anyway, the seller was a wonderful person. Can't wait to clean these up and put all new heads on them and start groovin' to The Motels...

 

[Winston_Wolf]

Nice score! I have a set of 80s Rockers and I really like them. I think they're really underrated and easily overlooked.

They use the same 6-ply Maple/Poplar shell as every other Ludwig from that era and sound really nice. The hardware is the only real weak spot so I would be careful about how much stress you put on the fittings.

 

[KarlCrafton]

Nice score!
I like the red too.
I'd agree with WW, the lugs aren't as sturdy as Classic lugs. The mounts should be OK though.
The shells are nice, they just used the ones that were not as "pretty" and used the speckled paint to seal the shell instead of clear.

Have fun!

 

[drumhedd]

Excellent find! I love my Rocker IIs, they sound great with Remo black dots. Such underrated drums...

 

[opentune]

nice looking set. just curious how much they costed on craigslist?

 

[larryz]

Thanks everyone. Yeah I got these for $250 (down from $300 seller was asking). These desperately need new heads so I figure I may have close $100 to spend on those. Still it's fun looking set and I'll be curious to hear how they sound when they're ready to go. I don't play very hard so the hardware should hopefully hold up. I was close to buying a used Yamaha Absolute but, I don't know, I'm a sucker for Ludwigs I guess..

 

[eamesuser]

I would guess mid to late 80.s,they look like rocker II's I think they had the granitone int's.
Probably 4 ply shells.

I have a Lud S/L from 1984/85 it has 6 ply kick 4 ply toms,has been a gigger /rehearsal kit on and off for me for 15 years ,is still going strong.

Mine sound best at med high to low tuning,and went to tape real well the couple of times I recorded them. Enjoy them.

 

[larryz]

After a couple weeks of cleaning this and that and spending more money than I thought putting new heads on this, here she is. The neighbors tell me it's loud.

 

[cowgard]

Wow! They shined up nice. Great deal, beautiful kit.

 

[tamadrm]

Nice Larry.Those early 80's rockers are nice sounding drums.If you feel ambitious some day,and have the cash,those rocker/standard lugs have the same mounting hole pattern as large classic lugs,so you can swap them out should you desire.I love the look of Ludwig large classic lugs.

Anyway...nice score my friend

Steve B

 

[larryz]

Cowgard - thanks very much. Yeah they look. really nice clean. Painstaking toothbrush work..

Tama - I appreciate your suggestion and nice words..esp coming from a vintage expert such as you..Yeah maybe I'll do the lug switchover in the future. There's just something about an older used kit with a history... thanks again...

 

[B-squared]

I just saw this and I must add that those are beautiful. That's a great buy and an even better restoration job.

 

[KarlCrafton]

It's scientific fact, that Red is one of the best sounding colors.

Nice restore job!!

 

[larryz]

Hey thanks b-squared and Karl, you guys are so nice. Yeah, scientific tests (Pew Research Foundation) and a Gallup Poll show that red-colored drums sound the best. I made up that last part.