Many players seeking the vintage Ludwig sound find Standards to be affordable alternatives to the more expensive main line of Ludwig drums. Although Standards were marketed as second line drums, the wood shells were the same as used on the main line of drums. Different wraps, hardware and interior finishes were utilized to distinguish them from the regular Ludwigs.It is broken down into five parts: Part I - Current Guides, Part II - New Dating Guides for 1963-1984, Part III - Tracking Changes in Physical Characteristics, Part IV - Dating Guide for Ludwig Standards 1968-1973, and Part V - Date Codes from 197172 Era.
Now available from the publisher at Rebeats.com, on eBay from Seller georgeway (Rebeats), or by emailing the author at RickGretschDrumDatingGuide.com. Many Ludwig drums, including main line (Keystone and BlueOlive Badges) and Standards, have dates stamped inside their shells or on paper labels. Ludwig Supraphonic Lm400 Snare Drum Serial Number AndIn the 1999-2005 time frame, several guides were published which report known serial number and date stamp combinations andor show the general relationship between serial number and date. These addressed the Keystone badge drums of the 1960s and ventured only slightly into the BlueOlive badges which replaced them in 1969. Most knowledgeable of Ludwig drums agree that someone armed with only a serial number cannot reliably pinpoint a date of manufacture of a Ludwig drum. Nonetheless, many people see the existing dating guides as if chiseled in stone. It appears that many people do not understand, or perhaps do not wish to understand, the limitations of these tools. Instead, they state with false authority, precision and accuracy that a particular drum was produced at a particular time because the date guides say so. This phenomenon is seen frequently in online listings and in the opinions of some vintage drum experts, who are often misapplying the same limited tools that are publicly available. It could just be inexact language which present estimates and approximations as if they are highly precise or an attempt to pump up the seller and make it appear that they are more of an expert than they really are in order to obtain a higher price for their drums. The inherent limitations of the existing dating guides and their frequent misuse by some in the vintage drum community inspires a fresh look into how to best date and authenticate Ludwig drums. In January 2012, three projects were started - the first to improve upon the guides available for main line Ludwig drums from 1963-1972 and to produce a new guide for years 1972-1984; the second to create a guide for Ludwig Standards from the 1968-1973 era; and the third to decipher the meaning of the Date Codes which appeared in both main line and Standard drums in the 1971-72 time frame. The goal is to provide better tools to the vintage drum enthusiast interested in evaluating the age and authenticity of their drums. Opinion, speculation and opportunistic misinterpretation of the existing resources should be replaced with solid factual information collected from large numbers of vintage drums. The same approach used to confront the legend, lore and lies of vintage Gretsch drums is applied to vintage Ludwig drums. Ludwig Supraphonic Lm400 Snare Drum Serial Numbers And 120Fifty-eight have date stamps but badges without serial numbers and 120 additional drums have serial numbers and Date Codes. The database includes drums from the beginning of Ludwigs use of serial numbers on Keystone badges in late 1963 and continues through the BlueOlive Badges to the large Keystone badges which began in around 1984. ![]() Of particular note, vintage drum enthusiasts Mike Layton, Steve Black and Mike Machat contributed lists of serial numbersdate stamps that they had compiled to this project. Part I of the paper reviews the previously published information designed to aid in date estimation. The construction of each is analyzed and strengths and limitations are identified. Part II presents two newly developed Dating Guides for main line drums: the first covers 1963-1972 when date stamps were actively used and the second covers 1972-1984 after date stamps are discontinued. Part III suggests approximate dates and serial number ranges for several changes in physical characteristics, including milestones like: 1. A total of eight different badge styles (two small Keystone, four BlueOlive parallelogram and two large Keystone) are documented. Part III culminates in a detailed summary table that lists the serial number and date ranges when changes in physical characteristics occur. This table should provide a starting point for the authentication of vintage Ludwig drums made from 1963-1984. Always mindful that exceptions occur, this table should be just one of the tools that one uses. Many players seeking the vintage Ludwig sound find Standards to be affordable alternatives to the more expensive main line of Ludwig drums. Although Standards were marketed as second line drums, the wood shells were the same as used on the main line of drums. Different wraps, hardware and interior finishes were utilized to distinguish them from the regular Ludwigs.
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