1969 Jazzette

[O-Lugs]

Here is the 1969 Jazzette that someone's (brett013's) wife found at a yard sale for THIRTY dollars. I offered him a bit more for them and now everyone is happy!Burger Kin

The condition of the drums is excellent and they sound great. It took me nearly a week to get them clean, but the grime seemed to have preserved them!flowers2

So, this is the second red sparkle Jazzette kit I own now. I have twins! The other one is a '67 (pictures on this forum somewhere) and has the white painted interiors and BB mufflers. This 1969 version has the clear maple interiors which have mellowed into that beautiful honey-gold color and the rotary style mufflers. Another difference between the '67 and the '69 is that the wrap is no longer tucked into the scarf joint on the '69. As soon as the Diplomat heads I ordered get here, I will trade them out and do an "A/B" comparison between the two kits to try and detect any sonic differences.

More photos will follow. In the meantime, please enjoy these!Burger Kin http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u89/O-Lugs/1969Jazzettefrontright.jpg

[O-Lugs]

Here is another view:

http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u89/O-Lugs/1969Jazzettefrontleft.jpg

[O-Lugs]

and another...

http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u89/O-Lugs/1969Jazzetterearabove.jpg

[O-Lugs]

and a close-up of the snare drum:

http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u89/O-Lugs/1969Jazzetterear.jpg

[O-Lugs]

BTW...The kit came with the SpeedKing, The SpurLok "Big Beat" hi-hat pedal, the flat base snare stand and also the flat base cymbal stand! The SpeedKing was completely "frozen" with dessicated grease. I literally took everything apart, extreme-cleaned and then re-built every piece. Every single spring, screw thread and washer was detailed!
The only problem was that one of the bass drum hoops was cracked and it needed to be re-glued and clamped...which I did. Other than that, cleaning and lubricating was all that was needed.

oh, yeah...the P-83 was bent and I had to completely dis-assemble it and put it in a vice and ever-so-carefully bend it back into shape. It works great, now...with just a slight wobble in the tension screw...but I didn't want to be torquing on it too much because the dang things to replace sell for nearly $100.00 on Ebay now!

some rust...some scratches...a few chrome flakes and a little missing paint from the SpeedKing...bass drum hoops display the all-too-typical chew marks from the pedal's clamp...but completely original and definitely a factory-issued set according to date stamps and badge numbers all in the 67.... series. I'm also positive the pedals and stands were sold together as well. The only way it would be "more" complete is if I had the second cymbal stand and a red sparkle cannister throne!

OOOoh, yeah...one other interesting note:

When I went to put them back together and tune them up, I noticed that the lug screws were bottoming out against the lug inserts of the 8 X 12 tom tom!...in other words, I couldn't screw them in any further because the collars on the lug screws would meet the lug insert before the head could achieve enough tension...and yet, those MUST have been the original lug screws that were sold with the drum because everything else was completely original (I suspect it was one of Ludwig's flubs) I couldn't figure out a solution until I compared the lug screws on my early 70's Supra...which had shorter collars. So, I replaced the original lug screws with the shorter-collared lug screws and now everything works as intended. phew!

[the_drum_dad]

Yes, the yard sale set...I remember....the tears are still not dry. Beautiful resto. Gorgeous pics. A set to be proud of.

[mlvibes]

Absolutely, positively, drop dead gorgeous. Very, very nice work. I can almost hear them...can't wait to hear the comparison!

[brett013]

They look beautiful. Good job Lugs!:)

[O-Lugs]

Thanks, fellows! -especially brett013 (and his wife!) and also to this wonderful forum (David)!

It was a labor of love to put this kit back into proper shape, but it now lives again! :)

Someone asked me if that was it now -if I was done buying drum kits. I said that I was....unless another Jazzette was to come along!

[wflkurt]

Very nice set indeed. I just picked up my first jazzette this past weekend. It is an early 70's silver sparkle 18,12,14 and I got it with a 1966 jazzfest. The 70's drums have the granite paint interior and the set is in pretty decent shape. I just reheaded mine and am looking foward to playing them now. I probobly should do as you did and totally clean mine but I think I may just play them for now. I will post pics soon.
-Kurt

[O-Lugs]

OOOOooooohh! SILVER sparkle! I can't wait to see that one, man!

Wow! So, that means:

mlvibes has the blue sparkle Jazzette
b.d. bop's got the black cortex B/O badge kit

I've got the two red sparkles

wflkurt has a silver sparkle

I know there is a Japanese website with a picture of a champagne sparkle Jazzette......but, on second inspection, I find this "Jazzette to be a bit peculiar -suspect, if you will. Take a look:

http://www.geocities.co.jp/Technopolis-Mars/2182/museum/vintage/ludwig.htm#top


*I have heard tell (a looong time ago at another forum) there was someone who owned a green sparkle B/O badge Jazzette -but I never saw it...it was just a legend!

*Another "legendary" one that I heard about was a walnut grain cortex B/O Jazzette -never saw it, though.

I would love to see a gold sparkle Jazzette or an old-style oyster blue pearl (not the bowling ball variety...although, that would be cool, too!)


Now...let's talk about HOW the Jazzette kit came about. I was told that Roy Haynes wanted Ludwig to build him a special smaller-sized bass drum than what was standard with other contemporary company's "bebop" kits (14 X 18). So, Ludwig obliged him by shortening the depth of the bass drum by another 2 inches. This, supposedly was touted as being easier to throw into the back of a NYC cab back in the days when drummers would "club hop" with their kits.

That story might be just a myth, but I'll go with it for now because I know Roy was an endorser for many years and he just seems like the kind of guy who would want something to be a little more unique!

I know there must be several more Jazzettes out there. I would love to see the production numbers that show just exactly how many Jazzette kits were made and with what finishes.

So, should we Jazzette owners come up with a secret handshake or something now? ;) HA!

[mlvibes]

So many jazzettes, so little time! I think that champagne "jazzette" kit is actually a Gold Coast cocktail outfit with toms added. I've been trying to do the same thing with my Burgundy Sparkle drums, but have almost given up on finding a 14x14. I've heard Burgundy Sparkle is going to be reissued by Delmar pretty soon, so we'll have to see if it matches.

I have seen a couple more on the internet...I seem to remember a Vistalite jazzette kit, but I couldn't tell if the bass drum was real or not. Also, I don't want to name anyone because I never know who gets along with who, but a member at cymbalholics has a gorgeous B/O blue sparkle jazzette kit. I'm sure you guys have seen.

Olugs - I had the same tension rod issue on my '68 Burgundy Sparkle 8x12. Very strange. Oddly, when I put a NOS Ludwig head on it that wasn't stretched, the "wrong" rods still worked, but a stretched head or new remo head made the rods bottom out.

[O-Lugs]

Oh, yeah...I DO remember a red/white & blue Vistalite Jazzette. I don't go to Cymbalholics.com and I haven't seen the blue sparkle B/O kit, but it sounds like a nice one.

Yes, the champagne sparkle kit appears to have been a conversion. The wrap doesn't look "right" to me -it looks "new"...the hoops are wrong...the badge(?) is at the wrong end of the drum and I can't see any holes from where the railmount should have been -at least from those two pictures. My guess is that it's been heavily "worked".

RE: lug screws...Yeah, it was very strange. I actually never even noted that Ludwig made so many different lengths of lug screws. Since I always use Remo heads (or old Ludwig heads) the solution for me wasn't to change the heads... However, I do know that, in addition to the variable length of the threading/collars on the lug screws, Ludwig also made some shorter inserts -like the kind found on a Downbeat snare drum, for example. Luckily, as stated, I was able to switch out the longer collared lug screws for some shorter ones...but changing the inserts would have worked, too.

[wflkurt]

Hey guys, I am honored and glad to be a part of the jazzette club. I will try and take good pics of my set and post them soon. Until then here is the link from drumforum.org with some pics of my set before and after I reheaded them. I also know a guy in the Boston area that has a jazzette in the walnut finish. His set seems like it has a crack in the wood on his bass drum, but it does not seem to affect much.

My friend Mark had the set I picked up and when I saw it I could'nt believe he had it. I am glad he sold it to me. It is a wonderful set of drums and I plan on doing all my jazz gigs with it. The silver sparkle is very nice as well. I remember seeing that C. Willoughby had a jazzette set that was vistalite red/clear/blue. I think I remember seeing a blue sparkle set once at the Boston drum show like 10 years ago. That's all I know of.

http://drumforum.org/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=21060

[O-Lugs]

Wow! Those look gorgeous! Nice score! So, with the early 70's version of the pointy B/O badge they should have the 3-ply shells with re-rings and clear maple interiors then...correct?

[wflkurt]

They do have the 3-ply shells, but the interior is the granitine paint. The serial numbers are all around 1192950. I think that is around the 1974 ballpark. I really dig the set though.

[O-Lugs]

I think it was Tommy Wells who said he once owned a green sparkle Jazzette and then sold it.

Yes, the Vistalite Jazzette was a red/white/clear (not white -as I had stated earlier) and Cherie would likely be the source of the pictures I saw. The walnut cortex one you describe may have been the other one I heard about, too.

I just find it interesting that, in all of drumforumdom, only a small handful of these kits have turned up...even fewer pictures...and not even that many "legendary" stories about someone who knows someone who KNEW someone who USED to have one! heh heh

[O-Lugs]

They do have the 3-ply shells, but the interior is the granitine paint. The serial numbers are all around 1192950. I think that is around the 1974 ballpark. I really dig the set though.

Interesting! Would you be so kind as to post pictures of the interiors when you get a chance?Burger Kin

[wflkurt]

I will try to post them when I get a chance. I looked them over pretty good when I changed the heads. There are no paper tags or date stamps anywhere. I once had a standard shell that had the granite paint inside and a clear date stamp of 1976 in there. I have never seen a date stamp in a shell that late and the shell was still a 3-ply. Very odd.