Welcome to the forum !

Don't know Ludwigs but hope folks that do chime in shortly.

Creighton

Ask questions here is the best way to start.

How many drums?

What sizes?

Any particular color or finis?

Do you want a matching snare drum, or any snare drum with the set?

Do you want mint condition?

People here are glad to give you advice.

I have a couple Ludwig sets for sale from late 60's in your price range. I'm sure a few other folks here do too.

The "bad years" you are hearing about is the story from England about getting out-of-round bass drums from Ludwig in the mid 1960's. Ludwig was selling so many drum sets, supposedly bad stuff was getting sent out. Personally, I've not yet found one of these out-of-round drums I've heard about......

Stuff to watch out for: Extra holes in any drums, parts replaced with non Ludwig hardware, cracked, split, or missing drum wrap. Orphan drums assembled into a drum set and sold as an original set ( not always bad!).

Thanks for the replies! Sorry about the first posts grammar, I was in a huge hurry. So basically I need at least one rack tom, a floor tom, and kick drum. Snare isn't necessary but I am very interested in one if it comes with the kit, it doesnt have to match. Color and finish is unimportant, as long as it isn't offensively ugly. Mint condition isn't necessary either because it will primarily be for recording and the appearance isnt priority.

So is there any difference in the construction of a late 60s ludwig and early 70s ?

Oh I forgot to mention I'd also be interested in the same configuration of Gretschs from same period. Sizes for either brand; kick size no bigger than 22 so 18-22, tom at least 10-12 inches up to 13, floor tom 14-16, snare size is irrelevant, any size is good. Basically typical sizes.

Late 60's and early 70's shells are usually the same.

Inner ply of maple, middle ply of poplar, outer ply is usually mahogany if the shell has covering on it. Maple is used for outer ply also. The sound differences are not much, if any.

You could assemble a kit from individual drums, or buy a born together set. First option is usually cheaper.

Try a want ad on this site, or drumforum.org has lots of stuff for sale too.

Ebay and other sites have singles, and sets too.

If you have questions, post them here with links and folks will usually chime in with their opinions.

If buying online ask for as many pictures from as many angles as possible. Ask for pictures of the inside of drums. Ask for pictures of bearing edges. If you have lots of pictures, you can post them here and ask around if you're getting a good deal. If buying in person, observe all of these things. Best of luck!

And welcome to this place! It's the best.

-Doug

Bun has covered this very well for you. I would only add that if you're looking for the late 60's, early 70's Ludwig 3 ply sound you could also consider Ludwig Standards which used the same shells and generally sell for a bit less than the Classic line drums. The only real major difference was different lugs, lighter mounting hardware, and some unique wrap options. Similarly, Ludwig Club Dates are the same shells but with center lugs as opposed to individual lugs (some think this gives them a more open sound with less mass bolted to the shell). So, while both of these lines were sold as a lower cost option, the sound they produce is the same as the top of the line drums from the same time frame.

Most of the major companies only made one type of drum shell during this era so all the drums from a particular maker were the same regardless of what outfit they may have come with. There were not a lot of options as far as shell layups or whatever like there are today.

If there were Ludwigs to avoid they'd be the riveted wrap ones...in my opinion. And not for mechanical or sound reasons, just those ugly rivets tending to tear out.

BEC, if you could link me to your sets for sale that would be great! I am still eagerly looking for the perfect kit to match my taste and needs. Mainly still interested in Ludwigs, possibly jazz/bop sizes. I NEED that 3ply Ludwig sound in my studio. It's like sex to my ears haha. I'll post here again if I find a kit that looks promising on ebay or somewhere. Thanks again for all the great input everyone.