My Ludwig guide was written in 2013. I have learned much since its initial publication. I have recorded twelve Standard drums with badges without serial numbers. Of these, seven have date stamps, ranging from December 1970 through May 1971 [12/2/70, 2/25/71, 5/11/71, 5/13/71, 5/14/71, 5/25/71 and 5/26/71]. Two of the date stamps are stamped on the shells and five are stamped on paper labels (all the May 1971 drums). So far, I have no reports of badges without serial numbers on Standard drums which had paper labels with Date Codes.

At this point, I can only go as far as saying that there were Standard drums with badges without serial numbers. I do not feel that there are enough reports of badges without serial numbers to be able to draw any meaningful conclusions about the complete date range when these badges were used. With time and enough more reports, we may be able to discern some patterns.

Thanks for the quick reply!Didn't expect to hear from "the man who wrote the book"though.I can't quite read the date STAMPED inside the drum.Looks like Feb,4 smudge,smudge,smudge,smudge.Looks like it may be 70-71,but doesn't really matter much,I guess.Thanks for the help and I still love your Ludwig Publication!JimClapping Happy2

Jim,

I am glad you like the guide. I continue to gather information about Gretsch, Ludwig and Ludwig Standard drums. I post revisions and updates on my website. I do not know when I will have enough new information to justify a new edition of the Ludwig guide. Although the number of reports of drums grows, the basic conclusions remain the same. There are refinements I would like to make as I have delved deeper into some of the smaller nuances of these instruments. Standards with blank badges would be one of those.

Rick