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Ludwig & Ludwig "detroiter" Kit

Posts: 3165 Threads: 969

I've been doing a little inventory of my vintage kits and "orphans" to determine which, if any, I'd be willing to part with in the near future due to space constraints.

I've got a Ludwig & Ludwig "Detroiter" kit in WMP and am trying to obtain some additional information on it. I honestly haven't seen many of these other than this particular one and am wondering how rare this L&L model might be.

My kit consists of a 14x24 bass drum, 9x13 rack tom and 6.5x14 snare drum. The kit came with a matching 16x14 Leedy floor tom.

The shells of all three L&L drums are stamped "4904". The bass drum's got its original Ludwig Whitecalf heads on both sides, while the snare drum has its original Ludwig Whitecalf head on its batter side and an AMRAWCO (American Rawhide Company) head on the snare side. The rack tom's got a calfskin head on its batter side. The tacked-down bottom head is missing but the prior owner gave me a piece of calfskin large enough to install it on the bottom side of the tom.

There are no extra extra holes in any of the shells and no modifications have been made to any of the drums. Both the bass drum and the rack tom have the L&L ELkhart, Indiana badge installed on the shells, while the snare drum has L&L Elkhart, Indiana engraved in the batter side rim.

All pieces, including the Leedy floor tom, seemed to have aged ("mellowed", never "yellowed") quite evenly so I would think that the Leedy floor tom was used as an integral part of the kit at a very early stage.

If anyone's got any information regarding this kit I'd love to hear it. I'm also trying to establish what might be considered a fair market value for the kit. If I do decide to sell this one, I'd prefer to do so locally or through one of the forums I belong to in lieu of e-Bay. I'd also prefer local pick-up since I honestly don't have any interest in packing a kit of this size.

THANKS in advance for your time and your help!

Posted on 14 years ago
#1
Posts: 802 Threads: 149

Nice Set! It screams 1940!~

One thing I sort of dont understand: The bass drum doesnt have the same tube lugs as the snare and mounted tom. Shouldnt it match if it was the original bass that came with the set?

Posted on 14 years ago
#2
Posts: 3165 Threads: 969

From Retrosonic

Nice Set! It screams 1940!~One thing I sort of dont understand: The bass drum doesnt have the same tube lugs as the snare and mounted tom. Shouldnt it match if it was the original bass that came with the set?

You would think so. However, all the pics I've seen of "The Detroiter Kit" in the L&L catalogs has the exact configuration as what I've got on my bass drum.

Posted on 14 years ago
#3
Posts: 4715 Threads: 299

I like it! I also have a boxful of those exact bass Ts, if you need them, in EXC condition.

"Ignorance may be overcome through education. Stupidity, however, is a lifelong endeavor." So, educate me, I don't likes bein' ignant...
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Posted on 14 years ago
#4
Posts: 4009 Threads: 209

Very nice Oldschool! Cool1 Not too often you see the white L&L Elkhart badges AND tube lugs! Next to last year for being known as Ludwig & Ludwig as well....by 1951 they would have been badged Leedy & Ludwig.....itself a rarity. Once again.....Cool1

Posted on 14 years ago
#5
Posts: 802 Threads: 149

Ah....I see. Really pretty set, Old School...Congrats!

Posted on 14 years ago
#6
Posts: 3165 Threads: 969

I'm considering throwing it on the local Craigslist to see what type of response I'd get. First, I'd have to come up with a reasonable asking price. As I mentioned earlier, I don't want to be bothered with packaging and shipping efforts.

Posted on 14 years ago
#7
Posts: 3165 Threads: 969

From vintagemore2000

oldschool, here's what I've got on it , the Detroiter was in production from 1948-1950 kit consisted of 6.5x14 universal snare drum,9x13,14x26. in 1950 a 14x14 was added. if this kit was sold without a tom it was called the play-boy, from the ludwig book by Rob Cook.

THANKS SO MUCH for your input! I appreciate it.

I've continued to research this one myself since my initial post.

Based on the information provided in the "Vintage Drum Guide" of the VDF, in 1948 the "Detroiter Kit" (No. 1192) included a 14x26 bass drum while the 1950 "Detroiter Kit" came with a 14x24 bass drum. Neither version came with a floor tom.

The "Play-Boy" kit (No. 1193) was identical to the "Detroiter Kit" in both years but did not include the rack tom. The buyer had the option of adding one to the kit.

Posted on 14 years ago
#8
Posts: 200 Threads: 68

They named an outfit after our city? Awesome!

Posted on 14 years ago
#9
Posts: 3165 Threads: 969

From Bharrington

They named an outfit after our city? Awesome!

Ah........Back in the glory days in the "D"!Cool1

Posted on 14 years ago
#10
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