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Should ‘66/’67 Luddies have date stamps in them?

Posts: 297 Threads: 79

Hi All,

I have a question regarding the Ludwig Superclassic kit I bought a few years back. I don’t know why but for some reason I am just now starting to question the originality of the paint on the inside of the shells. As they are today none of the three drums (bass, mounted tom, floor tom) have any date stamps visible. The serial numbers date the kit to late ’66/early ’67. I am thinking they may have been repainted at some point. The white has a ever-so-slightly different shade of color than my Clubdates that have original paint and date stamps (October. ’67). Maybe one kit aged differently than the other or one was exposed to different elements over time. So I guess my main question is: should my Superclassics have date stamps? Was it Ludwig common practice at that time to date stamp all shells? I don’t think it’s as simple as they were wiped off from cleaning.

Attached is the closest picture I have of the inside of the shell on the bass drum. The paint looks pretty darn nice for being 40+ years old.

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Posted on 13 years ago
#1
Posts: 5176 Threads: 188

Yes, they should be stamped. If the interiors look perfect, but there's no stamps, then it throws up red flags about repainting, to me. And, during that era, people started taking the bottom heads off....interiors got scratched up...etc.

I can't tell from that one picture, but it wouldn't be uncommon for someone to have repainted the interiors. I'd have to see more detailed pictures in order to make a determination.

"God is dead." -Nietzsche

"Nietzsche is dead." -God
Posted on 13 years ago
#2
Posts: 1118 Threads: 30

Date stamps come right off if you want to wipe/clean the interior of the drum with a damp cloth. The lack of a date stamp doesn't necessarily mean "red flags", unless cleaning the drum set at all is a red flag. Insides of drums get dusty, too...

1970 Ludwig Downbeat
1965 Ludwig Hollywood
1970 Ludwig Jazzette
Posted on 13 years ago
#3
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