Check out the 12 clear super-size pictures to help describe this nice kit! Up for sale is my personal drum set. I’m finally letting it go! Short description: It’s a 1959 Transition Badge Era Ludwig outfit. 3 piece Super Classic model with matching Super Classic/Buddy Rich snare drum. 980 PC in beautiful un-faded sparkling blue pearl finish. C for chrome plated, and all 6 rims are chrome over brass! Wonderful gleaming chrome plating everywhere! Clearly in super clean excellent++ condition, which makes this kit collector grade as well. PLUS they sound absolutely awesome! Beautiful bearing edges, this was the era when Ludwig’s journeymen craftsman were building quality drums! The catalog reads: “sturdy laminated shell blends genuine African Mahogany with select Maple panels and is reinforced with rock-maple glue rings to provide the strongest shells possible”! The blue sparkle has a lot of reflections in the pictures but I assure you it’s beautiful! 14″x22″ Bass Drum: Date stamped Nov 23 1959 inside, and it still has the white chalk 22 inside. Nice early “Clipper” shell mount tom tom holder (Rail Consolutte). Perfect L-arm shell mount cymbal holder on the right side. Wonderful chrome plating everywhere. Pic #3 shows how healthy the wood is on the shell, gorgeous insides! Both heads are the original calf heads with the Ludwig Whitecalf logo’s on them. The front head has the original black “Ludwig” logo on top too. There is a 3 3/4 round port hole cut into the lower front head. Both calf heads are really healthy still with strong edges and no weak areas. You’d think that maybe the bass drum wouldn’t sound nice with these heads but it really does. Note: both bass drum hoops have paint loss in areas but I choose to leave them un-touched original. Plus they are not painted black, Ludwig actually used a blue paint on them to match the blue sparkle, cool! Perfect never broken or loose 1/2 blue sparkle inlay strips too. Note: I realized later that I put the 2 shell mount folding spurs/legs on backwards in the pictures, sorry. I changed them back. 16″x16″ Floor Tom Drum: Date stamped Dec. 10 1959 inside, and it still has the white chalk 16 inside. Chrome over brass rims look almost brand new, but they aren’t. They are 62 years old! 3 ply shell with reinforcing rings. Heads rotate smoothly on both sides. Early triangle shaped muffler knob. The 3 push button “Clipper” floor tom legs and mounts work perfectly and have their black rubber feet on. They also have the W. Logo on them transition era, right! The chrome plating is a little worn on one of the legs, but not bad. Both heads are new Remo WeatherKing Emperor smooth white heads. This drum tunes up excellent, nice and deep if you want it too. Note: the top 8 tension rods match each other and the bottom 8 match each other but have a slightly longer shoulder on them. I have no reason to believe they are not original to the drum. 9″x13″ Upper Tom Drum: Date stamped Nov. 23 1959 inside and it still has the white chalk 13 inside. Eads rotate smoothly on both sides. Diamond plate clip style tom mount. Mount does have a scratch on it. Note: The 12 tension rods match exactly in length and their head/tops but 7 have 1 1/4″ long threads and 5 have 1 1/16″ long threads. I have no reason to believe that they are not original to the drum. The inside looks a little weird but is actually 100% original factory un-touched. I’d say out of the 4 drums this one is the least prettiest inside. New Remo WeatherKing Emperor smooth white heads on both sides. Man does this tom tune up easily and sound excellent! 5 1/2″x14″ Snare Drum: When I bought this 3 piece kit 25+ years ago it didn’t have this snare drum. To my luck a couple months later this exact matching snare drum showed up on CL. It’s the Super Classic model, catalog No. 900P, also known as the Buddy Rich model. Same un-faded blue sparkle and same badge. No date stamp inside but the transition badge and color match exactly. Classic throw-off in perfect condition with the correct original unique handle on the top. Both the butt plate and throw-off face have the W. On them still transition era, right! Beautiful snare beds, and gorgeous insides. Small 5/8″ reinforcing rings vs later big 1″ re-rings. I currently have the 12 strand Ludwig snare wires on the drum with the early Ludwig script logo on both of the metal ends, but will include the actual original 18 strand plastic end wires that came with the drum. They have the unique shaped ends. Ask for a picture and I’ll send you a bottom side view with the extra wires next to it. The bottom head is a Remo WeatherKing Diplomat clear snare head in excellent condition and the top head is a Remo WeatherKing Vintage A Batter in good condition. This snare drum sounds perfect! The chrome over brass rims have plenty of use marks and scratches on them compared to the 3 piece kit. Bottom rim has the lowered gates too. Note: Pic #4 shows I saved both 13 calf heads with the Ludwig Whitecalf logo’s but one is broken. The 16 floor tom had one broken calf head so I saved that too. The bottom calf head on the snare drum was broken but I saved the flesh hoop to it. All of these will be included with the sale. All of the bass drum T’s and all of the drums tension rods have their brass washers on them still. Check those others auctions out! All ending 1/2 hour apart from each other. If needed I have more pictures both inside and out, just ask. Please write with any questions as I will return all emails. Fully insured with signature required. General Terms and Conditions. EBays new managed payments method. Residents of Washington State. Policy: VF’s policy, your complete satisfaction!! …….. Thanks for looking & come again soon! The item “Vintage 1959 Ludwig Transition Badge Super Classic Drumset COB +Buddy Rich Snare” is in sale since Sunday, March 14, 2021. This item is in the category “Musical Instruments & Gear\Percussion\Drums\Sets & Kits”. The seller is “vintage-flip” and is located in Seattle, Washington. This item can be shipped to United States.
- Model: No. 980 PC
- Product Line: Super Classic
- Material: Blue Sparkle
- Type: Acoustic Drum Kits
- MPN: Does Not Apply
- Hardware Material: Chrome over Brass
- Brand: Ludwig
- Shell Material: Mahogany & Maple
- Skill Level: Professional
- Items Included: Snare Drum
Tags: badge, buddy, classic, drumset, ludwig, rich, snare, super, transition, vintage