Not So Modern Drummer

Now to the collecting side of all of this: One thing about Ludwig’s stainless steel drums… they were tough to make and really hard if not impossible to fake. The reissue sets are different enough that they can easily be distinguished between them and the originals. They sound great and sell well but are not cheaply made as reissues. There are a few things to be careful about in collecting the originals. Extra holes are next to impossible to have covered over. I have been told by welding experts that trying to weld the holes over and buff the drum out is just about impossible except for the most skilled craftsman. The problems come with the heat of the welding that can cause the metal to bend and buckle. The stainless steel is just too thin. So, if the drum is full of extra holes, you’ll have to live with it or pass on the deal. There are far more concert toms out there than double headed ones. As a result, the concert toms are being converted to double headed toms. This requires the drilling of the lug holes and placing a head on the bottom. The bearing edges are the same on the bottom of the concert toms as they are on the top so they lend themselves to being made into double headed toms. If a drum has been altered from the factory it will not have the value of an unaltered one, but the bearing edge is the same so it will sound the same.

If you’re new to collecting Ludwig stainless steel, here are some
helpful tips. The small classic lugs are incorrect for the dou-
ble headed tom. The Ludwig large classic lugs were used on
the double headed toms. Now I suppose Ludwig might have
punched a few shells out to make the smaller concert toms
double headed but I doubt it. The line was not too popular at
the time and the cost was just not worth the effort. However,
I have learned that Ludwig was a company that would make
exceptions so I will not say never, but very unlikely. When you
buy a bass drum, make sure the stiffener device is present in
the top of the bass drum. If it is not, you risk the weight of the
mounted toms bending the shell. Finding an orphan stiffener
plate is almost impossible. The last one and only one I have
not been covered over with the classic tom mounting bracket.
That is a sure sign of a converted concert tom.

The “John Bonham” sizes refer to the larger sizes. For the record, his stainless steel set sizes are bass 14 x 26, 12x 15 tom 16 x 16 and 16 x 18 floor toms. These large sizes tend to bring the higher prices. The really small ones are getting up there too. The 6 and 8 inch concert toms are hard to find and they are the tough ones when you are trying to put together an oc-taplus set. The mounting hardware is getting harder to find as well. The concert tom stands are scarce as they are the only stands made to fit the concert toms.

So to my young drumming friend who entrusted the keeping of his first drum set, I have kept my word. Not only does your set have many years of life left, so too do the stainless steel drums of today. They may have been before their time once but their time is certainly now and in the future.