Late 60's Ludwig “Super Beat” in Blue Oyster Pearl 20x14", 13x9", 16x16"

3-ply with reinforcing rings.

Serial numbers: 13” - 370236 // 16” - 369866 // 20” - 551084.

Freshly stripped, cleaned and polished. Fitted with brand new Remo heads including Remo Vintage Ambassador and Coated Ambassador on toms, with Clear Powerstroke 3 and Fiberskyn Ambassador on the kick. Kick also has Ludwig and Joe Cox Drums decal for finishing touch.

The serial numbers on the keystone badges date the 13” and 16” to 1966, and the 20” to 1968. There is no way of knowing whether this kit was born together, and if so, why the serial numbers differ so much. Perhaps the tom badges were stuck in the bottom of a jar and the kit was assembled together in 1968. We will never know. All I can say is, the wraps are all original and match pretty darn well for a kit from the 60’s!

All through the 60’s the two main kits that Ludwig offered were the Super Classic (22”, 13”, 16”) and the Downbeat (20”, 12”, 14”). However, over the years there have been many Super Classic sets crop up with 20” kicks which was in fact offered in the small print of the catalogs. Over the years, Ludwig connoisseurs have dubbed these kits as the “Super Beat”s. A rare breed, some might say!

The Blue Oyster Pearl wrap is all original and matches very nicely. The chrome work shows aging in places but isn’t too bad. This kit has been gigged and that’s how it should be.

Each of the toms came out of the factory with internal mufflers on top and bottom. Over time two of these have been misplaced so the bottoms of the toms currently have two holes where these are missing. If you source the era correct muffler you could soon easily fit these.

I believe the toms could have spent a bit of time as concert toms as many of the tension rods don’t match, and the hoops aren’t all original, but obviously they do the job they are meant to.

All edges are great and all drums have their original white coating, apart from the bass drum which looks to have been repainted and had foam stuck down to the shell. The foam has been removed.

The rail mount on the bass drum is not complete. It only has the rail part and none of the mount. This came to me incomplete and due to their expense, clunky nature and insecurities, I have chosen to leave it this way. 90% of Ludwig users tend to use a snare stand anyway.

The bass drum hoops have been sanded back and resprayed in black gloss. On the batter side, where the pedal sits, there has been a bit of wear / modification so the pedal sits comfortably on the hoop.

The previous owner had modern repro mounts on the bass drum and tom for the mounts and spur brackets. These he said were more secure and took the mounting holes of the original holes. I am happy to include these 3x mounts and thicker spurs if you are worried about movement. At some point, there has been 70’s Premier slide in spurs fitted, however, these are safely underneath the mounts and are not visible from the exterior of the drum.

In summary, a beautifully 60’s kit which does exactly what it should, but does have an interesting tale to tell but to the right person is completely irrelevant.

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