In my gearLudwig Drums 1967 Purple Sparkle
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Ludwig Drums 1967 Purple Sparkle : DubiousDubs's user review
"Vintage bright tone, but will leave you with an empty wallet"
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Product bought used in May 2002, for 2200$ VAT incl
Overall Opinion
I’m reviewing here a 1967 “pearlfinish” Ludwig Hollywood drum set. This includes the following: 5”x14” Metal Snare, 14”x22” Bass Drum, 8” x 12” Tom, 9” x 13” Tom, 16” x 16” floor tom, assorted Ludwig stands, tom holders, and basic drum kit hardware. For heads, I use Evans G1 coated heads on this set, because I had difficulty acquiring the Remo Ambassadors in the sizes I needed. I actually prefer the Evans heads now over any other.
Playing this set today feels like a blast from the past. The kit itself sounds absolutely fantastic given its age. The kick drum bites back with a deep, yet triumphant yelp at every kick, something reminiscent of Ringo Starr on the White Album mixed with the bright bark not common in today’s deep low DW sounding kicks. The small tom is bright and can be tuned very easily and for some unknown reason offers a natural sustain I’ve never experienced with any other tom. The middle tom has a similar sound, and if I was the original designer, I would have preferred something a little bigger, say a 10” or 11” to perfect the missing range of sound offered from this set. This brings me to the only problem with this kit: midrange drum tones. In the 60’s and 70’s this was not an issue, but today, most kits cover this range well. There’s a gap, a hole in this set. And it remains in the fact that the tom selection jumps from 9” to 16” between the second tom and floor tom. To counteract this, I loosen the second bigger tom to give it a more even range when rolling around the set. But inevitably, those seeking this set will identify it for this exact flaw, a perception of course, and most will identify this as a plus, especially those seeking that classic raw 1960’s sound.
I’m surprised by how modern the hardware seems given its age at almost 45 years. The tom hardware connections meet up into one stem hole in the kick drum. This is a double-edge sword, as any drummer knows because with the added weight of two or more toms, the stress on the single hole can lead to future splitting and separation on the bass drum with age. This is not the case with this set, and I suspect it is a result of good sound American engineering. I always look at this first when selecting a kit, because the number of holes drilled into the wood affect the bass drum sound indefinitely.
All accounted for, this Hollywood set is something to be cherished yet is meant to stand up to 40+ years of play and abuse and still manage to put out the tones and range of that of any modern day drum set. For those seeking a vintage approach, there is nothing better then the real thing, the 1967 Ludwig Hollywood.
Playing this set today feels like a blast from the past. The kit itself sounds absolutely fantastic given its age. The kick drum bites back with a deep, yet triumphant yelp at every kick, something reminiscent of Ringo Starr on the White Album mixed with the bright bark not common in today’s deep low DW sounding kicks. The small tom is bright and can be tuned very easily and for some unknown reason offers a natural sustain I’ve never experienced with any other tom. The middle tom has a similar sound, and if I was the original designer, I would have preferred something a little bigger, say a 10” or 11” to perfect the missing range of sound offered from this set. This brings me to the only problem with this kit: midrange drum tones. In the 60’s and 70’s this was not an issue, but today, most kits cover this range well. There’s a gap, a hole in this set. And it remains in the fact that the tom selection jumps from 9” to 16” between the second tom and floor tom. To counteract this, I loosen the second bigger tom to give it a more even range when rolling around the set. But inevitably, those seeking this set will identify it for this exact flaw, a perception of course, and most will identify this as a plus, especially those seeking that classic raw 1960’s sound.
I’m surprised by how modern the hardware seems given its age at almost 45 years. The tom hardware connections meet up into one stem hole in the kick drum. This is a double-edge sword, as any drummer knows because with the added weight of two or more toms, the stress on the single hole can lead to future splitting and separation on the bass drum with age. This is not the case with this set, and I suspect it is a result of good sound American engineering. I always look at this first when selecting a kit, because the number of holes drilled into the wood affect the bass drum sound indefinitely.
All accounted for, this Hollywood set is something to be cherished yet is meant to stand up to 40+ years of play and abuse and still manage to put out the tones and range of that of any modern day drum set. For those seeking a vintage approach, there is nothing better then the real thing, the 1967 Ludwig Hollywood.
