Ludwig-Musser is a drum and percussion instrument manufacturer owned by Conn-Selmer, Inc.
History
The company was formed in 1910 as Ludwig & Ludwig by brothers William F. The drum is a member of the percussion group technically classified as a Membranophone. Manufacturing (from Latin manu factura, "making by hand" is the use of tools and labor to make things for use or sale Conn-Selmer Inc is a Manufacturer and Distributor of Concert band, Marching band, and Orchestral instruments and Theo Ludwig. The brothers' first product was a bass drum pedal followed by timpani. A bass drum is a large Drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. Timpani (also known colloquially as kettledrums or kettle drums) are Musical instruments in the percussion family Production then expanded into other types of drums and banjo-type instruments. Because of the Great Depression, the company had to merge with the C. G. Conn Company in the 1930s. William, who disliked his lack of involvement with the design and manufacture of the instruments, left the company in 1936 to open his own company, the W. F. L. Drum Company in 1937. [1]
William's son, William F. Ludwig, Jr, says his most memorable moment was "my bid to buy back the Ludwig name from Conn in 1955 - against my father's wishes. " In 1955, the Ludwig division was purchased back from Conn and renamed the Ludwig Drum Company. In 1966, Ludwig purchased the Musser Marimba Company, which produced mallet percussion.
The Ludwig brand received its greatest boost in popularity in 1963-1964 when Ringo Starr of The Beatles prominently displayed the trade name on his bass drumheads, immediately above the Beatles' logo. Ringo Starr, MBE (born Richard Starkey on 7 July 1940 is an English Musician, Singer, Songwriter and Actor The Beatles were a pop and rock band from Liverpool, England formed in 1960 This was done at Starr's insistence, to exhibit his pride at playing the brand after years of using inferior drum kits. The Ludwig company expressed their appreciation to Starr in 1965 by presenting him with an inscribed, gold-plated snare drum. Following Starr, Led Zeppelin's John Bonham became the next world class drummer to endorse and use Ludwig drums throughout his entire career. Led Zeppelin were John Henry "Bonzo" Bonham (May 31 1948 – September 25 1980 was an English Drummer and member of the band Led Zeppelin. Many other Rock and Roll drummers used Ludwig drums at one point such as Eric Carr (KISS), Alex Van Halen (Van Halen), Nick Mason (Pink Floyd), Ian Paice (Deep Purple), Carl Palmer (Emerson, Lake, and Palmer), Carmine Appice (Vanilla Fudge), Mitch Mitchell (Jimi Hendrix), Ginger Baker (Cream), Alan White (Yes), Michael Shrieve (Santana), Don Brewer (Grand Funk Railroad), Paul Wright, Bill Ward (Black Sabbath) and Jethro Tull's first three drummers (Clive Bunker, Barriemore Barlow,and Mark Craney). Paul Charles Caravello ( July 12 1950 - November 24 1991) better known as Eric Carr, was an American musician best known as Kiss (also typeset as KISS) is an American rock band formed in New York City in December 1972 Alexander Arthur Van Halen is a Dutch Drummer and co-founder of the Hard rock band Van Halen. Van Halen is a Hard rock band formed in in 1972 They enjoyed success from the release of their self titled debut album in 1978 Nicholas Berkeley "Nick" Mason (born 27 January 1944 in Edgbaston, Birmingham, England) is the Drummer for Pink Floyd. Pink Floyd are Ian Paice (born June 29, 1948 in Nottingham, England) made his name as the Drummer with seminal heavy Rock band Deep Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertfordshire in 1968 Carl Palmer (born Carl Frederick Kendall Palmer, on March 20, 1950, in Handsworth, Birmingham) is an English drummer Emerson Lake & Palmer ( ELP) were an English Progressive rock supergroup. Carmine Appice (b December 15, 1946 in Brooklyn New York) is an American rock Drummer of Italian ancestry Vanilla Fudge was an American psychedelic band that recorded albums from 1967 to 1970 John "Mitch" Mitchell (born 9 July, 1947 in Ealing, Middlesex) is an English Drummer, most famous for his involvement James Marshall Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix) (November 27 1942 – September 18 1970 was an American Guitarist, Singer and Songwriter Peter Edward "Ginger" Baker (born 19 August 1939 Lewisham, South London) is an English Drummer. For the 1993 hip-hop single by the Wu-Tang Clan see CREAM CREAM is an acronym for Cognitive Reliability Error Analysis Method a Alan White may refer to Alan White (footballer (born 1976 Alan White (novelist (born 1924 author of The Long Day's Dying Michael Shrieve (born July 6 1949, in San Francisco) is a US Don Brewer (born September 3 1948 in Flint Michigan) is the Drummer for American rock band Grand Funk Grand Funk Railroad (also known as Grand Funk) is an American rock band Paul Wright may refer to Paul Wright (diplomat, British diplomat ambassador to Congo and to Lebanon Paul Wright (singer, American Christian Bill Ward may refer to Bill Ward (musician (born 1948 drummer for Black Sabbath Bill Ward (actor (born 1967 Bill Black Sabbath are an Clive Bunker (born Clive William Bunker 30 December 1946, Luton, Bedfordshire, England) was a Drummer for the British Barriemore Barlow (born Barry Barlow, 10 September 1949, Birmingham) is best known as the Drummer and Percussionist for Mark Craney (born 26 August 1952, Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota, USA - died 26 November 2005
The Ludwig Drum Company are famous for their Vistalite drum kits. Vistalite drums were a line of acrylic PET or Polyethylene terephthalate Drums produced by the Ludwig Drum company, introduced in 1972 Vistalite was the trade name used by Ludwig for its line of acrylic (mostly see-through) drums in the 1970s. Poly(methyl methacrylate ( PMMA) or poly(methyl 2-methylpropenoate is a Thermoplastic and transparent Plastic. Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham was widely recognized for playing an amber-colored Vistalite drum set while singer/drummer Karen Carpenter played her entire career on Ludwig Vistalites. Led Zeppelin were John Henry "Bonzo" Bonham (May 31 1948 – September 25 1980 was an English Drummer and member of the band Led Zeppelin. Karen Anne Carpenter (March 2 1950 &ndash February 4 1983 was a highly successful American Singer and Drummer. She had an entry level set, which was forest green with a gold strip, two sets of silver sparkle Vistalites which she bought and numerous sets which were donated to her by Ludwig. The first set of silver sparkle Vistalites is on display in The Carpenters museum at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center in Los Angeles. The Carpenters were a vocal and instrumental duo consisting of Siblings Karen and Richard Carpenter. The Carpenter Performing Arts Center (CPAC is a venue for a variety of events including films forums and musical and theater performances Richard notes a particular set, on his website, that was donated for use in the 1976 television special, a set of jelly bean Vistalites where every drum was a different colour. The second silver sparkle and the jelly bean sets are currently packed up in Richard Carpenter's storage warehouse. Richard Lynn Carpenter (born October 15 1946 in New Haven, Connecticut He frequently played the piano while his sister Karen played baseball outside
Stainless Steel drums were another idea from Ludwig that they are famous for. Originally designed in 1973 as a custom job for Carl Palmer of ELP (for which the weight of the entire kit was estimated anywhere from one to six tons). Carl Palmer (born Carl Frederick Kendall Palmer, on March 20, 1950, in Handsworth, Birmingham) is an English drummer Ludwig brought the concept back in 2007, in commemoration of John Bonham, but only sold 100 kits.
Going into the 1980s, Ludwig saw a lot of changes. They introduced a new line of heavy duty hardware, abandoning the much-loved modular system in favor of a less expensive L-arm/double braced industry standard hardware system. Also 6 Ply drums were introduced, replacing the 3 Ply w/ reinforcement rings. Until the 90's, Ludwigs drums were made of maple and selected hardwoods. It wasn't until the late 90's that they started making all maple wood shells. Ludwig has maintained a reputation for exceptional sounding and projecting maple drums into the 2000s. Ludwig started branching out with exotic wood finishes supplied by Steinway and Sons. Steinway & Sons (often called Steinway) is a Piano maker since 1853 in New York City, USA. They also have an import line called "Accent" made in Taiwan, and another import line called "Accent CS" made in China. Ludwig remains one of the few "name" American drum makers left. The company is a subsidiary of Selmer, and is no longer family-run.
Mod Orange is a wrap finish, that was introduced by Ludwig Drums in 1967. It was produced from then and up through the 70's, but was put on a shelf. The recently it was reissued on the Ludwig Classic Maple series drums. The name refers to the mods, who were a part of British subculture during the 1960s, and according to the pattern of the finish, it must have been the more psychedelic part of the mods.
Along with Mod Orange, Citrus Mod and Psychedelic Red were released in the late sixties and put up in the 70's. Some Black Panther kits are said to have Citrus Mod underneath the finish. (Why waste a good drum?) These two finishes are exceptionally rare now and Citrus Mod especially! Psychedelic Red has been reintroduced by Ludwig but sadly taken away yet again in the new 2008 Catalogue.
Ludwig snares are very popular. One of these is the Ludwig Supraphonic, considered to be the industry standard for snares for professionals such as John Bonham, Ian Paice, Ginger Baker, Carl Palmer, and Steve Gadd, all used this drum exclusively throughout the 1970s. The Super-Sensitive was a type of strainer that came out in the 60's and was popular through the 70's for it's sensitive response and precision controls. The Black Beauty model, a black nickel-plated brass shell drum first manufactured during the 1920s, is now highly prized by collectors and players alike.
Ludwig's resurgence in popularity has continued steadily from 2001 though 2007. Although Vistalite sales declined toward the end of the 1970s, Ludwig reintroduced them in 2001. Sales of clear Vistalite and Bonham-replica amber Vistalites have been strong enough that a multitude of other percussion companies have followed Ludwig's lead and now make their own acrylic drums. In 2007, Ludwig reintroduced the "classic" shell which consists of maple reinforcing rings and poplar wood plies. Familiar names have gone back to endorsing Ludwig. Bun E. Carlos of the rock group Cheap Trick just passed his 30 year mark as endorser. Like his father John, Jason Bonham is now a Ludwig endorser.
During the 1925-1930 period, Ludwig made, among their other banjos, two models of ukulele banjo, each being prized by players of the instrument; Ludwig is known by collectors as being one of the three best historical makers of ukulele-banjos; the others being Gibson, and Jack Abbot. The ukulele (ˌjʉːkəˈlɛɪli from ʻukulele /ˌʔukuˈlele/ variantly spelled ukelele (particularly in the UK) or alternatively abbreviated uke The banjo is a Stringed instrument developed by enslaved Africans in the United States, adapted from several African instruments
Sadly, William F Ludwig II died on March 22, 2008. Events 238 - Gordian I and his son Gordian II are proclaimed Roman emperor. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common
Notes
External links
- Official website
- Ludwig in the Drumming Database
- vistalites.com Web page devoted to Vistalite drums.
- vistalitedrums
- William F. Ludwig II - In Memoriam
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