Ludwig-Musser is a drum and percussion instrument manufacturer owned by Conn-Selmer, Inc.
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History
The company was formed in 1909 as Ludwig & Ludwig by brothers William F. and Theo Ludwig. The brothers' first product was a bass drum pedal capable of playing faster beats than was typical of products of the time. It was produced in a rented barn on the southside of Chicago. The Ludwigs next developed a hydraulic action timpani and in 1916 invented a spring mechanism—the basis for the current Balanced Action Pedal Timpani. Production then expanded into other types of drums and banjo-type instruments, especially brass snare drums and wooden drums. During the 1925-1930 period, Ludwig made 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)).
During the Great Depression of the 1930s, the company was forced to merge with the C.G. Conn Company. William F. Ludwig, who disliked his lack of involvement with the design and manufacture of the instruments after the merger, left the company in 1936. He opened his own company, the W.F.L. Drum Company, in 1937.[1] The first product of W.F.L. was the Speed King Pedal, a product still manufactured by Ludwig. 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, including vibes, marimbas, bells, chimes and xylophones.
In 1973, William F. Ludwig, Sr. died, to be succeeded by his son William F. Ludwig, Jr. Ludwig Industries was acquired by The Selmer Company in 1981. Today, Ludwig drums and timpani are manufactured in Monroe, North Carolina, with timpani and mallet instruments produced in LaGrange Park, Illinois. Certain lines of Ludwig Drums, marketed as the Accent, Accent CS, Accent CS Custom and Accent CS Custom Elite Series, are manufactured for Ludwig in Asia and imported into the North American market.
Company products
Throughout its history Ludwig has introduced innovations in drum construction, particularly in the use of materials and finishes. The Black Beauty snare drum, a hand-engraved black nickel-plated brass shell drum first manufactured by Ludwig during the 1920s, is highly prized by collectors and players alike. The Black Beauty was reissued, available either unengraved or machine engraved, in the late 1970s, and reissued again in the 1990s.
Ludwig also made gold-finished drums in the 1920s that were marketed under the name "Ludwigold". These are also highly prized by collectors since they have never been reissued.
The Ludwig Supraphonic snare drum is considered to be an industry standard for professional snares. Originally made of chrome-plated brass, it was later made of a chrome-plated aluminum alloy. Such notable drummers as John Bonham, Ian Paice, Ginger Baker, Carl Palmer, and Steve Gadd, used this drum exclusively throughout the 1970s. The Super-Sensitive strainer was introduced in the '60s and was popular through the '70s for its sensitive snare response. Wood shell snare drums featured precision finishes supplied by Steinway and Sons.
Although they have been famous for their metal drums, especially their metal snare drums, most of the drums manufactured by Ludwig have had a plastic "pearl" wrap glued on top of wooden drums. The most sought after original Ludwig finish is the 1960s Oyster Black Pearl, made famous by Ringo Starr. Oyster Pink Pearl and the Black Galaxy finishes produced only between 1961 and 1962 are the rarest finishes and also highly prized. Mod Orange Pearl and Psychedelic Red Pearl are wrap finishes introduced by Ludwig Drums in 1967 and produced through the early 70's. These two finishes are exceptionally rare now. Mod Orange, Psychedelic Red Pearl and Oyster Black Pearl were reintroduced by Ludwig in the late 1990s. While the others were discontinued, Oyster Black is still in the Ludwig catalog today.[1]
Perhaps the most interesting use of materials appeared in Ludwig's Vistalite drum kits. Vistalite was the trade name used by Ludwig for its line of acrylic (mostly see-through) drums in the 1970s. Ludwig was not the first drum company to sell colored acrylic drums, but they were the most prominent due to their market share. Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham was widely recognized for playing an amber-colored Vistalite drum set and singer/drummer Karen Carpenter played on Ludwig Vistalites her entire career. Carpenter owned an entry level set, which was forest green with a gold strip, two sets of clear Vistalites which she purchased, and numerous sets donated to her by Ludwig. The first set of clear Vistalites is on display in The Carpenters museum at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center in Los Angeles. A set of jelly bean Vistalites, where every drum was a different color, was donated to Karen Carpenter by Ludwig for use in a 1976 television special.
Although Vistalite sales declined toward the end of the 1970s and were discontinued, Ludwig reintroduced them in 2001. Sales of clear Vistalite and Bonham-replica amber Vistalites have been strong enough that a several other drum companies have followed Ludwig's lead and now make their own acrylic drums. In 2007, Ludwig reintroduced their classic shell design under the name "Legacy." The shell consists of maple, poplar, and maple wood plies and maple reinforcing rings.
Ludwig was also notable for the use of stainless steel in drum construction. John Bohnam's last Ludwig kit was stainless steel. The drums were not great sellers due to their high cost and extreme weight. Ludwig eventually stopped making the stainless steel drums due to extremely high production expenses.
In the 1990s, Ludwig introduced a new line of heavy duty hardware, abandoning the very heavy Modular System of the late 1970s and 80's in favor of a less expensive L-arm/double braced industry standard hardware system.
Endorsers
The Ludwig brand received its greatest boost in popularity in 1963-1966 when Ringo Starr of The Beatles prominently displayed the trade name on his bass drumhead, immediately above the Beatles' logo. The Ludwig company expressed their appreciation to Starr in 1965 by presenting him with an inscribed, gold-plated snare drum. In the 70's, Led Zeppelin's John Bonham became the next world class drummer to use and endorse Ludwig drums, after hearing Carmine Appice of Vanilla Fudge followed by Alex Van Halen of Van Halen in the late 70's and Neil Peart of Rush in the late 80's. Many other Rock and Roll drummers have switched to or began with Ludwig drums in their careers: Simon Kirke of Bad Company, Nick Mason of Pink Floyd, Aynsley Dunbar of Journey, Jefferson Starship, Eric Carr of KISS, Lars Ulrich of Metallica, Herman Rarebell of Scorpions, Scott Rockenfield of Queensryche, Alan White of Yes, Matt Frenette of Loverboy, Steve Negus of Saga to name a few.
Familiar names have returned to endorsing Ludwig. Roger Taylor of Queen and Bun E. Carlos of Cheap Trick just passed his 30 year mark as endorser. Like his father John, Jason Bonham is now a Ludwig endorser. Other notable contemporary endorsers include Tre Cool of Green Day, Myles Heskett of Wolfmother, J.J. Johnson with John Mayer, Billy Kiely of Floor Thirteen, Luis Cardenas of Renegade, Jason McGerr of Death Cab for Cutie, Fab Moretti of The Strokes, Jim Riley of Rascal Flatts, Meg White of The White Stripes, and John Fred Young of Black Stone Cherry.
Custom products
Since the 1990s Ludwig has produced custom products with other individuals and companies in limited editions. One of their first custom products was a re-issue of the Black Beauty brass snare drum that was available unengraved or custom hand-engraved by John Aldridge. Ludwig has also produced limited editions of John Bonham commemorative drums made of stainless steel in cooperation with the Dunnett Classic Drums company. Dunnett also assisted Ludwig with "The Chief," a titanium shell snare made in tribute to the late William F. Ludwig, Jr. Alex Sinep Long is also a 30 plus year endorser and Ludwig just recently added an Alex Long signature snare drum to their collection, with only 100 to be made.
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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