Vintage 1970 Ludwig John Bonham Natural Maple Thermo-Gloss Drum Set 26/14/16/18

*No longer available.

*The snare drum in the pictures is for display only & is NOT included in the auction.

Vintage 1970 Ludwig John Bonham Natural Maple Thermo-Gloss Drum Set

For your viewing pleasure is this 1970 Ludwig Natural Maple Thermogloss set in the same sizes & finish as John Bonham's first Ludwig set. It features the rare & sought after 14"x26" bass drum in an even more rare virgin set up (no tom mount was ever installed), allowing one to put the 10"x14" tom in a snare basket (just like Bonzo) without having any extraneous unused mounts cluttering up the landscape of the drum. This set has all original heads, with exception of the bass drum batter side, (which has a nice modern Aquarian Super Kick II), & the resonant side of the 18" floor tom (which has a nice modern clear single ply). These drums tune up wonderfully, they speak with the authority & thunder that only a 3 ply vintage Ludwig clear maple interior set in these sizes made with the legendary wood that has been seasoned for close to a half century can. There's nothing quite as satisfying as rocking some Zep chops on this rare beast.

14"x26" Bass Drum

*Blue & Olive badge looks nice, serial # 924XXX

*No extra holes or modifications of any kind.

*All original with exception of batter side head.

*Shell looks good overall, but has signs of honest play wear including an area of tom rash in the usual area.

*Factory installed "L arm" cymbal bracket looks great.

*All of the lugs look great with nice chrome.

*The original T's & claws look good, but there is some mild pitting here & there, & some of the claws have a touch of rust here & there.

* The spurs & spur brackets look nice & are fully functional.

16" (deep) x 18"(head size) Floor Tom

*Blue & Olive badge looks nice, serial # 877XXX

*No extra holes or modifications of any kind.

*All original with exception of bottom head.

*Shell looks good overall, but has signs of honest play wear. There is an area of the shell just below the top rim that is darker than the rest of the shell, but it is in the very back panel (opposite panel of the badge), & is mostly covered by the rim.

*The lugs look great with nice chrome, but there is some light pitting here & there, & a few of the lugs have a little chrome chipped off, & a scratch here & there.

*The rims are nice with great chrome, & held on by all original tension rods.

* The legs & leg brackets look great with nice chrome & are fully functional.

* Original dual tone controls look great & are fully functional. One on top (& one on bottom to tame the beast when/if needed).

16" x 16" Tom

*Blue & Olive badge looks good, serial # 811XXX

*No extra holes or modifications of any kind.

*All original including both heads (the bottom is a beautiful unplayed head).

*Shell looks good overall, but has signs of honest play wear including nicks & scratches, as well as some dried tape residue & a black marks, which are most noticeable in the panel with the badge. The drum appears to have been bumped on the leg bracket in the back panel which caused a slight cosmetic split in the shell which does not affect the structure of the shell or the sound. It is stable & not noticeable when set up.

*The lugs look good with some pin-point pitting here & there.

*The rims tune the drum up great but have some wear to the chrome in a few areas. The top rim has a touch of light rust in the center flange here & there. The bottom rim has a few light bends in the gutter edge from being put down while the legs were removed. Again, the drum tunes up great. 8 of the tension rods appear to be era correct Ludwig parts, but have more threading.

* The legs & leg brackets look good with some pin-point pitting. The legs in the pictures are incorrect earlier Ludwig knurled legs but have been switched out with the correct stream lined legs.

* Original tone control looks great & is fully functional.

10" x 14" Floor Tom

*Blue & Olive badge looks good, serial # 984XXX

* Two extra holes from a different tom mount were plugged with wood dowels & the correct original mount was reinstalled. It is to the right of the badge so that it can be in the correct position to be mounted on a tom stand (since the bass drum does not have a tom bracket). But most folks would want to mount it in a snare bracket.

* Era correct blue logo Ludwig Weather Master heads on top & bottom.

* Shell looks good overall, but has signs of honest play wear including nicks & scratches, as well as some dried tape residue & a few black marks, which are most prominent in the panel with the badge.

* The lugs look good with some pin-point pitting here & there.

* The top hoop is a correct replacement hoop, but looks ever-so-slightly different. The bottom hoop has some mild pin-point pitting & a scuff/scratch. The drum tunes up perfectly & sounds great.

* The mounting bracket looks good with some pin-point pitting.

* Original tone control looks great & is fully functional.

*The snare drum in the pictures is for display only & is NOT included in the auction.