A history of Ludwig Drums and Ludwig Black Beauty Snare

Ludwig & Ludwig, the home of the Ludwig Black Beauty trap, was formed in 1909 by brothers William F. and Theo Ludwig. The brothers began their innovative design in a simple Chicago garage, their first innovation being a bass drum pedal that was faster and far superior to anything available at the time.

In 1916, the brothers came up with the spring action that would become the basis for today’s balanced-action pedal timpani.

In the mid-1920s, the brothers became famous for making some of the world’s finest ukulele-banjos, which are still prized among collectors today.

When the great depression of the 1930s hit, the company merged with the CG Conn Company, but William was unhappy with the new structure and left in 1936, forming his own company, the WFL Drum Company, with the famous Speed ​​Drum Company. King. The pedal is one of the first designed products, which Ludwig still manufactures today.

Ludwig was bought back from Conn in 1955 and relaunched as the Ludwig Drum Company.

The new venture struggled for nearly 10 years, until 1963, when an emerging Liverpool band, The Beatles, chanced upon a kit in a London shop window. The band was walking around London, when Ringo saw the kit and was instantly smitten.

After appearing on the Ed Sullivan show with his new kit and that famous Ludwig record on the bass drum, sales skyrocketed.

In 1966, the now-successful Ludwig bought the Musser Marimba Company, and as a token of gratitude to Ringo for turning his luck around, he presented Ringo with a gold-plated drum.

Led Zeppelin’s John “Bonzo” Bonham was the next superstar drummer to use the Ludwig drum kit. He’s famous amber Vistalite drum set is synonymous with ’70s rock percussion. Vistalite was the trade name used by Ludwig for his line of acrylic drums in the 1970s.

After his father’s death in 1973, William F. Ludwig, Jr took over the reins and the company eventually became part of The Selmer Company in 1981.

From that first day in that Chicago barn, the company has always been at the forefront of innovation, introducing many materials that had not been thought of before in drum making. In addition to Vistalite drums, the company also made stainless steel drum kits, but due to high manufacturing costs, production ceased in the early 1980s.

The now famous and most sought after of drums, the Ludwig Black Beauty was first made in the 1920s. A hand-engraved black nickel-plated brass shell drum, the Ludwig Black Beauty snare drum is highly prized by collectors and alike. by musicians. The Black Beauty was reissued, available unrecorded or machine-recorded, in the late 1970s, and reissued again in the 1990s.

When The Ludwig Black Beauty snare drum was reintroduced in the late 1970s, they were again made in brass. When the company changed ownership in the early 1980s, the drum changed to bronze, which was done for economic reasons.

It is enjoying a current resurgence and is a sought after addition to most collections.