Carmine Appice's Ludwig 1976 Realistic Rock, Rod Stewart, Ted Nugent 10 Piece Drum Set. Signed!

Carmine Appice's, 1976 Ludwig, Rod Stewart, Ted Nugent, Realistic Rock Drum Set

Carmine Appice is one of the most influential drummers in the history of rock music. Never satisfied to simply sit back and play time, Carmine always aspired to bring something unique and personal to every song he played. Carmine pioneered the use of gongs, timpani, double bass drums, china cymbals and electronics in the modern drum set. He elevated the art of a drum clinics from a dry and scholarly class into an over the top rock 'n ' roll drum experience. As a teacher and author he inspired generations of drummers with his best selling Realistic Rock Drum Method books. In live performances he was impossible to miss. If you didn't know who he was going into a show, you definitely knew he was by the time it was over.

This Ludwig 1976 Natural Maple Thermogloss ten piece drum set is undeniably Carmine Appice's most famous drum set, used from 1976-2003. Carmine played this set most notably as a member of Rod Stewart’s band from 1976-1981 at the pinnacle of his legendary career. With Stewart he played the set in countless live performances and recorded three albums, Footloose and Fancy Free, Blondes Have More Fun, and Tonight I'm Yours. These albums included some of Rod's biggest hits including Do Ya Think I’m Sexy, Hot Legs, Tonight I'm Yours and You're In My Heart. The set can be seen in Stewart's Hot Legs and Do Ya Think I'm Sexy videos.

Following Carmine's tenure with Rod Stewart he played the set in live performances with several artists including Ted Nugent and Rick Derringer. Carmine also just played the set at a very special performance with his Tonight's The Night, Rod Stewart Legacy in June of 2025. I witnessed carmine playing the set live and can confirm this set truly sounds amazing. It's the perfect set for his power drumming style.

The drum set also was seen on the cover of Carmine's best selling Realistic Rock and Realistic Reggae Rock drum method books. Realistic Rock is the best selling rock drum method book of all time. Generations of drummers got their start with this book. The cover captivated the imaginations of generations of aspiring drummers inspiring countless dreams of becoming a rockstar and playing a huge drum set like Carmine's.

I originally acquired the set directly from Carmine around 25(?) years ago. The set spent several years on display at my old shop near Seattle, WA before be sold to Modern Drummer magazine for display in their Florida drum museum. I recently bought the set back and have it on display at West Coast Drum Shop in Bellevue, WA (on the site of my old drum shop).

Carmine recently played the set in a live performance with his "Tonight's The Night" Rod Stewart legacy show, as well as a clinic at West Coast Drum Shop. After hearing the set live and up close, I can confidently say this is one of the best sounding sets I've ever experienced. Carmine played the entire set wide open and completely unmuffled except for a small bar towel taped to the batter heads of the bass drums. The tone and projection of this set is incomparable!

You can hear Iron Maiden drummer, Nicko Mcbrain play the set in the attached video.

The entire set was custom built for Carmine by the Ludwig Drum company The entire set is comprised of 6 ply maple/poplar shells. The set includes two 24×15'" bass drums. These bass drums were the first drums Ludwig ever produced with deeper shells and led the way to the creation of "power sized' drums that would remain popular for decades. The 6 and 8" concert toms were custom fitted with Syndrum triggers, making the set one of the very first to integrate electronics with acoustic drums. 10x6', 12x8', 13x9', 15x12', 16x16' and 18x16' toms. The original "Carmine Appice" logo heads are still on the bass drums. All of Carmine's original hardware in the studio photos is included.

Also included is an original 1980s promotional poster for one of Carmine's infamous drum battles.

A pair of Carmine's Ludwig Speed King bass drum pedals, his 1960s Ludwig Supraphonic 400 snare drum and a complete set of his cymbals are available separately.

The set shows some scuffs and scrapes from years of worldwide tours, but remains in excellent condition. There is no notable damage. Nothing broken, damaged or missing. The photos depict the condition accurately.

Heads, bass shell and COA signed by Appice.

The set will ship as palleted freight. Shipping cost is an estimate. Buyer will pay actual shipping charges. We will ship internationally.