1950's WFL 4 Piece Drum Kit, Blue Aqua Sparkle, Complete W / Cases, Drop Dead Gorgeous

1950's WFL 4 Piece Drum Kit Blue Aqua Sparkle, Complete Hardware & Cases

20"X16" Kick, 13"X10" Ride Tom, 16"X16" Floor Tom, 6"X14" Snare,

This Complete and Rare Kit just hit the Shop and simply put Incredible. To think these have cared for and kept together for all these years is amazing. Drums apprear to have been cased most of their life, the Original Calf Heads are on the Floor Tom, we changed them out on the Snare, the Tom had been done prior to Our obtaining them.

WFL was know for using African Mahogany and the Sound of these resonates why they did.

CONDITION: Bass Drum all Claws have WFL Imprinted on them, this Drum has Double Spur Mounts it includes only one set of Spurs, the Original Front head Remains, we replaced the Kick side. Floor Tom: still has the Calf Heads on it thery sounded great so we left them, the Legs function as they should, The Leg Mounts have the WHL Logo Imprinted on them. Ride Tom : has modern Head's on it they were existing so we left them, great Solid Tom, no issues at all. Snare Drum: the Snare is in fantastic Shape, it had one of the Calf Head on it and a sracked snare side so we replaced both, it has a Drum Key Port on it as well but looks all original and the Throw is stamped correctly.

All Drums tune perfectly and accept Modern Heads. The Bearing edges are in great shape and the Shells do not show and seperation at all. Overall we found these drums very nice condition. They would make a great addition to any Stage, Studio or collection.

Hardware: The WFL Kick Pedal is in great Shape works good, the Ludwig Hi-Hat funtions well, the Cymbal Stand has no name on it as weill as the Snare stand.

Cases: The Cases you see pictured came with the Drums the Straps have been replaced on the Ride and Floor Tom, the Bass Drum case Strap is broken. Both Hardware cases latch good. There was no way of telling how original these are but they keep the Drums safe and do their Job.

This Drum Kit was Inherited so the ability to ask questions is just not there, except for the heads being changed by us this is how we received it. We have only lightly cleaned it, we have not detailed it or polished the Shells and it is very nice.

Please ask any and all Questions, we will send more photos on request.

WFL (Ludwig) History:

The Ludwig Drum Company was established in 1909 by William F. & Theobald Ludwig, sons of a German immigrant to the United States. William Jr. had been a professional drummer, playing with circuses and touring vaudeville shows, along with the occasional skating-rink gig. Since this work was irregular, he and his brother, Theobald, opened a drum shop in Chicago; they called it Ludwig & Ludwig. The company started with a concept for the design and manufacture of a functional bass drum pedal.

The company added new products to its catalog, such as snare drums and timpani, in 1916. In 1917, Ludwig signed a deal to build rope-tensioned snare drums to support World War I. Theobald Ludwig died in 1918, and William continued on his own.

In the late 1920s, the company was sold to the C.G. Conn instrument company. William Ludwig stayed on to run the company for Conn (which also owned the Leedy Manufacturing Company at this time). Eventually, William Ludwig decided to leave Conn and start a new company of his own. He was unable to use the Ludwig name since that trademark now belonged to Conn who continued to market Ludwig & Ludwig drums.

In 1937, William bought a factory building and started The WFL Drum Company (his initials). The company continued producing drums at a small scale for the duration of World War II, but William got back to the idea of making the company a large drum manufacturer after the war ended. WFL was a competitor with Ludwig and Ludwig. Conn combined their two drum brands into one in the early 1950s, forming Leedy & Ludwig, and then decided to quit the drum business altogether. In 1955, William and his son Bill Jr. were able to buy the Ludwig trademark back from Conn, and over the next few years their company and its products transitioned from the WFL brand to being called "Ludwig" again.

Despite initial success, Ludwig's global breakthrough would occur February 9, 1964, when The Beatles made their historic American TV debut on The Ed Sullivan Show. The Ludwig logo, displayed on the front of Ringo Starr's bass drum, could be seen by the television audience of about seventy-three million people. As it happens, Starr chose that brand upon joining the band simply because he liked the oyster pearl black color of the drum kit he chose.

[Ringo Starr] put our name on the front of his bass drum head ... [because] he was so proud that he had an imported drum set from America, especially from a famous company like Ludwig, that at the time of purchase he insisted on having the Ludwig name painted on the front of the head!

— William Ludwig's grandson

The publicity resulted in Ludwig's sales doubling quickly to $13 million, which prompted production to increase to a 24/7 production as the company became the foremost drum manufacturer in North America for twenty years.

Ludwig acquired the Musser Mallet Company, a manufacturer of xylophones, marimbas and vibraphones, in 1965.[2] Ludwig was a strong presence in the marching drum market. During the 1970s, Ludwig's "Challenger" line of snare drums offered sophisticated tuning and strong build quality. Ludwig drums were used by many leading drum and bugle corps.

On 4 November 1981, William F Ludwig II sold the business to the Selmer Company (now Conn-Selmer). Selmer closed the Damen Avenue factory in the ensuing years and moved the drum production business to Monroe, North Carolina, in 1984. In 2002, Ludwig merged with Conn-Selmer, becoming a brand of Conn-Selmer, Inc.

The Musser manufacturing facility remained in LaGrange, Illinois, until 2013, and was then moved to Elkhart, Indiana.

SHIPPING NOTE: Rates have never been higher for shipping. This Kit is so complete with all the hardware and cases it will be a 5 Box Shipment. We will ship this anywhere in the FREE WORLD, but need to work up an estimate by address . We are professional Packers and have been putting Musical Gear to all Parts of the Globe safely for over 25 years.

About Capital City Guitars:

We are a small brick and mortar music store, we take pride in earning the respect of our customers. We specialize in safe secure worldwide shipping. Thanks for looking at our items. We always give things a final inspection and going over before shipping. Need anything? Just ask! Contact us directly on our website or call the shop Mon-Sat 11am-6pm PST🎸 😎

Thanks,

Capital City Guitars

360) 956-7097

108 4th Ave. E

Olympia, WA 98501

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