I’d had one of these several years ago, but when I couldn’t work due to Long Covid I had to sell it to help pay some bills. I’d always missed it. So when I found this online at a good price, I bought it.
These Ludwig pads were amazing in their day, and remain highly desirable among drummers and pad collectors (which of course has a huge overlap). The 8” version shows up for sale far more often than the 10” version. Both are fabulous to practice on, with the 10” being a little more appropriate for concert drummers and the 8” being suitable for both marching and concert practice.
These pads are very easy to dismantle with nothing more than a standard drum key.
Some models come with a metal circular frame that fits very tightly beneath the head’s counter hoop, which is why standard drum heads won’t fit these pads. The foam insert was the full depth of the circular insert and a little more, allowing for a muted drum sound that still offered enough articulation to get the right feel.
For later models of this pad, Ludwig did away with the circular frame and full-depth foam, likely due to costs, and replaced it with a wooden disc that measured the same size as the circular frame. On top of that was laid a much thinner piece of foam, which provided some muffling and aided in getting a good response. All three of my pads use the wooden disc construction.
While the pad was disassembled, I used a rust eraser to remove the rust from the rim and the counter hoop of the head. I also added a tiny spot of glue to the base of the threaded posts to keep them stabilized in place. (The threaded holes can come loose and pop out with time and use, causing damage to the soft plywood base.)
Before I reassembled the pad, I decided to add a large circular CS adopt decal to the underside of the head. I liked the addition of a similar dot to my smaller pad, but on this larger one I didn’t want it to obscure the logo on the head. It shows from underneath but I don’t mind. And it adds some heft to the fifty-year-old head, which I think will help it last longer. The decals are offered in a pack of multiple sizes by Cardinal Percussion, and available at larger online dealers.
These pads came with a smooth Mylar head made specifically for them. Later replacement heads, labeled “Ensemble,” were designed to be used on either this pad, or on Ludwig’s tunable tambourine. They were thicker and had a faint texture that allowed for thumb rolls on the tambourine — and which made for an excellent, more robust playing surface on pads. This pad came with an”Ensemble” head and the response is amazing. Sadly, Ludwig stopped making the pads in the early 1980, and stopped making the heads within a decade or less after that. Both these pads and their replacement heads are hard to find now. That’s why I chose to apply CS dots to two of the pads I use the most often.
When reassembling the pad, I added a second set of washers so there’d be two for each post. This allows the threaded nuts to sit a little higher and allows for slightly more range in tuning. NOTE: when reinstalling the threaded nuts, make sure the flat side goes on bottom against the washer, and the side with slightly rounded corners goes on top.
Adding the second washer also makes it easier to tension the head more carefully and gradually. Hand tighten the nut to start. As soon as the top washer begins to spin, stop and move on to the next threaded post until all nuts are mounted and finger-tight. Then tune carefully and gradually as you would any drum.
Once everything was reassembled, I noticed an immediate improvement in the response of the pad.
This is a keeper and will be part of my regular rotation.
Happy drumming.
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