Ludwig-Musser

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Ludwig-Musser is a drum and percussion instrument manufacturer owned by Conn-Selmer, Inc.

1 History
2 Notable endorsing artists
3 Notes
4 External links

[edit] History

The company was formed in 1910 as Ludwig & Ludwig by brothers William F. and Theo Ludwig. The brothers' first product was a bass drum pedal followed by timpani. Production then expanded into other types of drums. Because of the Great Depression, the company had to merge with the C.G. Conn Company in the 1930s. William, who disliked his lack of involvement with the design and manufacture of the instruments, left the company in 1936 to open his own company, the W.F.L. Drum Company in 1937.^[1]

William's son, William F. Ludwig, Jr, says his most memorable moment was "my bid to buy back the Ludwig name from Conn in 1955 - against my father's wishes." In 1955, the Ludwig division was purchased back from Conn and renamed the Ludwig Drum Company. In 1966, Ludwig purchased the Musser Marimba Company, which produced mallet percussion.

The Ludwig Drum Company are famous for their Vistalite drum kits. Vistalite was the trade name used by Ludwig for its line of acrylic (mostly see-through) drums in the 1970s. Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham famously played a Vistalite. While Vistalite sales declined toward the end of the 1970's, Ludwig reintroduced them in 2001. Sales of clear Vistalite and Bonham-replica amber Vistalites have been strong enough that a multitude of companies make acrylic drums in 2006.

Ludwig saw a lot of changes. In the 1980's they introduced a new heavy duty modular hardware system. They abandoned the much-loved modular system in favor of a less expensive L-arm/double braced industry standard hardware system. Ludwig maintained a reputation for exceptional sounding and projecting maple drums into the 2000's. Ludwig started branching out with exotic wood finishes supplied by Steinway and Sons. They also have an import line called "Accent" made in Taiwan, and another import line called "Accent CS" made in China. Ludwig remains one of the few "name" American drum makers left. The company is a subsidiary of Selmer, and is not family-run.