This year saw the first major changes to the Vistalite line. Production methods were changed within a couple of months of launch and the problems disappeared.
This was the result of the acrylic sheets being removed from the oven before reaching the required temperature. The very earliest kits suffered from a mild ‘crazing’ of the shells. Therefore with both concert and double-headed toms, there was a clear definition of left and right-mounting.Īs with other Ludwig kits, concert toms and the 12 inch double-headed toms were fitted with the small classic lugs. Concert toms had the seam positioned under the clip mount, though the badges were still positioned to face the audience. On double headed toms the seams were normally positioned at the rear of the toms, the badge positioned to face the audience and the tone control (mounted with a single screw and nylon washer) towards the drummer. The effect of the resin is to make the colour appear to fade at the seam on the coloured shells. The early shells were formed with a v-shaped gap on the outside of the shell and filled with clear acrylic resin. The launch drums were available in clear, blue, red, amber, yellow and green. The following timeline should help you date your Vistalites: John Bonham began playing Vistalites in 1973 and the name Vistalite became known throughout the drumming world.Changes over the years. One of the earliest adverts for the line quoted the name “Stratosphere Drums” though this tag soon disappeared (should it ever have been made public?). The drums were produced at the main Ludwig factory in Chicago though the shells were actually produced by Cadillac Motors plastics division. The Ludwig Drum Company lanuched the Vistalite line in 1972, too late to make it into the 1973 Ludwig Percussion catalogue. At launch, six colours were available: The seams were glued with acrylic resin and the shells were then finished and fitted in a similar manner to wooden ones. Legend has it that Ginger Baker (Cream) made an acrylic kit himself by heating sheets of plastic over his stove (see adverts section).The drums themselves are made from acrylic sheets that were heated and shaped for form cylinders. (Ron Bushy from the heavy metal group Iron Butterfly was the first Zickos endorsee in 1969.) In the early 1970’s the Fibes drum company took plastic percussion to a wider audience with both Bill Cobham (Mahavishinu Orchestra) and Nick Mason (Pink Floyd) playing clear acrylic kits from Fibes. Acrylic drums were first produced by Bill Zickos from Kansas in 1959 with commercial production beginning a decade later. Although now synonymous with acrylic drums, Ludwig Vistalites were not the first and, some would argue, not the best acrylic drums produced. Vistalite was the name of the acrylic drum line produced by Ludwig.
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