Update on fading Ludwig wrap

OK, to get you all up to speed here is the situation...
I have a very large Ludwig kit in silver sparkle, some dates from 76' right up to 2011.
Toms purchased direct from ludwig and built for me in 2003-2005 have turned yellow.

Now I dont smoke, the kit is stored in protection racket cases, it have NEVER been in direct sunlight and it is sored in a temo controlled room and never left in a car in the cold or hot...

Despite repeated attempts to contact Ludwig or their distributor Active Music they have both ignored the issue, this I find amazing...I have spent £11k building this kit over 30 years and one would hope a company would respond to a customers complaint.

I am still waiting for either firm to contact me or offer an explaination so I took matters into my own hands and emailed Delmare who manufacture the wrap for Ludwig.

I am based in teh UK, they are in the US, within 2 hours of emailing the Global Sales Director and the MD came on the phone to me to discuss the issue.

They can't figure out what has happend, the usual issues such as light and cold dont apply here, they suggested it might be uv light at a venue...maybe who knows
They are unsure if it can be reversed, so... in the light of this they offered free of charge to ship new wrap to me which was pretty decent of them.

I am not sure if I want to get the kit re-covered as the cost is huge and it will mean I dont have the kit for a long period which is a nightmare, however I will look into it.

It's not so much that they offered free wrap as to the fact they took it seriously and acted quickly, which is really all I wanted.

Ludwig and Active dont seem bothered, I will continue to seek advice from them, but I would say hear and now there customer service sucks and so buyer beware!

There is no good reason the wrap should fade, the older drums are fine and have had the same life as the newer ones...so go figure...

If you are reading this Ludwig, look deep into your heart and own up that you have a hugely disappointing customer service. No wonder companies like DW have stolen the march on you...very sad

I've seen hundreds of silver sparkle kits that have changed color.On some kits,every drum will look different. I love the color but that's the reason I didn't get one.

Probably the reason for the lackluster or no reply is the statute of limitations issue. The fading drums at issue are 7-10 years old. Well beyond any warranty thing I think. As long as you're getting the sound you want I wouldn't worry too much. Have you posted photos here yet (I'm not sure...sorry).

If the kit is beyond warranty or statute of limitations then they should tell him so not ignore him. I keep looking at Ludwig and then these stories keep pooping up on this forum. Too big for their britches maybe?

GRUNTERSDAD said:

If the kit is beyond warranty or statute of limitations then they should tell him so not ignore him. I keep looking at Ludwig and then these stories keep pooping up on this forum. Too big for their britches maybe?

Click to expand...

I agree. I'm not excusing their behavior. Certainly some kind of response is the right thing to do. I'm just guessing their logic. If you bought them at a drum shop and the shop is in existence try them.

Togg said:

OK, to get you all up to speed here is the situation...
I have a very large Ludwig kit in silver sparkle, some dates from 76' right up to 2011.
Toms purchased direct from ludwig and built for me in 2003-2005 have turned yellow.

Now I dont smoke, the kit is stored in protection racket cases, it have NEVER been in direct sunlight and it is sored in a temo controlled room and never left in a car in the cold or hot...

Despite repeated attempts to contact Ludwig or their distributor Active Music they have both ignored the issue, this I find amazing...I have spent £11k building this kit over 30 years and one would hope a company would respond to a customers complaint.

I am still waiting for either firm to contact me or offer an explaination so I took matters into my own hands and emailed Delmare who manufacture the wrap for Ludwig.

I am based in teh UK, they are in the US, within 2 hours of emailing the Global Sales Director and the MD came on the phone to me to discuss the issue.

They can't figure out what has happend, the usual issues such as light and cold dont apply here, they suggested it might be uv light at a venue...maybe who knows
They are unsure if it can be reversed, so... in the light of this they offered free of charge to ship new wrap to me which was pretty decent of them.

I am not sure if I want to get the kit re-covered as the cost is huge and it will mean I dont have the kit for a long period which is a nightmare, however I will look into it.

It's not so much that they offered free wrap as to the fact they took it seriously and acted quickly, which is really all I wanted.

Ludwig and Active dont seem bothered, I will continue to seek advice from them, but I would say hear and now there customer service sucks and so buyer beware!

There is no good reason the wrap should fade, the older drums are fine and have had the same life as the newer ones...so go figure...

If you are reading this Ludwig, look deep into your heart and own up that you have a hugely disappointing customer service. No wonder companies like DW have stolen the march on you...very sad

Click to expand...

I'm not trying to excuse Ludwigs lack of customer servise here,and I don't know if you're aware of this but..Ludwig does not make their own wrap.A company called Delmar Plastics makes it for them,and most other drum companies out there.

Steve B

And Ford doesn't make half of it's car parts but if they break or wear out you contact a Ford dealer. The wrap is a component of the Ludwig drum set. If they can't do anything then say so. How much will it cost to have the new wrap applied that they are giving him? Are they faded on the bottom of the bass drum? If so it's not a UV problem. Could just be an age thing.

From the Delmar website.

These UV stable Glitter and Sparkle products are available in their natural pigment or can be combined with one of our tints to create an endless possibility of colors and looks.

Some wraps change color and/or get "cloudy" from oxidizing. Have your drums been exposed to oxygen?

Since the yellowing drums are from 2003-2005, specifically, it could be a bad batch of wrap...

GRUNTERSDAD said:

And Ford doesn't make half of it's car parts but if they break or wear out you contact a Ford dealer. The wrap is a component of the Ludwig drum set. If they can't do anything then say so. How much will it cost to have the new wrap applied that they are giving him? Are they faded on the bottom of the bass drum? If so it's not a UV problem. Could just be an age thing.

From the Delmar website.

These UV stable Glitter and Sparkle products are available in their natural pigment or can be combined with one of our tints to create an endless possibility of colors and looks.

Click to expand...

True that....like I said,I'm not trying to to excuse Ludwig here at all.But if Ford was having parts problems with their supplier,then the the supplier should pony up also.How could Ford justify refunding money/parts to unsatisfied customers,when it's a supplier problem.

If the paint on your car faded because of a pigment problem,and not because of improper installation,Ford would first identify, if that was an individual or a systemic problem.If it was because of bad paint,i'm sure Ford would make some type of compensation,but the paint supplier would have to pony up also.But ,they would not repaint your car would they?

If that wrap faded all on its own,then Delmar should at least foot some of the blame.This sounds to me like a defective product that was properly applied.That said,Ludwig still makes great drums,but they have a lot the learn about QC and customer service issues.

Steve B

tamadrm said:

I'm not trying to excuse Ludwigs lack of customer servise here,and I don't know if you're aware of this but..Ludwig does not make their own wrap.A company called Delmar Plastics makes it for them,and most other drum companies out there.

Steve B

Click to expand...

Hi Steve
Maybe you didn't see in my opener I stated that I contacted Delmar and indeed they were very helpful, it's that kind of response I am seeking from ludwig, The Delmar MD spent 20 mins on the phone to me trying to work out why this has happend, they are shipping new wrap to me, however it will be expensive to recover the kit, however it was the response I wanted not simply blanking me.
What I really want to know is why it's happening? will it get worse? can i stop it on the newer drums?
Given that I purchased this product from Ludwig it's their responsibility to address it, I have tried emailing, contacting them via Twitter, and I have spoken to two drum shops who have contacted them...so far no response and we are talking 4 months now, Delmare called me within 2 hours!
This issue needs to be addressed, if it wear Ford they would be looking into how to stop it, clearly the fact that some of the older toms have not faded it doesnt have to happen so why has it happened to the middle aged toms? is it dodgy wrap? did they change the manufacturing process? will it happen to the newer toms?
I am going to press on to get an answer from Ludwig and I now have the MD of my local drum store chasing them... we shall see

Hope you get some answers.
Nice of Delmar to send you new wrap.

Someone should get back to you but, this "NAMM Time", so getting any answers from the right people NOW might not be possible.

Keep trying, but don't count on anything for a month at least after the dust settles.

As the drums are 7-9 years old, I don't know much that they can/would do for you.
At least someone should contact you back--by email at least.

Check out your warranty card to see exactly how long finishes are covered for.

Good luck.

Togg said:

Hi Steve
Maybe you didn't see in my opener I stated that I contacted Delmar and indeed they were very helpful, it's that kind of response I am seeking from ludwig, The Delmar MD spent 20 mins on the phone to me trying to work out why this has happend, they are shipping new wrap to me, however it will be expensive to recover the kit, however it was the response I wanted not simply blanking me.
What I really want to know is why it's happening? will it get worse? can i stop it on the newer drums?
Given that I purchased this product from Ludwig it's their responsibility to address it, I have tried emailing, contacting them via Twitter, and I have spoken to two drum shops who have contacted them...so far no response and we are talking 4 months now, Delmare called me within 2 hours!
This issue needs to be addressed, if it wear Ford they would be looking into how to stop it, clearly the fact that some of the older toms have not faded it doesnt have to happen so why has it happened to the middle aged toms? is it dodgy wrap? did they change the manufacturing process? will it happen to the newer toms?
I am going to press on to get an answer from Ludwig and I now have the MD of my local drum store chasing them... we shall see

Click to expand...

I guess I should have reread the posts instead of just blindly posting again.I really do hope you get some kind of definitive answer from Ludwig.I think Karl may be right about NAMM though.Its a all hands on deck kind of behavior ,that takes over the music industry.

I really do think its a shame the customer service aspect of Ludwig,has taken a back seat to making a dollar.They really had great success with their classic,and legacy lines,and its just bad business to squander it by not addressing simple issues.People tend to remember the bad and forget the great drums they make.

Here's hoping the take a page from DW's playbook here,and post a toll free contact number for customers,and at least return those calls with an answer in a prompt manner.

To luck getting your answer.....Cheers.

Steve B

Possibly the final update...

I heard back from the MD of my local drum store and frankly I was amazed at the feedback.... seems that after looking into it and trying to work out how to help the MD came to realise Ludwig had no interest at all in customer service.

He told me that last year they stopped working with Ludwig after a similar issue, they had a coupld of kits that had issues, one was a champaign sparkle with bad chrome, it turned out that the ludwig marketing director was on a tour of the UK and when he met with him and discussed the issue he said that even if he sent him new chome hardware it would almost certainly not be any better, they also had a kit in a wrap that although meant to be the same colour pretty well every drum looked different, the guy just said they would not consider doing anything about it...so after 20 years of working with them the store pulled out of further collaboration.

the owner/ MD told me he was deeply sadened by their response, he has two vintage Ludwig kits himself and loves them but feels the quality has slipped so far that he would not like to have dozens of customers coming back to him with issues so the easyest thing to do was stop supplying Ludwig.

They als tried to speak to them about my issue only to be met with a blank.

I love my kit it has taken 30 years to collect and I will never sell it, however after spending £11k building it up I am left with a kit that looks like it has been sprayed with oil in places which is very disheartening.

I will never buy Ludwig again, prefering to use DW from here on, and at some point when i can afford it I will recover the kit. but let this be a warning to anyone considering purchasing Ludwig.

Currently they dont respond to any complaints and seem to have no interest in retaining the quality. This can only end badly for the business, DW and other manufacturers have completely stolen the ground from under them and it will only get worse unless they redress the internal culture. A very sad situation.

Thank you Delmare you at least acted in a honourable fashion and I was truly grateful for your help.

That's too bad dude. I know I was a big fan of Ludwig snares and I own 4 of them but I don't think I'll ever buy Ludwig again.I 've had the usual problems with the Ludwig snares ( chrome peeling , strainers breaking ) , but the straw for me was an out of round shell. Fortunatly they did replace it, but it was too late to save anymore business from me.

Sorry to hear about that. But I hesitate to generalize that the entire Ludwig company and their product is defective. Just playing devils advocate, but if someone came into my store 9 years after buying something, complaining about a defective product, .... you get the picture. The warranty probably has long since expired. Wraps are an iffy proposition, fading, yellowing. Who's to say I couldn't complain to Ludwig about the fading wrap on my old kit? If they replaced yours that opens the door to millions of other customers now wanting the same thing. Where would it end? Yes, they could have been more responsive to your concern. I agree with that. I just think that fading wraps are all part of ownership. I mean, the majority of white pearl wraps WILL fade. My has seriously done so over the years. I sympathize with you though.

I didn't see the part about them being 9 years old , but still , I have only one wrap kit ...Pearl export that I bought in 1985. It still looks Mint. Wrap is perfect , chrome is beautiful and still plays well or as good as a entry level kit will sound
I think that if one or five people complain it's probably generalizing....but when tens upon tens upon tens of people complain ....it's an issue. Unfortunatly these issues have been going on for awhile now and Ludwig does not seem to mind.

bigbang said:

I didn't see the part about them being 9 years old , but still , I have only one wrap kit ...Pearl export that I bought in 1985. It still looks Mint. Wrap is perfect , chrome is beautiful and still plays well or as good as a entry level kit will sound
I think that if one or five people complain it's probably generalizing....but when tens upon tens upon tens of people complain ....it's an issue. Unfortunatly these issues have been going on for awhile now and Ludwig does not seem to mind.

Click to expand...

You need to answer them back with you pocket book. It is as simple as that. There are lots of good drums out there. Pick one.

Done.
I've played on every major brands top of the line kits ( not that I've owned them all ) .
I've been with Yamaha now for roughly...6years.

bigbang said:

Done.
I've played on every major brands top of the line kits ( not that I've owned them all ) .
I've been with Yamaha now for roughly...6years.

Click to expand...

That is our way of forcing them to make a better product. That is how the North American car industry smartened up. They did loose a lot of people though while they were putting out sub standard cars.

I agree about the 9 yrs old part, however I have drums going back to the 70's that are still perfect so somewhere down the line the quality has slipped. Also the drum store was talking about freshly delivered kits with mis-matched wrap and bad chrome.
Despite the 9 yrs Delmare were still more than happy to help...why not Ludwig, they have had more bad press about this from me on here, via email and phone and on Twitter. Wouldnt it be better to sort it?