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So how have I come to be so fond of Ludwig banjo ukes? Well it all began just over twenty years ago when I made a chance ‘phone call to a well respected musical instrument shop in London. I asked them whether or not they had any banjo ukes in stock and they replied that they had, and that one of them was a Ludwig. At that time I had never seen a Ludwig (although I knew that they were held in high regard by many good players in England) and I knew nothing about the range of banjo ukes that Ludwig had made. In fact, my knowledge and experience in these matters was virtually nil, but eager to at least have the opportunity of seeing a Ludwig for myself, I went up to London a few days later. In the shop I was handed this black instrument case with a beautiful blue plush velvet lining, inside of which sat the Ludwig banjo uke. It had been bought about a week earlier from a private address in the London area, together with a Ludwig Kingston banjo. It certainly looked nice, but it was on sale for £140 which was the absolute limit of what I had to spend. After a long time wondering what I should do I eventually decided to buy it, and it was that decision which (unknown to me at the time) was to begin my love affair with Ludwig banjo ukes.
Those of you who have been fortunate to have seen a genuine Ludwig banjo uke (particularly one of the higher grade models) will have been struck by its undoubted beauty, and if you have ever had the privilege of playing a well set up Ludwig you will have experienced a quality of tone which, in my opinion, is unsurpassed by that of any other maker. The story that lies behind the production of these instruments is a fascinating one, beginning during a period of unparalleled success for the company and ending in one of unmitigated disaster.
William F. Ludwig was born in Germany in 1879, and together with his brother Theobald, the family emigrated to Chicago in 1887. The two boys were interested in music from an early age as their father was a professional musician, and despite learning to play several instruments, it was the drums that they loved more than any other. William developed his love of timpani throughout his youth and early adult years, and after a variety of jobs he had worked his way up the musical ladder and ended up playing for the Philharmonic Orchestra of Chicago. By the early 1900’s, William could see that ragtime music was starting to increase in popularity, but the instruments that he was playing were not powerful enough for ragtime's faster tempos and stronger accents. So, he set about designing and building a new pedal system to allow his drums to deliver the kind of sound that was needed, and when others saw and heard the results of his new invention he was besieged by drummers wanting the same system on their own drums. Thus it was that in 1909, together with his brother Theobald, he opened a small drum drum shop in Chicago and called it ‘Ludwig & Ludwig’.
Albeit on a part time production basis the business slowly grew, but William and Theobald were musicians - not businessmen - and trouble with the finances caused the business to fail in 1911. Fortunately, it was also in 1911 that William and Theobald’s sister, Elizabeth, joined the business to look after the books, and it is believed that it was her business skills that saved the company. Elizabeth’s employment turned out to be a double blessing, as she had married R. C. Danly who was a skilled mechanical engineer employed in the design of tools for the production of agricultural equipment. Danly’s skills were to prove invaluable in the design, production, and modification of the parts conceived by William and Theobald. It was also in 1911 that ‘Ludwig & Ludwig’ produced its first catalogue. However, the growing business was dealt a sudden blow in 1918 when Theobald contracted flu and became another victim of the epidemic that was sweeping the USA. Theobald’s death caused William to give up his part-time jobs and concentrate full time on developing the company. He became President of the company, and he persuaded R. C. Danly became a full time employee as Vice President and General Manager. In the early 1920’s the business continued to grow rapidly, and in 1923 a huge new extension was added to their small factory together with new equipment and a massively increased workforce, all of which combined to make the ‘Ludwig & Ludwig’ premises at 1611 - 1627 N. Lincoln Street Chicago the largest drum factory in the world. NEXT
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