Ringo's Beatle Kits

Premier Mahogany Duroplastic kit - Model 54

Ringo's Premier kit specs: 4"x14" Royal Ace Piccolo snare, 8"x12" tom, 16"x16" floor tom, 14"x20" bass drum. 15" hi hat cymbals, 20" & 18" crash/ride cymbals.

The first two Ludwig oyster black pearl (OBP) sets that Ringo owned were known as his mini kits.

Ringo’s Ludwig mini kit specs: 5.5"x14" snare, 8"x12" tom, 14"x14" floor tom, 14"x20" bass drum, 14"/15" hi hat cymbals, 20" & 18" crash/ride cymbals.

 Here's a 1965 Ludwig oyster black pearl kit. Specs: 5.5"x14" snare, 9"x13" tom, 16"x16" floor tom, 14"x22" bass drum. 14" hi hat cymbals, 20" & 18" crash/ride cymbals.

Ringo used his maple kit on the Let It Be & Abbey Road albums. Specs: 5.5"x14" snare, 8"x12" tom, 9"x13" tom, 16"x16" floor tom, 14"x22" bass drum. 14" hi hat cymbals, 20" crash/ride, 20" sizzle, 18" crash/ride cymbals.

 

 I did put calfskin heads on this set.

This to me is an interesting subject because I have heard and read this a number of times that Ringo used calfskin heads on his maple kit and he even says so a number of times. The question of certainty is raised when you carefully examine photos of his kit during the Let It Be sessions. On some photos you can see the traditional black Ludwig logo stamp found on their Mylar heads. Secondly, you don’t see the distinctive calfskin hoops showing under any of the rims or on the bass drum hoop. In fact, on the batter side bass drum head, you see a metal ring alongside the wooden hoop. On the very few photos that I have of the Abbey Road sessions, it does show that calfskin heads were used. Since I was going for the Let It Be look, I have since removed the calfskin heads in place of Mylar.