Fake Vistalites

If you are here because you are trying to determine if your drums are fake then I hope we can help you with that determination. What we can't help you with is any legal advice or a way of getting retribution or your money back.

We are collecting history and drum photographs from people about fake vistalites. We also would like photos of badges, drums and the serial numbers of the drums in question.

As the data is gathered and a complete history is obtained we will make that available to the proper authorities and any interested parties.

First and foremost if you find a Ludwig vistalite snare drum or drum set in MINT condition then be careful. If the drums in question do not have the original heads then a flag should go up that something is wrong with the drums. (the head is not a huge aspect, but a factor to be considered)

Let's put this all in perspective. As a collector we want to find mint original drums and when the stories of these rare occurrences happen they are posted on drum forums and discussed at drum shows. Those drums have the original heads on them.

If you have been around the internet, you will see in fact that a lot of old drums still have the original heads. Even drums that are not mint that have been in the same case for many years have the original heads.

So lets look at the first few criteria:

1. Mint Vistalite Drums - especially in rare colors and patterns

2. New heads

After you get past this point or if you are still not sure if your drum is fake then the final deciding factor would be the badge on the drum. There are suspect badges that do not fit any of the criteria of a vintage Ludwig badge.

I have MINT original Ludwig badges that were never put on drums and they were attached to piece of metal that would need to break off of the badge. This leaves an out-dent on the edge of the badge. Look at this photo with three different badges on top of each other.

Some editing was done to make this work correctly, but the badges were not edited.

(Green Vistalite - Tequila Sunrise - Green Vistalite)

[Click photo for a larger version]

The reason this article is here is to help future purchases of vistalite drums to go under more scrutiny prior to the purchase. The fake badge you see above has been documented on every single drum purchased.

I have looked at and researched 100's of badges at drum shows on other non-vistalite drums and have never come across the characteristics on the fake badge on any other drum. So that leads me to my final determination that someone had these badges made and a drum with them is either fake or changed to look original and mint.

So if you have come this far and have the three criteria explained above then you have a fake drum.

There are a lot more details to the story and information which has been uncovered with my research and others in the business to lead us to this final determination.

Vistalite Drum Experts