Paiste Brass-Tones 18" Ride

Ludwig & Paiste: A marriage made in heaven (until it wasn't!)

Introduction:
Ludwig officially listed Paiste cymbals under the Ludwig name in their catalogs starting in 1957 (Previously, Ludwig began importing Paiste Gongs to the U.S. around 1953).
However, there are several accounts that the relationship started much earlier than that: there is proof that William Ludwig Sr. had a relationship with Michail Paiste before WWII. Robert Paiste recalls in an interview that his father already had business contacts with Ludwig Sr. while we were in Estonia (1930’s). Also, In the early post-war period (1945/46?) Robert also states: “the Ludwig family sent care packages which at that time could not be paid for with money”.

The beginning (the Ludwig “3-star”):
In or around 1956, Bill Ludwig Sr. was visiting his childhood home in Nenderoth Germany, afterward he attended the Frankfurt music fair where met Michail Paiste, he purchased some samples from Michail Paiste and brought them back to the U.S, Bill Ludwig Jr. found them too thick for the US market, but the price was extremely attractive so he ordered more of them.
These cymbals were stamped with the Ludwig name (the Ludwig “3-star”) creating exclusivity among American drum companies, they planned to sell them with their drum outfits. Ludwig ordered 20,000 cymbals per year for several years and received nothing but a good comments about them.

It cannot be emphasized enough the importance of this business relationship; Europe was still recovering from WWII, many countries were still under rationing laws for many materials. Paiste was able to grow exponentially with the huge increase in production volume and sales.
It is speculated that this increase in revenue allowed the Swiss factory to ramp up production very quickly. It is known that Robert moved there in 1956 to setup his own factory, we think he was able to hire new employees and buy the required machines to mass produce the Ludwig “3-star”, at the same time he was searching for a source of B20 and experimenting with/developing the rolling process so he could make world class B20 cymbals. We don’t think would’ve happened so quickly without Ludwig's business!

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Sources: Robert Paiste 2006 interview, Bill Ludwig's book; "the making of a drum company", pictures courtesy of the Pro Drum shop in Hollywood, CA.
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