Canadian Music Trade - February / March 2020 | Page 17

Supplier Spotlight
WFLIII
Drums
By Andrew King
F
ive years ago, William F.
Ludwig III found himself in
a unique predicament. Fresh
from a move to a new house in
a new city, he was unpacking
boxes and contemplating his
next career move. That’s when he happened
upon a photograph of his grandfather,
William Ludwig Sr., surrounded by dozens
of drum shells with a smile on his face. On
the back, in his father’s handwriting, was a
simple note: “Senior starting over.”
William Sr. started the Ludwig Drum
Company with his brother in 1909 and sold
the business in the late ‘20s. He initially
stayed on to oversee operations for its new
owners, C.G. Conn; however, in the mid-
‘30s, he decided to leave and start a new
company of his own, dubbed The WFL
Drum Company.
“That inspired me and pushed me to do
something I’d been thinking about doing,” says
Ludwig III – better known to his friends as B3.
“I thought, ‘If he could do it, I could do it.’”
To complete the history lesson, B3’s
grandfather and father bought the Ludwig
trademark back from Conn in 1955 and
ushered the brand into a new era of success
– one perhaps best encapsulated by the logo
being seen by the largest TV audience in his-
tory (at the time) when Ringo Starr and The
Beatles performed on The Ed Sullivan Show
in 1964; subsequently, B3 was born into the
world’s best-known drum dynasty.
“I grew up in this business,” he says
proudly. “I was just going through photos of
my father and I in front of a drum shop in
Puerto Rico from the early ‘60s. As a kid, I’d
work in the factory on weekends, opening
mail and whatnot. I eventually worked in
every department of the company, from
building drums to travelling with our sales-
people and learning about our dealers.”
B3 and his father, William Ludwig II,
sold the business again in the early ‘80s and
parted company with the new owners short-
ly thereafter. B3 took various jobs outside
of the music business before deciding to get
back into drum manufacturing with that ser-
WILLIAM F. LUDWIG III
endipitous push from his late grandfather.
WFLIII Drums was incorporated in
2014, initially producing aluminum-shell
snares before adding wooden models to the
mix. In 2018, having found a good supplier
of maple and poplar, the company started
producing full three-ply kits that premiered
at The 2019 NAMM Show.
“My whole starting point is the sound,”
B3 tells CMT after a strong showing at
NAMM 2020 a year later. “I know what a
good drum should sound like. People that
play the kits recognize the classic sound from
the first stroke of the drum. I’m confident
we’ve got the shell and the sound; now we’re
moving forward to grow our dealer base.”
Currently, that involves a lot of travel
and face-to-face relationship-building with
retailers and their customers. When WFLIII
Drums welcomes a new dealer partner,
B3 typically likes to travel for a “WFLIII
Drums Day” where he can meet people in
the store, have pictures taken, and show off
his products. “We had one where a fellow
bought a kit, so I told him to pull his car up
and we started loading it in. At one point he
stopped and said, ‘I can’t believe Bill Ludwig
is loading my car!’ But that’s how good rela-
tionships start – right at the ground level.”
In late 2019, he came up to Drumland
in Vaughan, ON, for such an event and has
been enjoying a fruitful relationship with
owner John “JD” Di Ciommo and his team
ever since. “He’s really gotten behind the
brand and given us a big push, which is
exactly the kind of partnership I’m looking
for at this stage,” Ludwig says.
While there, he also met a talented
13-year-old drummer, Matteo Vena, who he
ultimately welcomed on as an endorser, put-
ting Vena’s name alongside heavy hitters like
longtime Johnny Winter timekeeper Bobby
T and Nashville session giant Scott William-
son (Blake Shelton, Brooks & Dunn) on the
WFLIII Drums roster.
“An endorsement is a two-way street,”
Ludwig says about his approach to artist rela-
tions. “You’re basically an ambassador of the
company and helping to promote the brand
every chance you get. It’s great having the big
names, but if I see potential with someone’s
playing and their approach and attitude
towards life, I’m willing to give them a shot.”
As with most of the company’s activities
and initiatives at this point, it’s about firmly
establishing the brand and building its profile
with dealers and drummers the world over.
A big part of that is the company’s revamped
website at www.wfliiidrums.com, which
includes a cool Drum Builder feature where
people can experiment with different drums,
sizes, materials, hardware, and finishes to
customize their dream kit.
Beyond that, it’s about putting in the
face time and developing strong relation-
ships. “We definitely got everyone talking
at NAMM this year,” Ludwig says proudly,
in large part thanks to WFLIII Drums’
next-generation lugs and loud new finishes
that look more in line with sportscars than
instruments. What’s more, “Everybody on
the roster is cranking up for their summer
tours, so it’s a really exciting time. We’re
going to keep looking for the next Ringo
and keep working on the road to get the
exposure we need.”
While he knows that will take a lot of
time and work, he also knows he has a solid
foundation to build it on: great-looking,
great-sounding drums spawned from a
lifetime in the business. As the company’s
slogan suggests, WFLIII Drums offers “the
sound of generations” for today’s players.
Andrew King is the Editor-in-Chief of
Canadian Music Trade.
CANADIAN MUSIC TRADE 17