Vistalite Drums

Vistalite drums were a line of acrylic drums produced by the Ludwig Drum company, introduced in 1972. The name Vistalite refers to the translucent plastic that the shells were made out of. Vistalite and acrylic offered a synthetic alternative to wood shells and were popularized by rock drummer John Bonham of Led Zeppelin.

The original Vistalites are a collectors item.

Bill Zickos was the father of the acrylic drums; he built the first experimental set in 1959 and received a US Patent (patent #3,626,458) for them in 1970.

When marketing of Vistalites started in late 1972, the drums were available in clear, blue, green, red, amber, and yellow, with clear and blue being the largest sellers. In 1976 the company broadened the line to include "Rainbow" Vistalites with multicolored shells, with "Tequila Sunrise" (a combination of red, orange and yellow stripes) being one of the most popular combinations. Multi-colored acrylic shells were co-invented by Elvis Presley's drummer Ronn Tutt. Tutt, however, tried his invention and was unimpressed, enough that he immediately went back to playing maple drums. Other Vistalite variations included bass drums without tom mounts (often referred to as "virgin" bass drums) and concert toms (toms without lug holes or a rim on the bottom of the shell). Since Ludwig technically offered any drum it manufactured (other than tympani) in Vistalite, rare examples such as congas and bongos have become valuable collectibles.

The green and red colors were eventually dropped due to slow sales. Translucent Smoke (a dark grey color), solid black, and solid white were added late during the Vistalite production run. A 1977 mis-order left Ludwig with a large surplus supply of the white shells, a problem the company resolved by covering many in chrome wrap, selling them as "faux stainless steel" drums. Singer/drummer Karen Carpenter was fond of vistalites and can be seen playing them on her '70s TV shows. Keith Moon of the Who, Nick Mason of Pink Floyd, Ron Bushy of Iron Butterfly, Barriemore Barlow of Jethro Tull, John Bonham of Led Zeppelin, Jay Osmond of The Osmonds, Billy Cobham, Danny Roberts of River City, and Scott Schafer of Znowhite played acrylic sets in the '70s.

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