Career
He was perhaps most famous in his day for his snare-drum technique, which is often referred to in the drumming community as "The Gladstone Technique". This technique involves the use of the fingers to control the rebound of the drum stick, as opposed to the "Moeller Method" which utilizes a fluid whipping motion to control stick rebound. More likely they both observed other experienced drummers and instructors of their time and later expanded and popularized each technique via modern publications and private drum instruction.
As an inventor and drum builder he devised his own special drum kits bearing his name.
These rare snare drums are considered highly collectible today. Among his inventions is a rare jazz instrument similar to the Bock-a-da-bock, a hand-held cymbal apparatus called the “Ludwig Gladstone Cymbal” when it was introduced by the Ludwig Drum Company in 1927.
In 1929 the Leedy Drum Company listed it in their catalogue as the “Hand Sock Cymbals.” Gladstone was granted a patent September 27, 1927, for his "Operating Device for Cymbals," his first commercially accepted patent (his previous patents were not mass-produced). This launched an illustrious career as an inventor of percussion and non-percussion items.
On April 21, 1931 Gladstone was awarded a patent for a percussion musical instrument.
The patent number is 1,801,422.