I have taken the hoops and lugs off of one of these older economy shells, and literally seen it come apart because there was nothing actually holding it together once the lugs came off.Īlso, a forum member wrote to me asking about cutting bearing edges. Sure, if you want to invest $750 in the set, you could bring it up to par with new hardware, new bearing edges, etc to make it a player, but based upon the brand, it still isn't really worth anything because the shell are junk, and the hardware isn't even as good as the cheaper stuff that is out there today.īut my question would be "Why would you want to?" I'd rather put the $750+ toward a used name kit, or in my personal thinking, toward shells and hardware from Drum supply house (drummaker:com) or precision drum, and put a kit together myself. These old sets have real no monetary value. It's got the original heads on it, and she even still has the freaking price-tag that was on the set.Ī lot of people have older gear and think that they have a gem that's worth thousands, and that was the point I was trying to make. Her son got it when he graduated High School in the 1960's - he played it for a year before he was killed at 19 in a motorcycle wreck. For example, one of my mom's friends has an original Beatles' era Ringo Ludwig 4-piece kit in a closet at her house. To me, as somebody who repaired drums for 18 years, vintage insinuates that it is actually worth something. If I took this to the local drum shop, they wouldn't laugh me out the door, they would say "cool looking off-brand vintage kit, dude, how does it sound?"Īs a writer he's okay, as a singer, eh- I could take him or leave him. Oh, and I forgot to ask this very important question: Tim, do you like Tom Waits? I have played quite a few different kits in this lifetime, some that would now be considered 'vintage' as in 'fine wine' and some that are just 'vintage' but my bottom line is: if it sounds good, tunes up easily and stays there and doesn't fall apart when you play it, then it's not a toy, and not crap, no matter what the shells are made of. BUT, as a result of those two purchases, I now look in the used bin before buying new, and sometimes find some really nice stuff - on brand or off. That kit was a toy, and both had the benefit of nice wood for the shells, decent bearing edges and proper hardware. and the nice looking but drastically overpriced Gretsch Club Catalina that went back to GC in three days early last year. The reality is, it sounds much better than both the pos Pearl Export "All Black" kit I bought a few years ago, and sold in a hurry. If I took this to the local drum shop, they wouldn't laugh me out the door, they would say "cool looking off-brand vintage kit, dude, how does it sound?" But then, this is the upper midwest, where there is way less attitude. At the same time, I am proud that I finally own a "vintage" kit, in the same weird way that I'd rather own an offbrand vintage tube accordion amp, or a vintage Tokai Stratocaster or Gold Top LP copy than the real thing. I just wish I could find an original hoop w/matching inlay and the claws and T-Rods. In the end, though, I am going to have a Ringo/Beatles vibe kit that I will feel confident gigging with. I got these Tempro's on the cheap because they needed a complete reheading ($60-$100) as all the heads were shot, rack tom hardware (?) new steel hoop w/ matching inlay for the front side of the bass drum ( at least $40), T-Rods and claws for the front head (?) new kick drum spurs (at least $30), bearing edges (price varies). I'd at least make sure that the hardware was solid, (look at the bearing edges on the toms and snare if possible as this is what they seem to cut the corners on for some of these kits) as $300 will buy you a pretty damn good used current-era kit on craigslist in the USA. It depends on what the value is to you, as well. I'd agree with the author of that info on that website, between $200 or $300.