and he gave away kits like we give away drum sticks and I am sure his endorsers just loved that... :)

I've got a 6 piece set of Buddy Rich Underwear for sale!...with the original skid marks & the kicker is, THE ELASTIC IS STILL GOOD! These drawers have been authenticated by Fruit-of-the-Loom & are part of the "Crotch Pocket" Hall of Fame. I'm currently taking offers, but be warned, not everyone can wear these tidy-whities!...It take a BIG MAN to fill Buddy's Underoos.:D

But where would you put all of those kits?

I am certain Buddy was given new kits a few times per year. Some probably became worn out from constant wear and tear. After all, you don't want the featured product to look worn out on TV or live performances. I am certain that many people would be in a drum shoppe on Monday morning after seeing Buddy on TV Saturday or Sunday night, or at least that's what the Buddy's equipment sponsors believed.

I know this for a fact that 9 out of 10 endorsers of ANY "durable" product (drums, guitars, bicycles, whatever) get at least three new examples of a product they prefer per year, plus prototypes, unlimited consumables and emergency replacements, as well. Just make sure you're seen with the logo and all is good!!! Some companies don't want you to showcase a "used looking" product, so replacements would come all of the time!!! It's cheaper to replace than refurbish for many factories. It's not like us where we buy one drum kit, baby it, cover it with blanket at night, etc. And you wonder why the price of stuff is so high? And again- what do you do with all of the left overs? Some companies forbid the sale of their user endorsed equipment, some don't.

In the '70s, Paul Stanley from KISS fame was gifted by Gibson somewhere around five guitars a month, and this was besides the cheapo Challengers he smashed!!! Paul sold his guitars to eat!!! Gibson's logos were all over the place and Gibson's logo appeared in KISS album liner notes. KISS were not making much money at that time, so these guitars came in very handy...

Some companies even want their stuff back!!! Yes, I know of one bicycle company that resold their sponsored rider's bikes to whomever was the highest bidder!!! Musical instrument manufacturers are generally more generous...

As long as the newest, flashiest, and shiniest product is seen on TV and elsewhere is visible with the brand's logo PROMINENTLY displayed, the endorsed company doesn't give a rat's what happens to the old product. Just make sure the product looks pretty all of the time...

I emailed the seller of this kit, requesting documentation and what line of Pearl drums this is. Let's see if he responds!

What was stated above about endorsing artists was not true of the major manufacturer that I represented for 27 years. Gibson, our major competitor,dealt with endorsing artists quite differently that we did. I am speaking in the past tense because I retired at the end of 2007. Very few artists were given free guitars. The highest profile artists were given very few guitars or amps. They paid a deeply discounted price for more of them. Artists were NEVER paid to endorse our products. If there was an artist signature model, that artist was paid a royalty for each piece that was sold. Most of the artists with signature models had the royalties sent to charitable causes. Artists of lesser acclaim and newer artists are offered endorsements that may not include free gear, but rather, discounted gear. Some endorsing artists were given all the accessories (strings, picks, cables, etc.) they needed, but no free guitars. All endorsing artists were offered factory authorized free maintenance and servicing of their instruments and amps. I have personal knowledge of some of the endorsement deals. I have helped out by personally delivering guitars or amps to endorsing artists when they were in my part of the world. I know of some interesting stories such as when Eric Clapton phoned the artist relations person to say: " I need to have you send me another green one of my signature guitar. My good friend George (Harrison) just left my house with the one I had here. He fell in love with it--had to have it. Please, I insist that you send a bill for me to pay for it".

I know first hand of a guitar company that has a multi million dollar annual payroll for shredders who get paid to play their guitars. This helps to explain why their Korean made guitars are so expensive. I have heard--don't have first hand knowledge--that a particular drum company's high end drums are so expensive because the consumers subsidize the give-away drums that we see on television and in videos.

Yes, leedy- I should have also explained that some endorsement deals also entailed discounting, rather than give aways.

I was endorsing a bicycle company back when I was young and fit racing duathlons. This company's idea of endorsement deal? 10% off cost!!! Yeah, I paid just a bit under what a dealer would pay. The kicker? I was limited to three bicycle frames per year, and it didn't matter what happened to the bike I needed to replace- if I needed a fourth frame, I had to hope that a dealer was going to give me a break on pricing. No warranty as I was racing the bicycle and that was considered "above and beyond normal wear and tear". I did sell one frame at the end of the season. I also broke one, as well. Needless to say I hooked up with a different manufacturer the next season, and while I had to give back the bikes at the end of the season, I never had to pay for any bicycles- even the ones that broke!!! Yes, riding a bicycle as many miles as one drives a car can cause weird things to happen. I had unlimited bicycles, they just had to go back (even the broken ones). Tyres were replaced every two months!!! It was very, very expensive to be a bicycle racer!!!

Endorsement deals have all sorts of purposes- one is to get the name of the product out to everyone, another is for R&D. And no two are alike, as it has been pointed out.

I was generally speaking as to why Buddy Rich probably gave away many drum kits. I erred in making a sweeping generalisation.

It's interesting how the different companies handle endorsements.

Yes- someone has to pay for that form of advertising!!!

The saddest part is that these artists (as far as the guitars go) probably play prototypes that are absolutely NOTHING like what the company sells!!! They were either made in Memphis or Corona...(nudge wink!) I can't remember who made Paul Stanley's stage Silvertone guitars (and the shattered mirror ones, as they were U.S. made and were about 3x as much as the Korean ones), but it was NOT Samick...

At least when I have personally seen a Murphy 'burst that an artist used to play- you can get one just like it from the Custom Shop in Memphis. Same with the Fender stuff. You just have to have the Benjamins to pay for it.

Can't wait to see the email back (if you get one)!!!

I received an email back! Here it is...

"No documentation, I did however get it from pro drums, I trust them. If you want call them and ask them about it. On the badge of the drums it says "All Maple Shell" it was the 80's."

I know the owners of Pro Drum Shop in Hollywood and will give them a call later today. I'll report back on my findings!

Interesting...

"All Maple Shell", huh?

Can't wait to read what's next in this little soap opera...

Violin