Easy answer: There weren't nearly as many made. The ones that were sold -especially the named ones, likely saw a lot of "club" action and didn't stay together or were damaged over the years....which make them even less available, now.

It's also a desirable size out of necessity for the gigs that are available -most being very small "stages" without a lot of room.

Also portability is a factor when loading and unloading your kit onto a cart and wheeling it into and around obstacles on your way to setting up.

One old story told was that, back in the day, Roy Haynes wanted a small kit that he could fit into his Fiat Spyder...so he took off the resonant side wood hoop and T rods and replaced them with an 18" floor tom triple flange rim and lug screws. A little while after that, Slingerland came out with "The Jet" kit that had a very similar design -except that BOTH sides were equipped with the triple flange rims and a specially designed clip thing for mounting the bass drum pedal. And just a bit after that, Ludwig came out with the Jazzette kit that retained the traditional wood hoops and T rods on the bass drum....but used a shell that was only12" in depth -(as opposed to the usual 14" depth of other brands' bop kits)....all of which, apparently fit into Hayne's Fiat just fine.....because he became a Ludwig endorser after that and championed the Jazzette in many ads for Ludwig.

The really REEEALLY desirable bop kits are the Gretsch kits, though. But good luck finding one at all....but when you do, then brace yourself! They sound so great, though -undeniable.

Ok, that does make sense. The fewer made, the more the value, obviously.

I feel for Roy James, as I owned a 79 Spider for some 20 years, and just sold it. Yeah, good luck getting a standard kit in that sports car!

So a bop kit offers easier high tuning for jazz then, I guess, or is it all about portability? I'm just trying to get my head wrapped around the whole bop kit thing. Thanks!

I had a King Bopcat kit for awhile....talk about thin shells....3mm Keller maple! The drums were oooookaaaay...pretty generic hardware....the sizes were 14" bass, 12" floor tom and an 8" and 10" toms. It was just too small of a kit....toms had a very limited tuning range....the rims were really low profile stick saver types....almost like what you'd see on lugged bongos or something. I found a buyer who loved it....had to have it....okay...noooo problem! I did, however, keep the 10" snare drum. No regrets.

Well, most bop kits offer the same tuning ranges as the 12.14. 20 "Downbeat" style configurations -except the bop bass drums are a couple inches smaller...so essentially you can kinda get the same tuning range -except for maybe at the extreme-extremes...which few people implement, anyway.

I think it's just a style thing, really. It's cool to have one...kinda like it's cool to own a vintage sports car. Portability, yes, for sure. But yeah, they are just rarer and.....cooler! ;)

Yeah, you said it right there. It's the cool factor. I agree. It seems as though guys that own true bop kits really get into the cool factor of owning one. You can pretty much get the same tuning, except at the extremes as you said, from a bigger kit, so why spend the big bucks? Because it is cool!

That said, I sure wouldn't mind having one!Yes Sir

Buy NEw You're better Off.

New. Smaller sizes are still cheaper. If you want Logic.

look at the price list

https://www.gretschdrums.com/drums/usa-custom

Although some people think bop sets with 18" bass drums are cool, and I get that, they make no sense for me and the music I play. I see nothing cool about them whatsoever.

I have a little Mapex Voyager set that I bought years ago for my daughter and am now going to give to my grandson. It has an 18" bass drum that I cannot get an acceptable sound from. It's just too small, and yes, I realize it's a low end drumset. The bass drum sounds like a floor tom. You cannot get the low end boom and response out of an 18" bass drum like you can from a 22" or a 24." It's an impossibility. There's just not enough air moving around inside an 18" bass drum to generate low end.

I've said it before and admit my bias. I don't like bop jazz and don't play it. The swing and rock drummers I like and admire all use or used large bass drums; 22," 24" and even 26" bass drums, so that's the sound I go for. Even a 20" bass drum not quite large enough for me, but I keep a Leedy set with a 20" for small space gigs.

As to why bop sets are so desirable? If you like the drummers who used them and like that style of jazz, 18" bass drums are going to appeal to you, and it's true that not many sets with 18" bass drums were actually produced. After The Beatles hit in 1964 and rock music really took off, the emphasis was on larger drums, so that's what the drum manufacturers made. Another reason 18" bass drums are considered cool has something to do with hero worship. The drummers who used them back in the '50's are now considered legendary and have their acolytes and followers; Elvin Jones, Tony Williams, Art Blakey, Mel Lewis, Roy Haynes, Stan Levy, etc. We are all products of our influences. Don't forget that Tony Williams eventually started using big drums after his bop days were over. Those bright yellow Gretsch drums of his were all oversized if I'm not mistaken.

I love my 18

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only difference is volume you really have to kick an 18" bass drum in louder situations.

Like on the verge of collapsing the head...and in a way, brings out another aspect of your play (instead of relaxing) (you're going for broke!)

The new bop kits DO look great and I'm sure they are built to more exacting standards than were the old ones....definitely an option to consider for working purposes...

...and I realize that "cool" is in the eyes and ears of the beholder...like some people will see a little two seater Porsche and think it looks cartoonish and uncomfortable. They might prefer the old land yachts like Cadillacs. To each his own, but the fact remains that the OP is correct about the vintage bop kits commanding the market at the moment.

As far as getting a big enough sound...Well....that really depends on the application....live or studio....A lot has to do with how the drums are mic'ed, EQ'ed to be honest. I once heard a Bill Frisell record with Joey Barron on drums....the bass drum sound was SO huge....I'd never heard anything like it. It sounded like the marching bass drum from Purdue University! Nope! Turns out it was an 18"! Studio magic....Go figure.

But IF I was into playing the old time big band razzamatazz type stuff, then having a little bass drum would just be....wrong. For that music, a drummer would really need a bigger bass drum. They fit that old-timey esthetic better.

A drummer like Tony Williams, for example, mastered the ability to evolve his playing from a hard bop beginning as a sideman (to arguably the greatest jazz quintet that ever existed), into more modern forms later on, as a leader of his own bands. And so, as his music changed, the need for a different type of instrument was called for. His singles around that big yellow Gretsch kit were/are unsurpassed. The expanded sounds of his big kit made it possible for him to retain a unique and individual sound throughout his entire career. He was just one of those guys...like him or not. That's why I disagree with the fashion of the bop kits as being based on hero worship...

...There were many drum heroes who used big bass drums, too, but it didn't make big bass drums popular amongst collectors, today. That's why no one is going in the direction of reissuing large diameter, shallow depth bass drums with trap trays and swan neck stands for suspended cymbals.

Who knows what the next generations of drummers will require as music continues to evolve?