Dan!

I've been watching this set for sometime now! While I don't think anyone will pull the trigger, including myself, I can always dream! Still, there seem to be lots of interested people out there in the proper age range that have a lot of disposable income and would pay for these...just not me!

-Mark

There are two types of people who buy stuff like this at ridiculously high prices. One type says: "Wow! Look at this. I was able to sell everything I owned to get the money to buy this piece of history. Wanna try it out"? The other type says: " Do you know how much I had to pay for this? I was able to outbid a lot of other people. Please don't touch it. The display case is being made for it". Fortunately, I am neither of those types. I'm a third type who observes and chuckles.

I'd definitely buy this one from the same seller ($10,000 more for an extra floor tom is a steal, right?), but that $300 shipping is a deal breaker for me...

Ooh, free shipping!

Just sayin.....

https://www.ebay.com/itm/254910654548?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&itemid=254910654548&targetid=1263584873979&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=9033307&poi=&campaignid=12593971577&mkgroupid=122298801357&rlsatarget=pla-1263584873979&abcId=9300522&merchantid=113578404&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIlof3oPHq8AIVQz6tBh3wdgkAEAQYCCABEgJV6_D_BwE

https://www.ebay.com/itm/293873452838?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&itemid=293873452838&targetid=1263584873419&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=9033307&poi=&campaignid=12593971577&mkgroupid=122298801357&rlsatarget=pla-1263584873419&abcId=9300522&merchantid=108071284&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI3ICu1_Hq8AIVwxd9Ch0U4gmNEAQYBCABEgLNEPD_BwE

Gibson doing a shady unauthorized artist model guitar? How unthinkable! But, having sold against the putz who ran Gibson for quite a few years, it's very likely true.

Yeah, it's a copy! Imagine what the real one is valued at! I don't know about the politics of the guitar world, but I was just pointing out that it's not unheard of (in most other instruments) for certain models to command an exceptional price if they are rare or desirable (or both). Just think about what Ringo's original set would sell for...

...And why? -because someone attached a value to Ringo...and the Beatles...and the era. The drums, themselves, are just drums....the guitars are just guitars...but time has added memories to certain objects that came from then and those memories and feelings are the closest thing we have to time machines that transport us back to a world we knew. They are the artifacts of our lives as musicians.

It's not just Ringo kits or gold top Les Pauls...It's flutes, saxophones, basses, trumpets...You name it. Drums have always been at the bottom of the heap when it comes to high values. Maybe the times will change one day. I hope so!

Interesting thread, guys! Love those incredible ebay "Buy It Now" prices. I've often wondered if our beloved vintage drums (guitars, etc.) will have value to our children's and grand-children's generations. Or whether they will just be "Grandpa's old drums." Toss them out and get something new with modern features - the latest technology!

Looking back at the 1950s-1960s, when stamp-collecting and coin collecting were the hobbies of our fathers. Nowadays, stamps have almost no value and vintage coins are only worth their silver "melt value." A terrible shame, in my opinion.

I too am one of those guys who retains things only for their sentimental/nostalgic meaning, although they have no real value. I pay $215 monthly rent for a storage shed that holds all my childhood/adolescent treasures that will one day end up at the curb on Garbage Day. But that's OK - it is worth it to me to keep those items. They make me happy and bring back fond memories. After I'm gone, throw all that junk out.

After Covid shut down my music scene, I found a 1966 Ludwig "Hollywood" kit in Champagne Sparkle...the same manufacturer, model and color that I desperately wanted in high school at that time, but no money....And although I certainly didn't need this kit in 2020 (already having two other kits), it fulfilled a teenage dream and so I spent too much money to get it, rather than risk "losing" it to someone else.

Although it is in collector condition, it has enough wear and dings and replaced parts, that I use it as my gigging kit. So proud to finally have this kit, and if it gets another ding or two in a venue somewhere, that's OK.

Life is too short. And the older you get, the more you realize your mortality. If something pleases you, and you can afford it, get it and enjoy it..and don't worry about what will happen to it, or its value, when you are gone. Your spouse or your kids will find a good home for it...or not.

Enjoy our toys!

Regards, MB