It's a nice set of Kent drums. However, everything for sale by this seller is always overpriced. Take a moment to look at his other drum-related items and you'll see what I mean. His feedback doesn't inspire me, either! But, hey, he just be offering what you need and no one else has it. Sorry to sound like this, but there are just some sellers that really chap my hide!!
-Mark
They are overpriced, and unless the seller is willing to seriously haggle, I'd walk away.
I just bought a great old set of BDP Ludwigs for $600 in primo shape.
From what I have read, Kent drums tried to be the counterpart of Harmony guitars. They served their purpose for a short while in history. By the mid 1960s, Kent began importing Japanese-made shells. Little by little, the only way the company could stay afloat was to depend increasingly on Asian production. The quality of their drums steadily declined until they went out of business in the mid 1970s. The same fate befell Harmony.
Actually in some ways the quality of kent drums improved when they began importing the Japanese drums. Although there is a fond nostalgia for the Kenmore made drums, as stated above, they weren’t high quality. The finishes were ok, lugs decent and the shells were an interesting two ply style (actually one ply wrapped twice around) but there were often no bearing edges and the hoops were lightweight, both metal and wood. The mounting hardware as noted above was very limited. When they began importing the quality of the shells was equal or better although they are the multiply luan with vertical grain on the inner ply. They had consistent bearing edges and decent hardware that was a Sonor copy. Unfortunately the tom legs, bass spurs and tom mounting hardware were made from cheap metal and often stripped. That wasn’t a problem with the Kenmore drums. So it was a trade off. I’ll add that many of my friends had Kenmore made Kents when we were kids. I had a Japanese model. Mine looked, sounded, played better and lasted a long time with minor repairs to the cheap fittings.
I had a cool orange sparkle wrap Kent snare with the cool tin foil badge. Sold it but it sounded just ok. A step or two above the MIJs at the time.
Some people would say that this 1990 Yugo is good looking. It's the perfect vehicle to transport a Kent drum set.
Years ago, I was visiting a drum shop in Buffalo, New York when someone brought in a set of Kent drums he wanted to sell. The owner was very eager to purchase them! To my untrained eye, they looked pretty good! They may have been maple. The owner of the store and seller made a deal and the seller left. The owner then told me that Kent drums were manufactured in the Buffalo area at one time. I also remember the MIJ Kents that were sold when I was a kid growing up and learning to play in Canada. Were there two distinct brands of Kent drums? I know that the Japanese stencil kits loved using American sounding names on their badges. I've owned a few! Just curious. Thanks!
Brian
Years ago, I was visiting a drum shop in Buffalo, New York when someone brought in a set of Kent drums he wanted to sell. The owner was very eager to purchase them! To my untrained eye, they looked pretty good! They may have been maple. The owner of the store and seller made a deal and the seller left. The owner then told me that Kent drums were manufactured in the Buffalo area at one time. I also remember the MIJ Kents that were sold when I was a kid growing up and learning to play in Canada. Were there two distinct brands of Kent drums? I know that the Japanese stencil kits loved using American sounding names on their badges. I've owned a few! Just curious. Thanks! Brian
If you read earlier posts in this thread you’ll get an idea of the history.
