I have purchased drums from them in the past. Seem like decent guys and no issues to report. I have been able to negotiate price on some items so there can be room for discussion. I'm quite pleased in the end with my purchases and dealings with Drugan's. If prices are too high, they won't sell and come down. If high from your perspective and someone buys it, then perhaps the market is hotter than you expected for such items. I do see more competition and higher prices of late. Steve Maxwell recently commented about this on his WWW page. Low inventory and demand remains high. My 2 cents... Bob

It might work! There's nothing wrong with hunting for a bargain, if that happens to be what you're after. Who doesn't like getting a good deal, right?

There is another school of thought that deals more with fulfilling the desire of procuring certain objects that might only come up for sale very, seldomly -if at all. As long as this vintage drum collecting "game" has been going on, much of the really, REALLY nice stuff is now sitting in collections.

Take our own, forum member, Dr. Mike Curotto, for one example. His collection is undoubtedly one of the finest in the world....I couldn't say for sure, but my guess is that none of the drums in his collection were inexpensive. They are essentially art objects. In the realm of art, expense takes on a different value scale.

Some of these things that started out as utilitarian objects, have now become almost synonymous with collectible art objects. Billy Gladstone snare drums....Gretsch bop kits with 18" bass drums...Istanbul K Zildjian cymbals...Citrus Mod wrapped Ludwig drums....Old, Paiste 602 cymbals...So-called "Ringo kits" in BOP... Trixon conical drum kits....the list goes on...Those things are worth a fortune, now.

Look guys and gals

I see it as a wave , that’s riding high right now .

I paid 3 k for my (downbeat ,) in pink champagne pearl , minty as all, but I think , a few years ago it would of cost 1200 to 1500.

No more drums for cheap , unless moded like crazy or orphan and beat up , with interiors repainted and wraps faded , smoke damage , blistered chrome .

You see it all day the minty kits are getting harder and harder to find.

Is it that effing difficult to type the words DOWN BEAT? Not all of us are Ludwig shorthand savvy. It took me three readings of your post to come up with what drum set you were mentioning. I don't think that I'm being a cranky old man this morning. I try to not use "insider" jargon when posting about drums. I was schooled by another Slingerland aficionado that I offended some other people by referring to my favorite

drums as Slingies.

Is Mike Curotto a doctor?

Well...I thought he was...but maybe I was wrong. My apologies if I'm incorrect.

That's how he can afford all those rare snare drums. LOL.

Worth every penny...

https://reverb.com/item/56073497-1959-ludwig-super-classic-drum-set-blue-sparkle-22-13-16-5-5x14?utm_source=rev-ios-app&utm_medium=ios-share&utm_campaign=listing&utm_content=56073497

Absolutely! and then some! You sure don't see many transition badge kits like that! Even the rail consolette doesn't look "mashed" from over tightening. That tom mount and others like it can sometimes be problematic, but that was as good as it got in 1959! Gorgeous! Blue sparkle may be common, but it's always been one of my favorites.

Absolutely!

Mike