Hey guys, good to be back after along while away. Around 10 yrs, ago I was heavy collecting vintage drums. I could find great deals on vintage drum sets
all the time. My collection grew to around 30 very nice vintage sets and tons of hardware.
Now, I got the fever again. But, I'm thinking that these deals and vintage drum sets are now much harder to find now. In fact almost impossible. Do you guys still find vintage sets and great deals? How is the market compared to 10 yrs ago?
Thanks so much
Yes, great deals on vintage drums are much harder to find. When you stumble onto one, act fast!
You can make settings on OfferUp and Craigslist to receive notifications of new listings. Other than that I suppose garage sales, flea markets, facebook marketplace, thrift stores and the occasional pawn shop will be some of your best bets.
Happy Hunting!
Josh
I just got back into some vintage drums after many years without them. I stumbled into several things all at once and had the cash, so I ended up buying the makings of 3 different sets. Only one of these was a had-to-have-it situation, but that one has even turned into a project when the bass drum got damaged in shipping. So now I have 3 sets in various states of "work needed" -- and hoping to get some time to work on them soon.
To more directly answer your question, one of these sets is a mixed finish (jellybean) Slingerland setup that I own cheap. I think it's a good deal for a set that will live in my basement for recording and student use. The other two sets are Rogers, and I think I own them for reasonable (not killer) prices.
I started collecting many years ago and got some great deals on just about every set of drums and snare drums. If I had to start collecting today, those deals would definitely be harder to come by. Not that there aren't deals out there, but they've just become more difficult to find! The proliferation of the internet makes everyone an "expert" and they price drums far above what they're worth. It's a tough vintage collecting world out there now!
-Mark
I'm constantly amazed at some of the ridiculous prices being asked for common drumsets these days. There really is a distinct lack of knowledge among sellers out there. I see it every day on FB Marketplace, Craigslist, Reverb and Ebay. If people get desperate, they start to drop their prices, but then, there's the guy with the Sky Blue Pearl Slingerland Duet set in PA. He's asking $6000 and won't budge on it. My guess is, either he's delusional, on drugs, stubborn, stupid, or his price is purposely high, because he promised his wife he'd sell them, and but really doesn't want to.
"I've been tryning to sell them for over a year now, sweetie, but they're not moving."
'23 DW Collector's, Black Galaxy: 13/16/18/22/14 sn.
'01 DW Collector's, Oyster White: 8/10/12/14/16/22.
'24 DW Performance, Gold Sparkle, 12/14/20.
'59-ish Slingerland Pink Sparkle, 13/16/22.
'72 Slingerland Red Tiger Pearl: 12/13/16/16/22.
'70ish Slingerland Merlot Sparkle rewrap: 13/16/24.
'68ish Slingerland rewrap: 13/16/22.
'69 Rogers Holiday, Red Onyx: 13/16/24
'67 Ludwig Burgundy Sparkle: 12/13/16/22.
'70-ish Ludwig Std, Burgundy Oyster: 13/16/22.
'69-ish MIJ Drum Mate: Peacock Pearl: 13/16/22.
'67-ish MIJ Crown, Red Sparkle, 12/13/16/22.
'67-ish,. MIJ Drum Mate, Blue Oyster, 12/13/16/22.
Back in the 90's there were a couple music stores in the area that accepted vintage drums as partial payment on new stuff or on consignment (Sam Ash and Thoroughbred Music). I picked up a few drums and even more Turkish K's from some rather burned-out, right-off-the-road sales people. Those days are long gone now and the internet has made everyone aware of the going rates as well as creating the business model of stripping a perfectly nice kits to sell off pieces individually (at exhorbitant prices).
I am now at a point where I can afford to buy most things without financial strain, but down-sizing is our new mantra as I get older. The "well" seems to be running dry, and finding what I need is becoming somewhat fruitless anymore. All I really want is to find that elusive drum or part that matches and completes the kit. BTW....need that Blue Moire Camco Aristocrat snare fellas!
-Kurt
I hear ya. Costs aren't the issue. My life has wildly changed since I started vintage drum collecting. I've gotten married and had four kids. So, completely different. I still have two old Gretsch shells that I need to complete for my 50s shell bank and give me more variety for gigs. But I touch them only to move them to different spots. Someday I'll get back to vintage drums.
I have a few kits I been wanting to sell to down size but I find shipping is a main problem.
Cost of shipping and damages lately are outrages so you almost have to sell local. Which isn't bad if you can find someone local.
The bigger sets are the issue for me. I don't like to break up sets either.
Parting out is another issue. I have a late 50's Roger's set that would most likely not fetch a high price but if I was to sell all of it's parts I would double maybe triple the price I would ask. I just can't seem to part it out but afraid someone would buy it to part out without a doubt.
Of course these seem to be all of my internal issues so thanks for the therapy session.
On a side note I just picked up a 1923-24 Ludwig 4x14 snare for $100 that happened to be sitting in a big drum shop on the used shelf, so there are still deals out there.
Wayne
