Ahhhh, this should be fun!
I got this 60's Ludwig black oyster pearl kit on a straight up trade deal for a Mapex Meridian maple kit.... ya, that's right!
It had extra holes on the kick and the 13 was a re-wrap, but it had a beautiful unmolested 16x16 floor tom. I was badly in need of some cash and sold the whole kit to a guy who owned a recording studio for a measly $600. Probably the worst drum deal I've ever made.DOH
My very first drums. Sold to a good friend back in 73. He kept them for 42 years. Tried to find him a few times over the year with no luck. Saw a ad on DFO for these drums pictured. Turned out to be my old friend and was selling them. Very fair price too. I missed them by a day. Went quick. I know the new owner but he's not selling anytime soon. Perhaps 1 day. So I lost my very first kit not once but twice! Regretted selling them back then and ever since. But it's cool they surfaced all this time later.
This is all I could come up with for now. I let them get away because work was slow and I need to make a house payment.
I traded this 76 Ludwig Vistalite kit (along with the 12" tom) in great condition, for a 22" Paiste 602 Dark Ride - ok, there's some logic to my madness. In the country that I live in (South Africa) there's no real collectors market - I paid the equivalent of around 250 USD for the vistas and spent some money on new heads etc. I never really liked the sound but loved the look. On the other hand, I was obsessed with owning a 22" 602 Dark Ride and found one in the Netherlands. I have never ever seen one for sale in South Africa and actually don't think that I ever will. So, i decided to offer the seller of the ride, a trade, which he accepted. He paid for the shipping of the drums to him and of the cymbal to me. Sure it was money wise, a better deal for him than for me but those drums were worth very little locally. I still cannot look at a set of vista's without thinking - s**t, was I or was I not an idiot - but now I own the ride cymbal I always dreamed about and I am sans a drum kit that I did not really like. So, there's my story.
I traded this 76 Ludwig Vistalite kit (along with the 12" tom) in great condition, for a 22" Paiste 602 Dark Ride - ok, there's some logic to my madness. In the country that I live in (South Africa) there's no real collectors market - I paid the equivalent of around 250 USD for the vistas and spent some money on new heads etc. I never really liked the sound but loved the look. On the other hand, I was obsessed with owning a 22" 602 Dark Ride and found one in the Netherlands. I have never ever seen one for sale in South Africa and actually don't think that I ever will. So, i decided to offer the seller of the ride, a trade, which he accepted. He paid for the shipping of the drums to him and of the cymbal to me. Sure it was money wise, a better deal for him than for me but those drums were worth very little locally. I still cannot look at a set of vista's without thinking - s**t, was I or was I not an idiot - but now I own the ride cymbal I always dreamed about and I am sans a drum kit that I did not really like. So, there's my story.
That is a heck of a story, thanks for sharing it with us. When I was a kid I wanted a blue Vista kit really bad, never did get one. I certainly would pay 250 for one today!
That is a heck of a story, thanks for sharing it with us. When I was a kid I wanted a blue Vista kit really bad, never did get one. I certainly would pay 250 for one today!
Thanks man - I may add that for the 250 USD, I also scored some very nice cymbals with the kit - 10" Paiste 2000 splash, 15" 1960's Avedis hats (light), 16" Super Zyn Crash, 18" Paiste Stambul 65 crash, 20" pre-serial Paiste 602 crash and the most incredible sounding 20" 80's A Zildjian ride - I'm a Paiste guy but this Zildjian ride at 2400 grams is just perfect - it beats my 20" 2002 black label ride hands down. So the way I looked at it was also that I scored enough value through the cymbals alone.
........How ?
Nothing to see here...because I still have them all. The one I did sell I bought back 36 years later.
Here are 2 kits I wish I still had! An all-original Cusatis 4N in Blue Satin Flame and a Jet outfit, complete with snap-on Tempo King pedal! Both cool kits!
-Mark
I only sold a few drumsets and have no regerts. The only one I regretted selling was the Ludwig Burgundy Sparkle set, and now I have a replacement for them.
