Which one do you like better???? Pie, OR CAKE??? I Like Pie better!!!Jumping2Yes SirCool1

Interesting thread.

If history has proven anything to us, it's that no-one knows what or when a particular item will receive the coveted "classic" status. I am purposely being very general here, but most all musical instruments that were of a good quality, craftsmanship, was endorsed and played by professionals during their "era", etc, has usually gone up in re-sale value. This is a no-brainer. Even items that were discarded and pawned, have later been bought and sold for ridiculous if not disgusting money. Neve pre-amp's anyone?

Guitars

Drums

Pro Audio equipment

Amps

Horns

and pretty much all accessories that are no longer in production.

With that being said, I feel that the quality drums made today will have real value, and might possibly be considered "classic" in the future.

Just a thought.....what if in 30 years due to a shortage of quality wood, instrument makers have to manufacture products out of alternative materials?

Gibson has already started making chambered body guitars.

I wouldn't be surprised if Gibson doesn't go back to the twelve pound, fifteen piece bodied Les Paul of the 1970s!!! Okay- I exaggerated only slightly...

There is a company selling a guitar body made of Pauwlonia. What is Pauwlonia? A tree that has been determined as a pest tree in some states that grows almost as fast as bamboo. Those things can take over your yard and turn it into a forest in a year's time!!!! But I know it is being toyed with for use as a tone wood!!! Could be the replacement for basswood...

You have pretty well nailed what will be classic.

the chambered Les pauls have been around for quit awhile now, and have nothing to do with weight or to save wood they are chambered for tone? I've owned many of them over 6 in fact.the Custom shop 1959 Reissue I just sold weight wise was only a pound lighter than my guitar player Norlin era LP

Not disagreeing w/ ya...just saying.

Chambered for tone? I will stick w/ the ugly heavy Gibson's. I haven't met a player that has liked the chambered body sounds.

Well...I was just offering a possible scenario...the reality is that the "1st generation wood" are usually a major factor when one is talking about "classic" wooden instruments. One could look at our worldwide wood consumption and make a guess as to what manufacturers will be dealing with in 30+ years.

I will be 62 in 30 years...there will be no SS for me, and I hope to still be playing music...I'll get back w/ ya! Maybe all this "stuff" as my wife refers to it will pay off....probably better than my portfolio!

A musician with a portfolio?Cool Dude

I agree with you on the Chambered models, that is why they where all sold that I owned but I bought them to sale anyway., that's also why I will never sale my fathers original 1961 Gibson Les Paul sg, those real PAF's holy moley!!

Wood wise the Prewar martins, and others bring insane money, that's also the reason the 1959 Lp's are so valuable the wood that year was the best the company ever used for an electric guitar, small production Numbers, and our guitar heroes of the day used them, as you may know the Lp's back in the day didn't sale well, that's why my Dads Sg has an Lp truss rod cover with Les paul on it, Gibson,they had discontinued it the real Les Paul's,

also that is why I like to play 30's and 40's wood drums, this first generation wood was forest grown, and No Hormones pumped in to them to make them grow in ten years, look at the wood grain of old growth, look at new wood grain there is no comparison.

"Asian-ized"? could mean Ssaaweet" Let's not forget history here. China, for instance, has been building drums way longer than the USA. Their drums were sought after by the early trap set players (China Tom). Those painted heads with dragons my have been the inspiration for those who painted scenes on Bass drums, and we know how much we love those. Does that mean some may see an "American-ized" drum as inferior? I'm not picking on O-Lugs here!

In that sense, you are correct. When I mention "Asian-ized" I am referring to the systematic h o m ogenization of how modern drums are manufactured, in general. The vintage American drum manufacturers used to compete with each other. Each year, there would be something to look forward to seeing in the drum catalogs -a new kind of tom mounting system or a new kind of hi-hat pedal or a new cymbal stand. Rogers was always a company to watch because they always seemed to have something just a biiiiiit more original than anyone else....but Slingerland had their own charm as did Ludwig and Gretsch. ALL companies existed together and had a healthy competition.

When free trade started to really kick in, the old American ways of competitive manufacturing changed to an entirely different vibe -that of efficiency and uniformity....a kind of drum set that incorporated American style appointments -but made in a much more efficient and cost-effective way. American manufacturers could no longer come up with innovative new designs because that thinking cost too much for one thing. It was a matter of "If ya can't beat 'em, join 'em!" And so we did and now most every single thing we make has at least some components made in Asia.

Don't get me wrong! I'm not a redneck with a shotgun riding around in my pickup yelling for Asians to go home. -not at all.

The way I see it is that the challenge came and went and the Asians whipped our ass by making good-quality (albeit uninteresting) products for much less money than we could. So, we started to cut corners. We cut so many corners that we had a circle by the time we were done! In the meantime, Asian manufacturing continued to improve. They flooded the market.

They did it with cars, too. Back in the day, Americans had things like Mustangs and Corvettes. That changed to Pintos and Chevettes. We basically neutered our own manufacturing. Instead of the Asians competing with us, they simply changed the game from our former concerns with individuality to that of efficient production. They couldn't compete with our sense of individualized design concepts, but they whipped up like a red-headed stepchild in manufacturing. The bottom line was that uniformity won out over individuality.

And of course, now that the old American drums are all gone and there's no way to go back and start making them in that individualized way again, the desire for the things that we can't have anymore kicks in.....and here we all are now, at this forum, collecting the finite number of drums and kits from the old days -the ones that are left.

O-Lugs - I knew exactly what you meant and hope I didn’t offend you! You describe it really well and with the stuff about the cars is something I almost introduced into this thread with my post, but didn’t want to get too far along. You and I, see “eye to eye” on this. I mentioned the history just for some folks who may not be aware and believe that there is somehow an inherent low quality in Asian imports and although there is some of that (especially in years gone by) I would never want to just assume that. For the uninitiated, you may want to check out some of China’s drumming traditions. It might grow your kit a little!

Thanks O-Lugs!