First off.

I think you got a deal

I would pay $250 or more in a heartbeat. (seriousily..i would buy them =)

amdrumparts.com has beavertail lugs which are probably really close to the lugs you have on that kit so I would replace them and play them..

I had a beauti set of 40's RK's and they sounded fantastic with Evans G2's on top and G1's on bottom, also worth trying the Fibre Skynn heads from Remo they have a wondeful warmth to them much like teh older calf heads. Good luck.

Here is the pics. As you will see, I removed the bottom rim and head from the tom and snare to check for wood problems. And the pics are from my camera phone, so bad quality.

At the top of the page click the Cleaning and Restoring button before you begin the process.

Depending on the lugs and how bad, you might be able to find original replacement on Ebay.

If time is a time issue, then buy the new replacement versions so you can get them playable again.

David

So truthfully, how do you feel about ripping the old guy off? No, sorry, just kidding. Great acquisition. I can't tell from the picture, is the bottom of the rack tom drilled for lugs? I hope so, it will sound better when you get a bottom head on it. I'm sure the kit will sound fat. Those are big drums. Get a new throne and pedals because I doubt what it came with is up to the task of modern music if that is what you will be playing.

Enjoy.

Regards,

Gary

Dix Hills, NY

I really did not rip him off. I purchased these drums site unseen from 3 hours away. I had an aunt pick them up for me, she lived close.

As far as the holes in the tom, the lugs and holes and radio king rims are all there.

I think I will do the following:

Replace lugs on snare and a few on the toms with aftermarket remakes. No new holes.

Put floor tom and rack tom on Pearl optimounts, put the floor tom stand up for now. And move the rack tom to a stand, more sturdy.

Replace heads on top and bottom, leaving the front 26" calf bass head

Replace bass spurs with aftermarket more sturdy, may require drilling???

Puresound snares

And I think that is it. Along with seats pedal and cymbals stands and hats from my other sets.

This brings up a good topic and usually a debate amongst most vintage drum guys.

What you have is a pretty rare complete drum set.

sabshga was just joking with his comment, but your drum set was purchased below its value.

It is getting harder and harder to find complete sets from this era and making any modifications to the drums will just reduce the value and the historical importance of such an old set staying together.

If in the end your playing style and sound require something different then you are better off selling this set and purchasing something better suited for your situation.

There are vintage people that would keep it as original as possible and pay far more then your original purchase price just to have something from that era and complete.

So, the argument is, and many people have a hard time with this, is that they are your drums and you could do whatever you like and you might not have the same passion as most vintage guys to not modify or change the drums.

What happens is even if the modifications are changing hardware, stands etc. they will eventually find a new home and or get split from the set.

Drilling holes would take it to a new level and reduce the value even more.

Then again that is your decision and we can only look from the side lines, offer our advice and then move on to the next forum question.

I once traded off a very nice complete Vintage Gretsch drum set for a Brand new set of Custom Premier drums. The Gretsch were just not for me and I really love the Premier set and the sizes they are in.

So, in the end and not to create a drawn out debate, they are your drums and you do with them as you see fit.

but always remember many of us vintage drum guys look back at past decisions and wished we had someone giving us better advice.

If we listened to that advice is another story, but then we would have at least got the "I told you so"

Good Luck and Congrats on a very nice set of vintage drums. Let me know where your shopping next time!

David

WOOAGH!!

Scratch my last post!

These drums are in better condition than I imagined

I would leave them alone... I mean its a complete set in fantastic

condition. you can do whatever you want to them but considering there are

limited sets out there in that condition I would leave them be.

Those old Radio King beavertails were prone to breaking, but can be found...there are a lot of old sets out there with good hardware, so it shouldn't be that hard, in time, to find a "donor" drum. I hear the repro beavertails didn't have the exact same hole pattern..unless that's changed, I'd recommend finding originals rather than drilling. Enjoy!