I'm a Ludwig guy.

However, I've had the great opportunity to acquire some rare & amazing sets from the other great drum manufacturers of the 20th century.

This set is truly one of the greatest additions to my collection. This is a 1958 Leedy Shelly Manne Outfit No. 11 in Gretsch Starlight Sparkle Pearl.

I purchased this kit from Steve Maxells in NYC. This is taken from Steve's description of the kit on his website:

"This is one of the rarest Leedy sets you'll ever see. This set is from 1958 and consists of 9x13, 16x16, 14x22, 5.5x14 snare drum. Those wonderful mahogany/poplar/mahogany 3 ply shells with rounded bearing edges of course. AND, the set is finished in starlight sparkle. As some of you may know, starlight sparkle was a finish in the Gretsch line from the late 50s until circa 1962. It was exclusive to Gretsch, however, I have had one original Slingerland kit in this finish, and now we have this Leedy kit as well. In all probability a customer requested this finish and the drum shop or Leedy called the finish manufacturer or called Gretsch and asked if they could use it for a kit. Starlight sparkle is a finish that looks silver/gray until it is under the lights and then it looks lavender. Beautiful finish. I believe Leedy referred to this as "smoky pearl". Harry Cangany did an article about this set for Modern Drummer in Feb 2011. It is one of the rarest finishes for Gretsch and it is insanely rare on any other drum set. The wrap is in great shape and the chrome is nice as well. This is an extremely rare set and it sounds wonderful. Also included is an 8x12" that is not a perfect color match."

Some of you here may know of this kit. Through the magic of the internets, I was lucky to find & communicate with the owner before Steve. To find out he's a true NY'er like me & this kit lived in NYC was more of a reason for me to get it. THANK YOU VINNIE!

So when I went back home to NY for the holidays, a stop in Steve's store once again was in order to play it. I lived in NYC for 10 years & could never afford ANYTHING besides sticks & heads. To actually walk in his store & buy a kit like this was a dream come true.

The first 2 pictures you see are how the kit arrived to me. A top notch packing job by Jess at Steves shop as well.

I've finished the cleaning process & the drums did not need much. There are some very minor scratches in the finish but you really have to look closely. The NOVUS really made it shine!

The calf skin was replaced with an old Remo Ambassador & era correct logo replica. I have installed Steve's excellent replica rail consolette he has available for vintage kits.

The original works but as we all know, old stuff breaks and this kit is being put into my rotation for live gigs.

Last year I purchased a mint 1965 Leedy Shelly Manne set in Champagne Sparkle and fell in love with the sound, lugs & look of the Leedy drums.

So when I saw this kit & heard Steve play it, I was sold. I have included link below from Steve's website of him playing it.

The set is also a matched kit. Dated April 17 1958 but the floor tom & bass drum have an additional date stamp of April 9th (bass drum) & April 10(floor tom).

I have never seen 2 date stamps in one drum before.

This kit was featured in a write up by the great Harry Caganey in the Feb 2011 issue of Modern Drummer.

It will also be featured in an upcoming article by yours truly for Not So Modern Drummer.

Needless to say, I am very happy to now own this beautiful set. And I'm beyond excited to be gigging out with it THIS WEEKEND!

and man it's pretty.

Here's a link to Steves page featuring him playing the kit:

http://www.maxwelldrums.com/leedy-22131655x14-drum-starlight-sparkle-unique-p-14026.html