Sweeeet.... made in Hollywood Japan ;-)

Here's the pictures before it leaves from eBay:

I was watching those as well--curious what they'll bring.

That's more like it. The only reason I could justify the price is for the goodies included. The hi-hat and snare stand alone are worth almost the current bid. Wonder, without reading it all, what the cymbals are....hopefully the seller realizes the price is due to the add-ons, not the drums themselves, as they are mid-line MIJ, nothing special and missing parts to boot.

The wrap is sweet like candy, man.

Sold for...get this...382, missing parts and all...the only reason someone could want to pay this much is to get the stands and cymbals. I'll bet these are right back on there, missing the same parts, minus stands and cymbals, next week...maybe it's time I put my WMP on ebay...they should bring 300-450 with all the recent high sales of MIJ....this is a disturbing trend, to me anyway. I don't want them to go up, there is no merit, no rhyme or reason for these prices, other than a cool wrap. The drums, especially the St.George, will likely sound like crap. I am still in shock over why anyone would want to pay more than 200-300 tops for an MIJ kit that is not complete, and even then, like the Candy Cane LaBoz that just went for $675...now that REALLY is a non-sense sale...wonder if it goes or ends up a no sale.

I don't know, jonnistix. I paid in the mid 300's for my Whitehall set that I posted pics of here a couple of weeks ago. Granted, they were in amazing condition, but the options out there in a similar price range (used or new) were less attractive. I purchased these to play, as I lost my 1964 Ludwig downbeat champagne sparkle set in a divorce a few years ago (with the matching piccolo snare - ouch!) and my budget this time around was tight. After careful tweaking and tuning this MIJ set sounds great - I had a drummer friend with more chops with me give it a spin and he was very impressed - and even told me that if I decide to let them go he would like to have them! I think it's the sizes that's attractive - 20/12/14 sets are always going to have a following, and if there is a matching snare included, all the better!

I saw the auction for the St. George kit, and I didn't think it was a bad deal. As you said, Ludwig hardware - including a Speed King bass pedal and high hat stand, along with some vintage A. Zildjian cymbals (apparently with some condition issues) and it seems even better. Plus, it was a totally cool looking kit in 20/12/14/14 sizes. 16 lug bass drum, wrap in good condition, easy to replace hardware - by the time you take out the potential value of the Ludwig/Zildjian accessories the set may have been purchased for under two bills - not bad at all.

One more note - I was in a local used musical instrument dealer a few weeks ago and they had a no-name MIJ set in blue sparkle for sale. 22/12/13/16 with no snare - decent condition but the bass hoops were missing the inlay and the floor tom legs were replacements. Overall, nothing special. Asking price was $250. I went back a couple of days ago and they were sold - and a friend of mine who works there said that they got the asking price. I think that I did much better with the Whitehall's!

I know. Please understand, this is only my opinion, and my real life observations of the current state of affairs.

The problem of upward pressure, as I see it, is the fact that all the good, clean, un-modified American vintage kits are rapidly going into storage, never to be seen or heard again, and thus people wanting a vintage vibe, whether they have a clue or not, are starting to retreat from the $1500 Ludwigs to the relative affordability of the $200 MIJ, and thus the $200 MIJ is going to become unaffordable in the very near future, as we are already beginning to see...

The people that are buying them now, many, if not most, really don't have any idea what they are buying, other than a cool wrap color. Far too many people are relying on faulty info on Wiki as well. There is some very serious misinformation about these drums out there. This is why I am on a mission, along with a few others here, to research, research, research all we can find and even deduce from the very visual cues we have left to go on.

Pearl is looking forward, and actually come here looking for info, TAMA is trying to get all of their facts straight so that they are accurate. Pearl does not care if their info is accurate as they are not making money on vintage gear, they only make money if they sell new drums, so out with the old, you must buy the new, all that old stuff is firewood...

On the flip side, which is a much darker side, are the cannibals. There a few unscrupulous ebay sellers that are stripping the parts from the shells and selling them as original Slingerland and Gretsch parts, and getting away with it most of the time. Many newbies to the vintage scene don't know the difference, and truth be told, some of the Star lugs are almost impossible to differentiate, unless you know what you are looking at, and even some of the Gretsch lugs are now being replaced by the MIJ knock-offs that came on many other stencils. Luckily tey did not go too deep into Rogers and Ludwig parts, although I have seen a Gracy kit with awesome Beavertail repros on it, and they were original 60s MIJ parts, looked exactly like the old Slingerland/Rogers BTs.

It saddens me to see this trend. Living on a very fixed income for the time being, and living in an MIJ desert, I don't get the opportunities others do to pick up the really cool stuff. I can find a really nice wrap color in CA, but by the time I pay for the item, then pay for shipping, I am back at Slingerland prices, which I cannot afford, so I can't play. I currently have 3 kits, all MIJ, all presumably Star, 2 restored, one a basket case that needs a full restoration and many orphans.

The orphans will likely become parts of various other custom restoration/custom built kits, of which I have a small, but growing, following among the students at OU. I currently have a jungle/cocktail kit order in the works, and looking at another that will be a really cool "subway special", a 16 bass with snare stand/basket set-up on the tom mount, not unlike a Manu Katche kit, for a local cat that really does not know what he wants, so I ave to lead him to water. I have to take the chance and build it first so he can play it first. This likely will be a green glitter kit, as I have yet to do a green glitter.

I hear you brother Jonni- and to add that it's really all about sound. If one can get the sound they need from a 200$ MIJ then it's silly to invest more. I love my MIJs and actually go to them when I want the dry, light, low volume sound- they are superb cafe drums. I always see drummers in the cafes trying to keep their volume under control- playing stuff like birch and maple shells. MIJ is the way to go for that kind of job- nice heads (Fiberskyn 3FA or coated Ambassadors top and bottom,I prefer) and the internal mufflers slightly tightened- it's the ticket to ride for the coffee house.

The big stage needs a stronger, sharper brighter sound- maple, fiberglass, maple-fiberglass, acrylic, birch, beech - whatever- but not luan

That's how I look at it, that luan is a perfect wood for the practice room drum or cafe. To my thinking, the auction prices need to reflect not so much the shell material, but that the METAL parts are inferior. Coffee Break2