This is that very ethereal place where collectors frolic with leprechauns and pixie fairies while the weary debate the mindset of original owners.

Statistically, if the numbers are close, it is considered a match set...i.e. factory matched shells.

Truthfully, it matters not to most breathing mortals. Only to the most anal of collectors is that a deal-killing issue. Most all of us want the numbers to be relatively close. Resell value can take a hit if the shells are several years apart. The bottom line is this - numbers can be very close and it not be a factory kit. There can also be some gaps in the drums shipped from Ludwig. We've all got tales of kits that just defy time constraints.......64 kit with a 62 snare....shipped that way from the factory. It is what it is. Try to get them close, but by all means, don't lose sleep over it.

The advantages are in terms of collectibility. People who collect drum sets simply like to have a strong indication of originality and provenance. That is, if the numbers are in alignment (more or less) then it means the drums have remained a set from their beginning.

As I understand it, people on the assembly lines would open up a new box of badges and then different people would grab them as needed. Say, the numbers were in sequence in the box of new badges. Jim grabs five of them to do some snare drums and Sally grabs three for some bass drums and Bill grabs four or five for some tom toms...etc. And then, later, when they put a set together and send it out the door, the numbers will likely not be in exact sequence, but will be in a general range of sequence -related to that box of badges from which they were drawn that day/week. Over the course of that day/week/month, they might go through a bunch of them, but they will be within a range that will indicate their originality.

I like the idea of old things that have managed to remain together for a long time. It's part of the satisfaction of my collecting style -finding something in as original condition as possible. It's as if these things have managed to dodge the disruptive forces of time or something. And I think that the nature of collecting things is tailor-made for the anal-retentive type!Chewie:

But that's not to say that I can't appreciate the sound of a mismatched set. The drummer part of me doesn't give a rat's --- what the numbers indicate -as long as they sound good. It's really a matter of what hat you happen to be wearing at any given time.

i love drums sets that stay together i hate drum strippers it makes no sense if a drum is worth so much then sell it for that much try to always keep drums together that were bought that way they are worth alot more than the sum of a few parts..

Drums aren't an exact science...there really is no way to tell if a set is exactly matched un-less they all are date stamped within days of eachother. Mind you it is pretty easy to figure out if a set is from the same time period or year...fade, type of badge, color, chrome or nickel, stamps, hardware types, etc.

Even worse, is when they part it out......so sad.

My pettest of peaves...the stripper/dismantler. Unless there is damge beyond hope, leave them together. I have a set of MIJ Majestics that are almost matched. I say "almost" because the floor tom says "Semi-Pro" It is a 3 ply shell with 3 re-rings, while the rest are 6 ply mahogany lauan. I do believe, however that this is an exact match because I have never seen a Majestic floor tom other than a 3 ply, and another member has a rack tom with the same badge, Semi-pro, that is 3 ply. So anyway, they are the same era, 65-70. I now have a set of B/O from all indications is from 1980 as well. They are stadium drums. 24-13-14. Both rack toms are big enough to be floor toms, adn the bas will shatter windows with that thud. At first I thought them to be Rockers, but that didn't start until 1984, and they had modular hardware. This is no doubt a matched sett...it is Mahogany Cortex, and there is no way anyone in there right mind would trade those around. So the floor tom is a Monroe badge as it came sans FT. It is also not a wrapped drum, but a stained shell. All the hardware is Classic. Anyway, I dispise parts guys who do it for the money, not because the drum is damaged. I won't buy from them. If we as a community shun them, maybe we will see less of it. I won't support a member on here I find to be stripping drums for profit.

What about guys who use poles to strip? Laughing H