I would personally drive up to 6 hours for nearly any orange sparkle kit in vg condish.

234 U.S. is too good to pass up.

[COLOR="DarkRed"]It's a good price if they are in good condition.

Keep in mind, however...old Kents (Kenmore, NY) aren't heavily sought-after...they are more of a cultish sorta company. Their intent was never to produce high-end kits, but rather...affordable ones.

The shells are nice, sorta Gretsch-esque thin-ply maple with no rings (if that is what you happen to like). The hardware and edges are nothing to speak of, however. I have come across a number of factory Kent kits which had minimal if any bearing edge profile cut into them. They needed more routing on their edges.

With that said, they do have tons of vintage Mojo and it IS unusual to find one in very good condition....the vast majority which show up have been seriously knocked around in their day.

I would say go for it...but expect it to be a nice jazzy sorta kit...kinda round/warm sounding but not a hecka lotta punch or volume.[/COLOR]

Thx Jaye

Its just what im looking for,as i tend to believe todays drums are much to cutting,be it good or bad and tend to lack warmth.I also have a 60,s Yamaha jazz kit and if it sounds anything like that,im happy.Given the 8 lug snare and bass drum on the Kents i figured thats a rarity on its own.I also will re cut the profile on all the drums.Cultish,i like that.How many guys play these?Im long off the road and at my age its kind of nice to play an odd ball kit.I think Kent flew under the radar all these years even though they were an American company.I dont understand that with all the fuss about US product.If they were meant to be affordable they sure are that in spades,and with a little TLC im sure they will be just the ticket,and orange sparkle to bootExcited

There was an interesting thread on kent drums on dfo a little while back,concerning a resto on a kent kit and the construction of the shells,I always heard they were two or three ply maple,and that there was often a lot of glue drips and residue in side the shell and one of the posters said he saw a shell taken apart and that they were one ply but made like you were rolling up a poster or a peice of paper in to a tube,that is why they looked like ply construction and why it was hard to count the plys and why some shells looked like two plys and some three.I have heard stories about them having no bearing edge whatsoever,the only kit I have played and seen close up looked to have a very slight roundover on the inside.I saw an article in nmsd where a kit was resto/recovered along with some good quality photos,and the stripped shells were beautiful,I would have put something to make the grain pop and finished them with some kind of clearcoat ,they were that nice.the fellow put some rounded bearing edges on them and said they really sounded good,and he said that the lug casings were good quality,and I have'nt heard any horror stories about them failing ,unlike the other hardware on them.I also have never heard that the shells were badly out of round,so if the edges are ok or you recut them you should have a nice kit that will sound like you want them to.250.00 to 300.00 in good condition in orange sparkle? I would be all over that like white trash on velvetta .

I'm of the same mind-set as Wayne in that modern drums have too much attack and not enough shell in the sound. That said, a good condition Kent kit will not disappoint in that area.

As for the set in question, the 15" floor tom in good condition is worth $150.00 US easy. If all the kit needs is a cleaning and some edge work, then that price is a bargain.

Oh yeah;;I have the kit home now..7 hours later!..Its not in v/g condition its in good condition,and the 15" floor tom is beautiful.The orange wrap is tight and colorful and yes,the edges will be re worked.This bass drum has 8 lugs with metal hoops and that flange top and bottom that i assume is for .................i dunno?Its need some good heads all around and i could send pics to one of you if you want to give me your e mail address.Perhaps you could post the pics....OH YEAH...170.00 BUCKS Cdn....but i worked for itStorm Trooper

Great move on the kents!!! they will sound great!!!! once you do the edges those bad boys will sing!!! If you ever grow tired of them,i will take them in a second!! They are the most underated drums on the market,and you will soon find out that you have joined a group of devoted fans of the kent drums!!! GOOD LUCK WITH THEM AND ENJOY !!!!!

Oh Yeah,please Post Some Photos !!!!!!!

Yep! Post them pix! I finally ran into a Kent kit here on the West Coast. About a year ago, this fellow in his mid twenties inherited one from an uncle from New Jersey. Long story how I ended up in the middle of it, but that sure is a nice kit. It has the 15 in. floor tom as well. I helped him unpack it when it arrived. Nice condition red sparkle. It also came with a pile of vintage stands and Ajax cymbals. The kid wasn't a drummer, but wanted to learn. With new heads, they sure sound sweet!