Please allow me to be the first to respond. To answer your question, I would say, no, there is no market for restored vintage drums. There is no profit margin to be made.

However, for an enterprising young person, there is a fortune waiting to be made in flipping Pearl Exports covered with stickers of skateboard shoe companies... just dont let the word get out!

Re-wrapping vintage drums generally (well, OK always) de-values the drums.

When I restore a drum set, I try to keep everything as original as I can. If I have to replace something, I try to get something "era specific" so it, at least, matches.

Just my input.

(1) Whatever the market says they are worth

(2) 30 to fifty per cent less than (1)

(3) About the same as (2), but you additionally lose whatever it cost you to re-wrap and restore ....... the quality of the work done and the amount of replaced parts would be the variable there

Just my two cents as a guide..... there's lots of ways to look at this scenario.

:)

You would have to buy those old Ludwigs really really cheap in order to get your money back out of them after rewrapping them. Price out the cost of wrap to help convince yourself of this. And if you want to pay yourself a salary for the hours you put in...nope. Nothing left over. Labor of love.

If the drums need any other parts these are very expensive if you are going for period correct. Re-chroming is very expensive. New heads for the whole kit? Expensive.

The only thing you might break even on that I can think of is making a Ringo kit by re-wrappig in the appropriate Oyster Black Pearl. But it has to be the right period for the drums, and you have to find wrap that looks period correct. And you have to try and sell it in Japan where there seem to have a fetish for these. Other than that...no margin for profit in all probability. :2Cents:

If you buy a kit as in your first description, pristine, no issues and all correct, for half the resale value, then yes, Virgina, there is a Christmas. If, on the other hand you buy set (2) in crappy condition, clean it up and resell it (not the re-wrap scenario, just the poor condition) then maybe.....maybe if you bought them cheap enough you could make a few bucks. Re-wrap and reap a big, fat goose-egg.

Of course, all this is based on collector standards. What about the odd person who wants a quality set of vintage drums because of the sound and looks, who wants them to play and not to collect. I would think that kind of person would pay a premium price, maybe not a collector's price, but a higher price than new drums of the same quallity. Is that reasonable? What do you think?

Depends on a few items. You can pull a rewrapped Gretsch RB NameBand for just a couple of bills. They go pretty cheap. You can't give away Slingerland rewraps and restains. Rogers are a hit and miss on rewraps. IF the wrap is an authentic replacement for a badly cracked, it might go ok for you. Ludwig is usually a loss on a rewrap. If you pull up musicgoround and eBay completed and maybe GC, you should find that this trend has played out. My wife and I contemplated a sideline and did the homework. It won't pay out like you would want. The money just isn't there.

Interesting discussion!

As the other writers stated: if a person is willing to pay your price: great.

If you can't find this person worldwide: you most probably won't get your price.

This is a general valid statement, not only for vintage drums.

Collector or player: I don't think there's an in-between: either you are a 'collector' (or enthusiastic on vintage) - or you are a 'player'. I don't believe that a 'player' will pay for a vintage kit a price that comes close to a new set-price. If you hang on vintage, your a fan of vintage, for all the others it's just old stuff.

My bargains often were the little additionals coming with the set: here a rare kick pedal, there a good crash cymbal, or a cymbal stand, etc. .

The kit itself brings the vast bulk of money, if you try to keep it in/ bring it back to genuine status.

Besides the above: it's a lot of fun doing the restauration x-mas3

Ralf

[COLOR="Green"]I disagree. You cannot generalize this sorta question, really. I concur that taking a set which is in better-than-so-so shape and stripping to rewrap isn't gonna increase the market value of the vintage kit...it may well reduce it. BUT....a crapped-out set of any brand, the condition of which might be really beyond just restoring the existing finish, etc....is tailor-made for re-wrapping and can be sold to turn a profit. Also, one can make a kit out of singles (I suggest same-era shells) and wrap to match. A good way to get the exact sizes you (or someone else) wants.

When doing, just be honest about the work done on 'em, is all.

It's no goldmine, believe me. But there is a market there for 'em.[/COLOR]