I don't think there would be any profit or extremely little depending on how much you got the drums for if you don't do it yourself.One should consider the cost of farming out the labor.

Like what was said, it would need to be a very clean and proper job.

Cheers,BigE

Well....I can tell you as someone who has bought, re-wrapped/reconditioned/retored and resold in the past that it depends totally on the market wants and needs. Is there a market for it? Sure. Big profitability? No. Of all the kits I have done over the years, I have never made a big profit, just mostly broke even or made a slight profit. Why do I do it then? Like stated above....it's a labor of love. I like to be able to resurrect a set of vintage drums that otherwise would be considered unusable by the average person. I redid a set of Leedy drums last year and sold them on Ebay to a buyer in Germany. (Yes I went against my normal decision of only selling domestically on this particular kit.) I pretty much broke even on the cost of the original price of the drums, sourcing the missing parts, heads, and the wrap. I never considered my cost of labor. If I did, I probably would not have sold them for what I had invested, I most likely would have taken a loss in that case.

I currently own a Gretsch Dixieland snare drum that I probably have about $400 invested in now (not taking labor into consideration of course), including original purchase price. I will have a hard time selling that one for anywhere near that price right now, as they are going for about half that value now, and only because it is a less desireable 6-lug model. It sounds every bit as good as the "higher end" models, but that's the way it goes. I restored that one for two reasons.....I wanted a Gretsch RB snare, and it DESERVED to be restored back to its original specs (which it was not when I purchased it). Will I ever get my investment back on it? Probably not, but again...it's a labor of love knowing that I "saved" another one. :D

The labor of love is a good thing. I have a few snares that I bought in the last 3 ,4 years and paid a good dollar for. Cleaned,restored, and played. In this market I couldn't get half or a little more than what I paid. Maybe break even on 1 or 2. But I will hang on to them and play them and enjoy looking at them.

Cheers,BigE

Once I get past the "never able to recoup my money" point, I console myself by thinking of the rest of the investment as being a "rental fee" imposed on myself for use of the drums for whatever period of time I have them.

The rent per day goes down the longer I keep them......LOL !! ...DOH

A convoluted mass of rationalizations, I know.... but it works for me !

As a faithful reader of this forum for going on about three years or more now, and living in a city where the desire for vintage gear of all types is very strong, I still have to say that almost no one wants a re-wrapped set. One possible exception being a player that finds a dream vintage set and the wrap is so damaged as to leave the shells vulnerable to further damage when gigging out. And even in that scenario, what are the chances you are going to pick the same wrap that player/buyer would choose? Even if you chose to go with the type of wrap that was originally on the drum set, or a pedestrian (ie, low key) wrap choice, like blue sparkle, you are still going to hear "68 Ludwigs? Man, something just looks a little off about this set... That wrap looks a little... Hey, is that a re-wrap? Uhhh, this set just doesn't have the mojo that I'm after..."

And at that point the potential buyer will have almost, if not completely, lost all interest in your set.

Players that are interested in vintage drums want them to be vintage through and through. The sound may be there, awesome, but the wrap is the visual aesthetic that, for most, needs to be there as well. Sets that have been taken care of through the years are good, closet queen time capsules obviously go for the most, but if anything actually needs to be done to a set, I find that buyers would usually like to make those choices themselves.

And, of course, as it has been noted by others here, collectors have ZERO interest in re-wraps.

Due to all these factors, especially when dealing with American or European vintage drums, I've sort of come up with a little motto: "Leave 'em original, and leave 'em alone."

Sometimes when you are trying to save a kit that is real bad, re-wrap is the only alternative to parting them out and throwing them away. I'd rather re-wrap and get more life out of a kit that is sooooo ugly that it HAS to be re-wrapped than part them out or just plain throw them out. Sure, a re-wrap may not be what everyone is looking for, but those that know about vintage drums also realize that in some cases there is no choice, in which case it is an accepted practice. It's better to look at vintage drum condition on a case by case basis rather than your broad "leave 'em alone" theory.

Case in point......suppose you are GIVEN an old set of 1930's Radio Kings....say something that looks like Krupa could have played on. Its mostly original, there are a couple of non-original tension rods, a missing muffler or two, but the wrap is the real problem. It's white pearl, but is aged to a very yellow color. In addition to that it is cracked and split in several places on all the drums, to the point that there are sections of the wrap missing. Just plain ugly, ugly to the point that the audience looks at your drums and think they are junk. "What self respecting pro drummerwould play a POS kit like that?"

Do you:

A) Leave 'em be? as per your theory......

or

B) take them all apart, clean up the hardware, locate and replace the missing/incorrrect parts and re-wrap the drums is a similar pattern white pearl that isn't aged?

I personally would go with B. Why? In this case it may actually INCREASE the value of the drums and make them look GOOD again, something that a gigging drummer would be proud to own....re-wrap or not.

This a very interesting thread, bein' as how I'm in the process of rewrapping a complete kit and converting it from ludwig standard to Ludwig Classic. From a collector/restorer's point of view, I have no interest in selling any of my kits. I just love them all. I have 3 completely original luddy kits than Im sure are worth more than I gave for them, on the other hand i am rewrapping this kit because 1: the wrap was all cracked and split and butt ugly yellow cortex, 2: I have never rewrapped a whole kit and I want to. 3: the shells are 3 ply and in fabulous condition! When I am done I will sit back and admire my work and be proud of this kit. I did a poll to see what the most popular wrap is and have been working this kit over. It feeds my passion for drums and is definatly a "labor Of Love" If your in it for the money, I suggest you get a day job instead! I looked at a Ludwig kit last week that had extra holes in the shells and had been wrapped in contact paper and the shells were not in good shape. I told the guy he should part them out on ebay. he got over $1000 for them that way. Im not interested in parting out drums on ebay. I make enough money at my day job! Just sayin"

Boy, did I start a roll. You guys really know the ropes. As to the comparison of collectors and players, I’ve talked to some of the older drummers who still have a nostalgic attachment to the vintage drums, and they are not so fussy about some of the authentic details. They just want a drum set that is from the period and has the appearance they remember. So re-wrap or no isn’t as important as the look and feel of the kit. If the shells are old, and even if they have newer fittings and a re-wrap, they still look and feel like the vintage drums. And in my opinion they do have value comparable to drums that have “never been touched by human hands” . Now I’m going to get it from the purists. So let it rip.

I didn't read any other responses before I posted this, just so that my response wouldn't be influenced by others' opinions. Here goes mine:

Part 1: Pristine condition is 100% of whatever the top market value (at the time) is.

Wrap in poor condition would be based upon the color and rarity, i.e., Citrus Mod in poor condition is worth a lot more than blue sparkle in poor condition, etc.

Rewrapped condition is of almost no collectible value at all. Therefore, the market price will be based upon whatever the players' values are for it's use to him/her. In those sizes, the value to rewrap would not be feasible in most cases, at the present time. It's still easier to find kits in original condition if you look long enough and study your subject well. I. personally, would not find it as cost-effective to restore vintage drums with new parts and wraps as I would to spend the time to hunt down an original kit.

What would be the most popular wrap? It would depend on the specific year in the 60's. The most popular colors, then, are not the most collectible colors, now. Back then, it likely would have been WMP or blue sparkle or red sparkle or silver sparkle...again, early 60's tastse changed throughout the decade. The 60's ended with some pretty 'wild' psychedelic colors! But it certainly didn't start out that way! So, food for thought, anyway...

Part 2: Is there a market for "restored" vintage drums? Yes there is a market for those in many instances if by "restored", you mean that the appropriate replacement vintage parts will be used to bring back a specific vintage drum to working condition. But, ReWRAPPED kits? Not so much. Not to most collectors, anyway. See above for more detail.

@ Ludwig-dude:

If the matter is as you stated it: I'd surely go for A.!

If really GK most likely has played on it, it's a contemporary witness that should never be touched in terms of re-wrapping, even if the wrap is cracked all over!

Sumo Dude

Ralf