I totally agree. There have been a few really nice kits ( Slingerland ) on ebay over the last couple of days that went for real cheap. If I had the extra cake I would have snagged one.

All: Ploughman is an expert on Rogers drums.

Just to reiterate, any Rogers drum prior to 1984 is a good drum. The XP8 series--8 ply New England rock maple--were manufactured from 1979 to 1983. in 1984, under the direction of Fender/Rogers/Rhodes management, the Rogers Drum Company stopped manufacturing and layed off all but one employee, John Cermenaro. The company then sold off all of its stock drums, parts and tooling. Shortly after, the cheap Island Imports appeared under license.

As Ploughman has stated, all Rogers drums made in the USA say so somewhere on the drum badge or tag. The "Big R" island import drums conspicuously eliminate the "Made in USA," and copied the Memriloc hardware for the most part, but not the bass drum sours--these are always a dead giveaway from 10 feet. Note: the Island faux Memriloc hardware does not fit the USA drums.

The XP8 series, in particular, are fabulous drums. As Ploughman has stated, for a short time in another era Rogers used 3 ply shells, and these are really, really sweet drums. But, then again, everything Rogers USA made are sweet drums. Buy 'em now while the prices stabilize a bit...

Sell me one!!! :D I've been trying for quite some time to get my hands on a vintage kit. Manufacturer to me is really unimportant as long as it's made in the USA. My goal is to have a nice original set from yesteryear which is considered collectible BUT ... I want to play it out and have it put the smack down on the new drums out today. I play modern rock most of the time and I know for a fact from some of the vintage kits I've seen and heard, that it can be done. No I'm looking to destroy the set, as I'm a light hitter, and I'm not looking to modify it in anyway. I know these older sets will hang with the best of today ... I know it!!!

just_me, there are Rogers XP8 sets going on eBay all the time...and very inexpensive compared to the Daytons and Clevelands. With the Memriloc hardware and 45 deg bearing edges, these will stand up to any kind of hard use today. They are bulletproof. John Cermenaro, ex Rogers R&D and Production manager, still gigs with his, as do many of the others on the Rogers Owners Forum site.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-ROGERS-Holiday-Drum-Set-60s-SwivoMatic-BLUE-SPK_W0QQitemZ320237975909QQihZ011QQcategoryZ38097QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

There ya go, nice, upper mid level Rogers from 1965ish. You wont be disapponted with drums from this era in good to excellent condition. The Powertone is a 1963.