Good question.

As a guitar player, I can tell you that you are right. I think there could be a couple of reasons for this.

1 - It takes a lot of work to build say, a Les Paul. It takes an awful lot of fine craftsmanship to make one play like a Stradivarious and look like a gem. From cutting the solid mahogany slab of wood into the shape of a Les Paul, to carving and shaping the top, to the intricate paint job, to the electronics, creating the perfect neck shape, the binding, the inlays etc. etc.

2 - Even non guitar playing people understand that sound really matters in guitar playing. For instance, a semi-hollow body guitar will sound different than a solid body and a solid body will sound different than full hollow body, single coils will sound different than humbucking pick-ups, a Fender will sound very different than a Gibson etc. and the differences in all of these things are dramatic. Most famous guitarists have there own sound, that is immediately recognizable to most fans and they know exactly what guitar there guy is using to get it.

I don't think its the same with drums. I think there is less work, or should I say craftsmanship, to building drums than guitars. Correct me if I'm wrong. Also, my guess is a luthier makes more money than the guy that builds the drums as well? Does the drum builder even have a craft name? Are drums hand-built?

You can almost get any drum to sound and play reasonably well, which is not so for guitars. Also, I don't think that most people have any idea that drums can have different sounds. Or that they need tuning. I'm not sure a fan could pick-up whether or not there favorite drummer is playing a Gretsch or a Ludwig. I think people think drums are just drums and some are prettier than others!;)

Now, I hope I didn't make anyone mad with my views, that was not my intent at all, but as a guitar player, and a newbie to drumming, that's the way I see it.

Riddle Me This: If a guitar player shows up with a beat to crap Tele or Gibson, people love it.

If a drummer shows up with a drum set in the same condition, they would ask him to go home.

Hey, we’re drummers! We are used to double standards!

Jimmy

I agree with some of what you say. However, there are also recognizable drum sounds. A Gretsch bop kit, for example, sounds like no other bop kit....unless it's a new kit made to mimic that sound....which IS possible, nowadays. But I get what you're saying.

It is also possible to get new guitars to sound very similar to old guitars -especially solid body guitars. But I think it is the nostalgia of playing the so-called "real deal" that makes the player feel differently about playing it and, thus, makes it sound different than if they were playing a guitar that is readily-available to anyone.

I have a friend who is kind of like Mike Curotto -except with guitars. He can pretty much afford anything out there and has a collection of late 50's L5s and even a Stromberg Master 400 (19" lower bout!)...I asked him if they each had a specific sound that he desires. He said no, he just likes having them. LOL! That's it! I dunno....I remember when I was a kid. It was the same way with Hot Wheels cars. I loved them and saved up my allowances to buy them....STILL have a bunch of them, in fact. They were just toys back then. Now, they are "collectibles"!

As far as drum sets....They were few and far between in my area when I was growing up. I lived in a rural area and drums were like magic lanterns or something! But, these days, drum sets are everywhere! Everyone is a drummer. People go to school to learn jazz now. I'm telling' ya! The world is a different place!

Here is my $.02 ...

I think that the vintage guitar market is different in several ways...

1. It is easier to pin down the rarity of guitars, the factory stats make it pretty clear how many of each were made in a given year. The variety of possible drum kit options and configurations requires more research to pin down how rare a particular kit might be.

2. It's harder to pin down the overall condition of a drum set too. So many more pieces and parts that must be considered.

3. It is far easier to have/store/display/maintain a collection of guitars than drums.

4. Shipping a guitar is a much less daunting task and far less expensive than shipping a drum set.

5. Guitars are riding the long engrained, and now commonly held, belief that a musical instrument can be elevated to a work of art. Stradivarius has given way to Stratocaster. The reverence for the artistic beauty of a drum kit is a more acquired taste. A taste really only found in serious drummers, were as I know several guys who can barely play a lick yet own and display several high-end guitars on their wall.

6. There are just more guitarists than drummers...witness any open jam night.

These differences mean to me that the vintage guitar market is just more mature, meaning it is further down the same road. Appreciation for vintage drums will continue to gain popularity but will always be lagging behind guitars for mass appeal.

Let's assume for a minute that there are differences in the sounds emanating from each single piece of a particular model of a guitar produced on the same day of any given year. Let's next assume that we select one guitar of that model from that same date. Let's further assume that the guitar is plugged into the same amplifier with the amp settings unchanged for each of the players. Let's have a few guitar players play that guitar through that amp to solo on "Honky Tonk" and hear how different that same guitar and amp sound for Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Carlos Santana, Jeff Beck, Adrian Belew, and the accountant/guitar hobbyist who bought the guitar and amp from the music store. We could also do the same experiment with a single drum set with the same array of cymbals. The drummers could include Steve Gadd, David Garribaldi, Zigaboo Modaliste, Mick Fleetwood, Bernard Purdie,and Joey Bagodonuts who bought the drum set at a drum show. Should we ask them to play "Wipeout" or "Sing Sing Sing" to hear how the drum set sounds for each of them? I've heard Billy Gibbons teach a kid how to play the intro to LaGrange at a music store while playing the kid's cheapo Strat copy through the smallest Peavey amp. He sounded like Billy Gibbons playing through a wall of amps on a very low volume setting.

Yeah, that's a strange one.

I don't get the whole beat-up thing. I like my guitars (and now my drum kit) to be clean and polished no matter how old they might be. It's a sign of respect for the instrument - and for yourself!

My guess is when they're beat-up, people think the player looks like he lives, eats, breathes and sleeps with his guitar. "Been out on the road, you know. It's hard man...really hard..." kind of story...:)

Let's take it a step further, one does not aquire a great drum sound from just the drums, heads and tuning alone. There's a certain way to strike a drum to bring out the sound. And let's not forget, we are talking about an acoustic instrument vs, an electric instrument. Guitarist have far more options at their disposal to aquire different sounds without actually playing any differently, that's not the case for drummers.

Some might say there are more guitarist because it's more popular than drums, I firmly believe it's because drums are a much more difficult instrument to master and it takes more effort to achieve a great sound, not to mention the physical aspect of playing the drums

Excellent point.

Honestly, I think there are more guitarists out there simply because you can play a guitar quietly. When I was kid, I really wanted to be a drummer and annoyed the heck out of my parents, but growing up in an apartment, like so many people, or in a situation where drums are just to loud or take up to much room, I just couldn't do it, so they gave me a guitar. Secondly, you can play a melody and song on guitar that is easily recognizable, and that is attractive I think.

One of the biggest problems I am having now is trying to think like a drummer instead of a guitarist. Keeping the beat for long periods and adding fills is far different than being up-front on guitar, where you are making the melody, not backing it up. So are drums harder to master? Or just different? I'll have to get back to you on that! Cool Dude