Vintage drums in comparisons to cars

Well, the SAD truth of the matter (and I'm sorry if I sound like I'm ranting) is that ALL new drums are made in China. There isn't a single brand of drums made in this country, anymore. And it's no different anywhere else, either. Everything is made in China because China has big factories that can make stuff cheaper. America can't compete anymore. We couldn't beat' em, so we joined 'em...and now all we can do is wax nostalgic about the old days.

Sure, there are some drum shells being made here. But when it comes down to a drum that's 100% American-made...it doesn't exist -outside of the super high-end custom builders...( I only know of three in the entire world -Scott Carothers, Olaf Handschuh and the guy from Symphonic)...but, only ONE of those guys (Carothers) hand-made entire kits and he is now out of the biz!

The way it seems to work is that IF you have the money, then you can find someone to make you whatever you need. But the days of going into the local, family-owned corner music shop and picking up a real American-made, mass manufactured drum set are looooonnnng gone -LONG gone! And here's what is even better...it makes no difference how much money you have to spend...no one will ever get drums with the same wrap or the same glue or the same veneers, etc...produced with the old-style equipment.

It's much the same with cars, too. Cars (American cars) used to be somewhat user-friendly. They definitely had more style than most other cars. The steel was better. The designs were simpler...and, as far as "recycling" goes, look at how many of the old American cars they keep running to this day in Cuba. While we are all trying to get hybrid vehicles, the factories that make them are polluting more than ever. Cubans, on the other hand, don't manufacture hybrid vehicles. Instead, they recycle existing cars and keep them running -creating a lot less pollution in the process.

I resist buying anything new unless I absolutely have to. I don't believe in perpetuating foreign trade any longer. I try to buy vintage American-made items from the eras that preceded the free trade agreements of the middle 70's. Like the Cubans, I see more value in maintaining the higher-quality goods of days gone by rather than worrying about how to make more new junk

Personally, I can't equate a foreign-made car to an American made drum set. It just doesn't seem right.singerPartyCoffee Break2

:2Cents:

"God is dead." -Nietzsche

"Nietzsche is dead." -God

Posted on 16 years ago

Mike Curotto

Member

Joined 19 years ago

Posts: 1334 Threads: 235

1920s-30s L&Ls, Slingerlands and Leedys -- Classics.

Mike Curotto:2Cents::2Cents::2Cents:

Posted on 16 years ago

#10