Thanks for all the discussion. I now have enough of a list of cool stuff that I can proceed to the Bay. Trust me I won't notice near the amount of subtleties you gigging guys do. Drums are therapy more to me than anything and as long as the aesthetics are right it will all fall into place. :)

BTW having now seen the accent on the last "e" in Auge', I would pronouce it Aww-jay. But that is the Italian influence. In French maybe Ow-ghee. In USA who knows.

Also if you find a 13" ride tom like your Anniversary style W&A snare please PM me as my brother needs that tom for the otherwise complete Gretsch Anniv kit he has had since the 70s.

I have used since 1965 ludwig speedking pedals, and never had a failure and i pretty much stand on them and work them hard, also i have played Rogers drums exclusivly, and their hihat is pretty much bullet proof .. also their swivo cymbal stands are tough SOB's the tilters are IMO the best ever builtI know that after 40 years of banging on this stuff it has to be tough...

I've decided to use modern hardware on my "vintage" kit. Playing in the city and not having a car, I need hardware that is sturdy, lightweight, and able to set up quickly (memory locks and no wrenches!). It doesn't change the sound of my vintage drums or cymbals Cool Dude

I like the new dw 6500 series stands. Look great, light weight and have memory locks, very important to me. I would sacrafice the vintage look and weight of the hh stand for something more heavy duty. I use a dw 9000 and it has never failed me. I have gone through more hh stands over the years, can't explain it because I am not a heavy hitter, maybe just a heavy left foot. As far as pedals, you really don't see them so use what works best for you.

Are there hi hat stands or even cymbal stands, particularly vintage, that contribute to keyholing more than others?

I can't see how a vintage hihat or new would be any different. As long as there's no slop it never has been an issue that I know of.

To me, keyholing on cymbal stands is 100% due to the cymbal sleeve wearing through and the drummer not replacing it with a part he could get for maybe 10 cents.

Keyholing is caused 100% by ignorance, it has nothing to do with anything else (there I said it).

^^^ agree^^^

Let me say something else, and man is this a can of worms:

The cymbal stand, as much as you wouldn't think it could, affects the sound of the cymbal.

I've recorded just one cymbal in my studio. The new Ludwig flat base stand is 100% useless it's got so much buzz. But I'm not talking about about that, I'm talking about how the stand "grounds" the sound, how the sound is transmitted through the stand kinetically to the floor.

And hands down, to these ears, the super light (and my nickel W&A is the best) stands sound better - closer to the cymbal being suspended in no gravity, which would be the ideal.

I've tried it with the Atlas Ludwigs and modern double braced stands and the difference, to me, isn't subtle, it's very noticeable. Plus the flat base stands don't "flange" the sound waves going around the sets like tripods. Hold a pencil vertically in front of a speaker and the sound changes because it changes the wave.

If I look my ankle, it goes down to about 1 1/2" diameter, and that's bone, softer than steel, and I weigh 165. Your cymbals weigh hopefully less.

So in answer to the original question "What cool vintage hardware actually works well today?", I'd say they not only work but, for me because I don't play like I need anger management classes, actually work better!

If it's a can of worms all the better.

I am just a guitar player who has always appreciated good drumming and quality drummers (I would even argue that if a band has a great drummer and the rest of the band is not so good then the band can still be awesome if they write good songs --for example., the Clash). And of course the sound and look of good vintage gear.

I am genuinely curious and on all these sorts of subjects and very much want your opinions. It's why I have asked for them!

Sure some feedback I'll have to discount for my own circumstances--for instance my drums will never go out gigging so I can perhaps use more delicate foot pedals--but I fully appreciate the needs of gigging and, for my part on my old Gretsch guitars always used a better Gibson tune o matic bridge for the gigging models. Gretsch bridges (at least old ones) suck by and large and go out of tune.

I just think it's great that in the internet age we can collect experiences and views and put them all in one place. What you all have written here will hopefully get a lot of people thinking when they have this sort of question in the future...that's pretty cool to me.

So please don't hold back :)

To be honest I have no idea whether your point about cymbals sounding worse with modern gear is correct. But the argument certainly makes sense:

I know that if I hold a cymbal in my hand on the edge and hit it with a stick the sound will be muted -kunk, kunk-- vs if i put my finger through the hole and hit it. It stands to reason therefore that the more the cymbal is not "muted" by its stand the better it sounds. I never have thought of that and even if you were dead wrong (which I am not at all saying) it was worth you saying it because it gets me thinking, which is all I ask for at the end of the day (well that and for someone to help me out with my question in the restoring drums section about champagne sparkle wrap :) ).

Good, because it's important to realize that if you asked someone else what shoes they wear and went out and bought that color and size, it would be unlikely that they'd fit you.

I've had people be offended because I'm passionate about all of this stuff, and man does that make me feel bad. Everything I say is just my opinion, just 1 opinion out of 6 billion.

My approach is: look under every stone, listen to everybody, then do what my gut tells me.

So what I say is just one guy's dumb opinion, not meant to be more than that.

And if you get something out of it that you can make your own - I'm happy.