This by far has been my best post yet as I`ve already reciveved several opinions on my question.In Omaha,there really isn`t much in the way of vintage drum sales going on.There is one place that the owner is a true Rogers fan,as a matter of fact I bought a beautiful Dynasonic from him,and he can from time to time come up with a part I need.So having said that ebay is the more likely place for me to look.So far I`ve had good luck and only dealt with some quality people.I do get a kick out of some of the listings,the wildwood kit for $17000.00 yeah right,the red onyx Powertone snare for $ 795.00 but you can if you watch find most of what you need there,just seems to cost a bit.I`ve seen the newer Rogers sets only a couple of years old listed as VINTAGE only because they still say Rogers,doe not mean they are anything close.As a couple of the responses have mentiond,most of us are chasing a finite number of drums,or hardware that no one makes in the same quality or style that Rogers or other drum makers of the USA made in the sixties and seventies.It is a tribute to these brands that some kits have been gigged for twenty five to thirtyfive years and still look and sound good.There is not much that I know of on the market today that can match the sound of the older drums.I`m now 52 been playing since I was 8 got my first Rogers kit in 72 and never looked back,keep rocking.Gary

What defines "vintage"? I was just thinking about the Simmons drums spotted on Saturn post -meaning it to be humorous, of course. Group Hug Anyway...I started thinking about the real Simmons drums and decided they are drums that I, personally, consider to be "vintage" -even though I don't consider the contemporary acoustic drums of that era to be vintage (with maaaaaybe a couple of exceptions). I'm not sure exactly when Simmons drums appeared on our shores for sale, but I got an SDS8 kit circa 1984/5 -somewhere in there. They were very ummm...inexpensively-constructed to say the least, but they were really fun at the time, too. Sometimes, I wish I still had them, but mostly I'm glad I got rid of them. I do have the old SDS1 pad with the self-contained electronics that used the old "E-Prom" chips. I have "bass riff", "crash cymbal" and "tom tom". What a nightmare that thing was on gigs! Half the time, it would fail to trigger...OR, it would go "crazy" out of nowhere and start playing itself. It's not broken. It's in extremely excellent to near mint condition. Will it ever be valuable? I doubt it, but just my saying that will mean that they WILL become collectible...but, of course, not until the day after I sell mine!

Hi O Lugs,

DICARLO

This is a good forum topic to bring this up I think. But, is anyone else tired of people talking their 'vintage' stuff that is really just old garbage? I realize some collectors look for the 'student' model or less common pieces, I'm fine with that. However, when we talk vintage drums for instance, it had better be one of the 'big boys' such as Ludwig, Gretsch, Leedy, etc. I don't want to hear or see anything about 35-40 year old CB drums or some crap brand that never broke out of the mold of making "entry level" garbage! Am I alone on this?

I think the important role that vintage drums play is that they give us a great window of how things used to be, or how things that are around today came to be in existance. We are able to see this with the examples of the 'big boys' and I don't think its really relevant or required to look at every single brand that ever existed. Rather we should have an unwritten rule of looking at only the brands that were continually innovative to remain a contender in the game.

The other thing is that I'm tired of hearing about "rare setups" or people trying to prove to themselves and everyone else that their kit is SO much better...and here's why. I always think something like "we get it, you have a kit that not a lot of people like 40 years ago, as well as something that noone would play now!" Of course I LOVE looking at the old drums, and finding out why they are unique, and why and why not the reason they continued or discontinued these products. But, why don't we all stick to facts and not theories. Also, let's not stress any great points that may come off as a arrogant remark to prove status.

I apologize for the length of this post, and for it coming off that I may be a jerk. I love the old drums, and I love discussing and looking at pictures of them all! I would just like to see this website take a grand step into developing staplepoints in the issues of vintage drums, instead of being another website for "fluff" and grandore...even if it's only in our own heads!!

IMHO - Vintage = pre 1970, well made, well kept and playable.

-Nope! You're not alone! I'm with ya! Burger Kin

-I agree!

-I'm not sure exactly what you mean. I have several old kits that nobody makes/sells anymore -rare configurations that I spent years searching for. I bought sets and traded them "up" until I basically paid for my whole collection. As a collector, I have several "theories" as to what might become a future collectible. I try to predict some things and buy them "ahead" of the time that I think they will increase in value. That's part of the game! Burger Kin Vintage drums become collectible because they aren't made anymore. The reason(s) they aren't made the vintage way anymore has to do with foreign trade with Taiwan -that's the short version. As a result, I feel that nothing coming from Taiwan is worth collecting -now or in the future....but that's just a theory!flower

-Well, in addition to this discussion section, this website offers several detailed galleries of vintage drums, a badge reference section, a serial number section, helpful hints as to how to clean maintain and repair vintage gear, "for sale" section, Ebay auction section, vintage non-USA drum section...and many other features not seen on other vintage drum websites -or ANY drum websites for that matter! Maybe it might be a good idea to make these sections a little bit more visible to the general populace so that these features are easier to see/find, because the links for them are somehat hidden in plain sight...but they are available nonetheless. I don't see ANY of what I would term "fluff" at this website -not in comparison to some, anyway. That being said, I am anxious to read what ideas you have for making this website even better! We can always use more positive input!Yes Sir