Experience is the best teacher. I have been collecting drum sets for awhile and my education is ongoing, but some things that I look for:

Old cymbals that are stamped with "K Zildjian" are always good to find

Almost anything vintage by Ludwig, Gretsch, Rogers, Slingerland is worth nabbing.

The holy grail of all holy grails would probably be a Gladstone snare drum -but I think they are all accounted for at this time....?

Old civil war rope tensioned side drums are very valuable.

Mike Curotto has a book with lots of gorgeous pictures of older vintage snare drums that is very nice.

Welcome! You're in the right place.

First, it's worth checking out the Vintage Drum Guide (listed under the "Partner Web Sites" heading at the top right-hand side of every page). There's plenty of good info there.

More generally, though: American-made vintage drums typically have a higher resale value than other drums. I'd say that the best-known classic American names are Ludwig, Gretsch, Rogers, Slingerland, WFL and Leedy. Kent is a lesser-known American brand; its resale value is lower, and towards the end they started importing cheap kits, but there are some real Kent lovers out there.

Note that around the 80s, some of the major American manufacturers started branching out into the entry-level market, so for example, not every Ludwig kit is a pro-quality kit. But many of them will be.

For British/European makers, look to Premier, Beverley, Hayman and Sonor (though Premier also made some cheap import kits in the 80s and 90s). There are many, many Japanese brands, some of which are great and many of which require a lot of work before they start sounding good.

As for the value of any given kit: there are plenty of variables. What condition are the shells in? Do they have all their hardware? Is it a complete set? Any missing parts? The condition of the heads doesn't matter so much; the real question is what kind of shape the drums are in.

Surf around the forum, and you'll pick up plenty of knowledge. Enjoy!

Hey thanks!

I appreciate the info. Looking around this website I see there is a ton of info and links to explore. I think I'm gonna like this place :)

Also, I just wanted to say, I really love vintage stuff in general. Not for re-sale or profit but more for what it is and where it's been. I can appreciate fine work and craftsmanship, something that is very rare to see nowadays. Having a love for drums there would be nothing more I would like then to own and play a fine vintage drum set (and yes, to my wife's dismay it will go in the living where I can always enjoy it :)

Thanks again

when you are ready lots of guy's here have kits they may want to part with, myself included!

I think the first thing I was able to start recognizing were the badges, and then the lugs, and how they changed through the years.

Each of the manufacturer's section in the Drum Guide has a badge section. I really zeroed in on that at first.

Some of these guys around here can look at a shadow of a drum in a out-of-focus Craigslist picture from 100 paces and tell you all about it.... LOL !!

Maybe print out yourself some of the badge pics and take them with you to these estate sales?

And, you might check out the For Sale section here.... lots of good stuff there (OK, some of it is mine... )

Happy hunting, and Welcome to the forum ... !!

:)

Good tips, thanks Kevin.

You are very welcome.

Build your library..

[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Complete-History-Leedy-Drum-Company/dp/0931759749/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1267747401&sr=8-1[/ame]

I had really taken an interest in drumming before but it was not until I stumbled onto this website that a whole new level of drum interest has been opened for me.

Man have I got allot to learn but I'm really looking forward to it!

Thanks guys!!