I would just like to thank you for advertising to everyone the drumset 1.5 hours away from my house that I have been eyeballing. That's it, you are off my Christmas card list.Jon

It's ok. There is someone out there that deserves it more than me. I wouldn't have bought it anyway, I am too cheap. I am hoping for the "found a whole kit inside a bass drum for $20 at the flea market" deal.Jon

* hugs his pearl export kit with a tear in his eye *

Barbo wrote:I would just like to thank you for advertising to everyone the drumset 1.5 hours away from my house that I have been eyeballing. That's it, you are off my Christmas card list.Jon

Who has the money for a set of pristine vintage drums? Who has the cash for a set of new DWs? I had to lie in the weeds and wait for my Vistalites ($1000). I got my Radio Kings for $200. I got my vintage Gretsch kit for free off some dude's porch. There are bargains out there, but if you're prowling and trying to put together a good kit on the cheap, here are some drums to look out for.snare:I have already covered the Ludwig Acrolite in great detail here. Those usually run between $75 and $150.I am also a fan of the Tama Imperial Star snare from the 1980s. Very different sounding drum from the aluminum Ludwigs. It's a thicker, heavier shell, so it has more ping, but the 6.5 depth has a nice wallop behind it. Make sure it has die-cast hoops and a raised lower snare gate so that it won't sit flat on a tabletop. That's the real deal Imperial Star. You can get them for less than $150. Great sounding snare for doom metal or aluminum beard rock.There are a lot of "Imperial Star" snares out there, so make sure it's from the '80s and looks like this:Also, you can pick up the Pork Pie black brass snares for around $200 all the time. I have the Big Black (yeah, I know) 6.5 x 14 snare and it sound good. For what I am using it for, I prefer the Supraphonic (not cheap) but it would be a good do-fer if I had to do a big sell-off.kick drums:In my opinion, the most important and least well-thought-out drum in the kit. Rogers drums used to be the vintage drums that no one wanted. That all changed when doodz started collecting them and bragging on them. You can still pick them up at the occasional garage sale, and I have. Oh, boy, did I. I got a blue sparkle late '50s kick AND snare for $20. Nothing sounds like that kick. it's 22" and dwarfs every other bass drum in the building.Thing is, the window for Rogers awesomeness is pretty narrow. You have to get US Rogers with the script badge or early "Big R" badge Rogers. The R360s are crap. There was, like with most of those '60s instrument companies, a CBS buyout, and then everything went to shit. You can see the Rogers build tag through the hole in every drum. Make sure it's an Ohio drum if you are thinking about it.basically, if this isn't in it, don't buy it:People know about the Rogers now, so you'll have to stumble up on one on Craigslist or at a garage sale. '80s Tama and older upperline Yamaha drums are not considered collectible as far as I know, and there are some great ones cheap. Tama made Rockstars, Granstars, Artstars, Imperialstars, Swingstars, Superstars and Royalstars. I have no idea which are the good ones, but I think that the Rockstars are kind of entry level and cheap. This bass drum will sound amazing, and it's 24" x 14", which is my favorite size for a kick drum. It's currently at $36 with a day to go on the auction. Shit, read the description. IT'S WARM AND PUNCHY!I recommend maple or birch kick drums. '80s Ludwig Maple drums are out there cheap as "Rockers," but not all Rockers are maple. You can usually eyeball these and tell if they're worth a damn. During the '80s, a lot of drum companies put wraps on their entry level drums and stains on their upperlines. This is not an ironclad thing to judge by, but it's a good starting point. If a drum is stained, it's often fairly good quality.I mostly think Pearls are crap, but it's because there are a zillion Pearl Export kits out there. Hate 'em. Crap. There were upperline Pearls, like everything else, but I've never played them and have no opinion. YMMV.Toms:Most everything I have said about bass drums goes for toms. Maple and birch are best. There are lots of 3-ply classic drums out there that sound great. The famous Ludwig 3-plys are what Bonham played. Awesome sounding drums. there are Rogers 3-plys too, which were made in Ohio. Amazing.I think that the real bargains out there for toms and bass drums are Tama and Yamaha drums from the '80s-'90s. They're not considered collectible, and they were just BURYING the US market, so there's a zillion of them.Check out this tom on eBay. Another stained Tama tom from the '90s. Probably a good sounding drum, almost no collectible value. Not a bad budget tom. Here's an 18" Tama Superstar floor tom from the '80s that will probably go for around $150. Good sounding drum, I would bet.I have not mentioned Slingerlands or Gretsches here, because most people know how nice they are. You'll be lucky to find any that aren't ridiculously expensive. the exception: There were '80s Gretsch "blackhawk" kits. They're shit. Firewood at best. Same with '80s Slingerlands, before they came back to Nashville and Pat Foley saved the brand.At the studio, I often build a "Frankenkit" out of whatever drums are sounding best to me that week. It's often the Rogers kick drum, 12" gretsch rack tom or 13" ludwig maple rack, and the Radio King floor tom. The snare drum is usually whatever sounds best with the type of music we're recording.So, there's snares, kicks and toms on a budget. You could put a really world class sounding kit together for like $500. acrolite: $100'90s tama kick: $150'90s tama rack tom: $100'90s tama floor tom: $150That kit would slay.Questions? Comments? Anyone need some gum?

so to hijack this thread, i suppose thatthis Ludwig kit is a pretty smokin' deal?

endofanera wrote:dontfeartheringo wrote:That is an amazing kit and worth twice that.hoops are cheap. 3 ply black diamond shells are not, ESPECIALLY with a 24" kick, though he may not be measuring accurately.That's a great kit.I am tempted to tell you to grab it for me and ship it.See? Shows what I know. No disrespect or insult intended. That's the sort of kit, though... it's a sleeper. Little elbow grease and some chrome polish... Vurrry nice.

I hope someone I know gets it!

killyourself wrote:so to hijack this thread, i suppose thatthis Ludwig kit is a pretty smokin' deal?That is an amazing kit and worth twice that.hoops are cheap. 3 ply black diamond shells are not, ESPECIALLY with a 24" kick, though he may not be measuring accurately.That's a great kit.I am tempted to tell you to grab it for me and ship it.

dontfeartheringo wrote:That is an amazing kit and worth twice that.hoops are cheap. 3 ply black diamond shells are not, ESPECIALLY with a 24" kick, though he may not be measuring accurately.That's a great kit.I am tempted to tell you to grab it for me and ship it.See? Shows what I know.