Why do drums cost less than guitars?

805Drummer

Gold Member
Why do drums cost less than guitars? I see super-expensive guitars for hundreds of thousands of dollars, sometimes even millions! And then even a SUPER nice drum set is only, maybe, $20,000 if not less!

Is there a reason for this? It seems drum sets would cost more, because of all the metal, wood, etc.
 
They are harder to make . Use several different woods. Some have electronics. Many variables.
 
They are harder to make . Use several different woods. Some have electronics. Many variables.

But, I mean, an entire, say, seven piece, completely custom drum set made of several different kind of exotic woods, WITH a full pack of cymbals, doesn't even come close to the cost of some little old guitars! And that's before you count hardware...
 
the craftsmanship and set ups that can be done on some guitars can really bring up the price
and plus I've seen and played guitars with more technology on them then this computer I'm on right now
I admit some of those really really expensive guitars are QUITE overpriced and not worth it
but I guess people are willing to spend it
and believe me I've seen some very very very expensive drum sets haha
 
Are you talking about collectors items? That's like buying a limited edition classic car, or piece of art.
 
Are you talking about collectors items? That's like buying a limited edition classic car, or piece of art.

I was just talking about in general. Obviously, a drum set that a famous drummer played is gonna be more.

What's the most expensive drum set (shell pack) that you've ever seen?
 
It's simply because guitars sound that much better than drums. That being said, my kit cost a wee bit more than my three guitars, my effects and my amp combined.
 
I was just talking about in general. Obviously, a drum set that a famous drummer played is gonna be more.

What's the most expensive drum set (shell pack) that you've ever seen?

Huh? In general I think they are about even... I'm usually looking for the cheapest shell pack anyway.

I don't understand this thread.
 
I'm just saying that a really nice guitar can be $100,000, when a really nice drum set is only about $20,000. Why is that? I mean, even with the electronics or wood, how is there such a huge price difference? And obviously, there are more expensive drum sets out there, and less expensive guitars, but I'm talking about in these cases.
 
hmmm... this says the most expensive kit in the world is keith moon's old kit, auctioned at a measly 252,000 bucks...

http://most-expensive.net/drum-kit-set

this says the most expensive guitar which was signed by tons of popular guitarists, generated a total of 3.7 million US dollars...

http://most-expensive.net/guitar-in-world

To answer your question, i have no clue.... but its probably because of the amount of signatures on that guitar, it looks like 20ish guitarists.

I'm pretty sure if buddy rich signed his set, then today they auctioned it off, it'd be a little more expensive than keith moons.
 
Sorry, I'm confused here too. What guitars are $100k ? The most expensive ones online are $15-$25k and that's for special edition ones. Even classic fenders, ricks, etc and things like that on ebay typically are in the $10-$20k range.

Probably just a matter of what the market will bear though. Guitar players are suckers ; )
 
Never seen a guitar go for $100,000 (unless it's a collectible, like Jimi Hendrix's guitar or something)... Do you have a link to such a guitar?
 
well i think the price also varies thanks to which guitar are u talking about, i mean there is a guitar Eric Clapton used in a charity concert which was signed by him and other great musicians and i think the guitar was sold for more than a million dollars....maybe if i dont know Neil Peart throws a charity concert and drum get signed by him and Steve Smith, Jojo Mayer Dave Weckl Dennis Chambers and a lot of more (there's plenty of space so dont worry) maybe it would cost near that million...just saying =)
 
Well I could list a drum set at whatever I want on ebay. I wouldn't use that website as my barometer of the instrument market as a whole.
 
I'm fairly sure that you're mistaking collectible pieces for new pieces. No brand new guitar is going to sell for more than 10k unless there is a feature of collectibility about it, eg- it may be a special run of 20 worldwide, custom numbered and signed by a particular artist or made from exotic materials. I guarantee those old, vintage collector guitars that sell for 50k + like ultra rare Martin acoustics, vintage les pauls etc didn't cost anywhere near that much when they were new. As big an artist as Buddy Rich was, there's probably more than 20 guitarists that, name-wise, are bigger. Look at the catalogs of the biggest guitar companies vs the catalogs of the biggest drum companies to get a real gauge of price vs price. I don't know about guitars, but i'm fairly sure that no BRAND NEW guitar is going to come close to the DW "Rush: Vapor trails commemorative drum kit with 24k gold hardware and sabian 2112 cymbal kit", but i may be mistaken. And that's a kit that you can order straight from DW.

Aside from the fantasy world, a custom hod rodded paul reed smith neck-through with all custom hardware and exotic cap is probably a few grand, about the same price as say a tama spartan warlord or Sonor Steve Smith 30th anniversary kit.
 
If you think this, you shouldn't argue with it. You play drums, not guitar. You're gonna be paying less than guitar players. Be happy.
 
Drums definitely cost more. An intermediate drum kit is somewhere in the $900-$1400 range, whereas a guitar is under $1000. I challenge you to find a guitar that costs more than a 10pc SQ2 with a wide variety of cymbals/hardware. This excludes signed/collectors items.
 
Back
Top