Best deal you've ever scored on drum gear

groovy

Member
So I was looking for an inexpensive second kit for the practice room, and came across a deal I just couldn't pass up. It got me thinking...besides the blue Ludwig kit I "borrowed" from my brother when I was 8, or the red sparkle Gretsch kit my mom helped me with when I was 12, what would I consider my best "gear score"? I'm sure most of us have picked up or traded for a cymbal, snare, or full set up that made us a little giddy to get for what we got it for...what is your favorite score?

Anyway, here is what I picked up tonight, all for $850 (...not bad, huh?)

- 4 piece Pearl Export ELX, Remo Weatherking heads
- Matching 14" x 5.5" snare
- Pork Pie 12" x 5" Little Squealer maple snare
- Pacific 10" chrome timbale
- Iron Cobra double bass pedal
- 13" Sabian Paragon Neil Peart signature hi hats
- 14" Sabian B8 hi hats
- 11" Sabian Mike Portnoy signature Max Splash
- 17" Sabian AAX dark crash
- 17" Sabian B8 crash
- 18" Sabian AAX stage crash
- 18" Wuhan china
- 20" Sabian heavy ride
- Roc-n-Soc throne
- Pearl chain drive double braced HH stand
- Pearl snare stand
- Yamaha snare stand
- Two PDP straight double braced cymbal stands
- Two Pearl straight double braced cymbal stands
- Pearl boom double braced cymbal stand
- Yamaha boom cymbal attachment
- 5 Kases III soft cases
- Hard snare case
- HW bag
- Zildjian cymbal bag
- Extra HW pieces
- CAD 7 piece drum mic set with case
 
WOW. Thats a great deal! I guess 850 dollars is about 550pounds so thats a bargain!

Ive had a few great deals recently...none like that but still.

i got a sonor 3007 kit brand new for 400 pounds
and a mapex black panther maple/walnut special edition snare for 150 pounds brand new and boxed (was supposed to be over 400 pounds)
and i got a full set of used zildjian a customs for 300 pounds delivered...that was probably my best deal
 
that is pretty hard to top! whoever sold that must have been desperate for cash.

my best deal so far was the tama rockstar kit i bought several years ago when i was getting back into drumming. it was a turnkey 6 piece kit complete with all hardware, enough to mount four cymbals and hats. it came with a bunch of cymbals including 4 zildjian A series crashes and full set of ZBTs. the kit was owned by a rich guy who'd bought it to mess around on but almost never played it. it was in pristine condition. i got the whole thing for $600.
 
I bought a steel tama snare for $25 off this guy up a our practice space. He was the weirdest dude He had his own landscaping business and I think he lived in his practice space, I never saw him playing with other people just always hanging out. His room was covered in dallas cowboys posters and he always wore an aikman jersey. He bought this big double bass tama kit and decided he didn't want the snare, it was brand new. I know it's not a crazy steal but that drum sounded really good, I used it for years, and it's been on alot of recordings. My friends always borrowed it for their records too. Sometimes you just get a cheap drum that sounds really good.

I guess the other best deal I got was I got $500 trade in on a premier xpk kit that bought for $350. I basically traded that kit plus $200 for a 70's ludwig 3 ply kit. this was before everybody started going crazy for 3 ply, and also before the ebay era.

my other most recent steal was a 21" sweet ride that didn't even have a finger print on it in the used section at guitar center for $129
 
hats, crash and ride....al bos traditional, brand new, $200. Quite a deal, i think anyway!
 
1962ish Rogers Holiday 4 piece with matching wood dynasonic out of a guys barn.....$50. Had no idea what they were at the time (I was 15 years old).
 
I got my Mapex Pro M shell pack [pictured in the "Show off your Mapex" thread"], plus an Iron Cobra pedal, Mapex hi-hat stand, Mapex cymbal stand, Gibraltar cymbal stand, Mapex snare stand, and Ludwig snare stand for 500 USD last summer.
 
I'm constantly on the lookout for deals on gear for my students (...and if I find something for myself along the way...). I could write a novel on the topic. I'll just post a few:

1960s A Zildjian hats--$25
60s Slingerland (steel) snare--$40
12/13/16/22/14 import kit--$30
AA Medium ride--$35
70s Ludwig 14x6.5 maple snare--$75
 
I was jamm'in with this band, and a friend of the bass player came up to me and asked if I was lookin to buy a snare. He said a friend was selling a Pearl free-float and at that time I was recording with another band. So I asked if I could try it out. I did and liked it. So I gave him $50 on it so he wouldn't sell it. Never heard or saw him again. So $50 for a 8x14 maple Pearl free-float. And I still use it 20+ years later.
 
Hahaha...these are pretty good and who doesn't like getting a good deal and telling about it? Some time ago I just happened to go into a pawn shop I had never been in before--had time to kill-- and just to the right of the front door is a Ludwig LM400 on a Ludwig snare stand. I did a double take and picked it up and looked it over and while there was a bare minimum of pitting starting on it, it was still in near perfect shape. "How much" I asked?...store clerk said "gimme $99 and it's yours". You know how hard it is to sometimes hide a facial expression of complete shock and disbelief? I looked at it like I was having second thoughts then "grudgingly" went for my wallet. I was so thrilled I was having a hard time not shaking while handing over the cash. I kept that drum for about 10 years until finances forced me to sell it but that was a thing of beauty. I will own another one day IF I EVER FIND ANOTHER JOB!!! Thank you.
 
I got my 80's Gretsch USA Costums for 9,000 NOK which is about 1,391 bucks. You get'em for around 30 000 NOK, but most instruments are overpriced here in Norway anyway. They were in a very good condition. Just had to buy 1 new rim-mount and some heads.
 
I bought some cheap-o cymbals from a lady on Craigslist, a couple of years ago. On the way out the door, she handed me a rare Paiste prototype ride from the early 70's...for free. It went for over $400 on eBay. I also fetched more for the cymbals I bought, than what I paid for them. It was a big win. :)
 
Got a lacquer burst over exotic wood 7 piece DW kit for $3,500.00. It was a NAMM display kit that was placed on the "move it" list after the show and I happened to be at the store at just the right time looking to buy my first set of dee-dubs.
 
I got a used yamaha brass snare for 140 dollars, a pretty sweet deal. They sell a smaller one at my local drum dealer for like 400. So yeah and most of all it sounds awesome.
 
Hey Crew,

I would have to say my recent purchase of the 3-piece 1971 Rogers Powertone kit (but it's missing a few bits of "swiv-o-matic" hardware) for a mere FIFTEEN DOLLARS.

OR, maybe my Tama (1982) Sugar White Rockstar 5 -piece kit with a Tama Soprano 3-1/4"x 12" COS Piccolo snare (but was missing bass-to-tom hardware) last year for $80.00, OR, maybe even the Sabian AAX Rock 14" hats I scored for about $40.00 in a purchase of a bunch of other drum goodies...

Yup, we all get lucky sometimes! I hope everyone here finds as good of deals as I have.

Cheers,
C. P.
 
I got a 6pc spaun maple custom kit for $1950 with 2 pairs of sticks and a full set of coated evans heads.

I looked up on the spaun website, and the kickdrum costs more to order than I paid for the whole kit...it also has black hardware which is extra too.

That made my day, week, month, and with upcoming shows/recordings probably year too.
 
I have been going to my local drum store ever since I started drumming and as a sort of thank you for buying my third kit from them, they gave me a Yamaha 2 leg toggle link hi hat stand for free! www.drumstuff.co.uk - check them out!!
 
I got a 6pc spaun maple custom kit for $1950 with 2 pairs of sticks and a full set of coated evans heads.

I looked up on the spaun website, and the kickdrum costs more to order than I paid for the whole kit...it also has black hardware which is extra too.

That made my day, week, month, and with upcoming shows/recordings probably year too.
Now that is a deal, & a beautiful kit too.

Got a set of 5 Humes & Berg cases for £60:00 ( that's about $3,499,000.00 at tomorrow's exchange rate).
 
1962ish Rogers Holiday 4 piece with matching wood dynasonic out of a guys barn.....$50. Had no idea what they were at the time (I was 15 years old).

Wow!

The Wood Dynosonic alone is a steal. Right now ebay, there are three wood dynasonics on auction for $1,400, $2,500, and $3,400. Wood Dynasonics are fairly rare and much sought after.

Best,
-r
 
The two best "steals" I ever came across turned out to be just that: stolen instruments.
Where after a few days of relishing how I got a vintage drum set (and later vibes) for dirt cheap, I had to give up such items when the proper owner came calling. Opps....
 
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