To sell or keep my old Stage Customs: A dilemma

So I took this thread and a couple of cups of coffee and discussed it with the stalwart life partner (and Bo's had his two cents as well). What we ended up thinking is that we'll do a little bit of tinkering with the SCs for the time being, seeing if they can't eke out another two years of service life until we're set to pay off the house. At that time we'll be looking into upgrading into a Classic Maple shell bank with a new set of stands and probably an extra snare such as an LM400 or 402 to take its place.

I appreciate all the sage advice.

On a side note, I've turned down several gigs for this year as an attempt to declutter life and concentrate on the job that's paying the bills. I accepted a last-minute gig playing hand percussion behind a singer-songwriter friend this weekend. As you do, I posted the gig info on Facebook. My phone began to ring with gig offers that evening.
 
Excellent! Great decision on the SC's too. A bit of tweaking & --------- :)

We'll see. I'm not expecting to fall back in love with them. Maybe a little bit of ex backsliding, though. ;)
 
So here it is, almost seven months later.

I took my 14" Stage Custom tom to church to Frankenstein a 12-14-16 setup, and I have been noticing over the past month how that tom has more body and voice to it than the other toms on the set (a Mapex all-birch kit).

Then, today, just out of boredom-slash-curiosity, I pulled my Yammie 8" and 10" toms off the shelf and set them up to the left of my Ludwigs on a double tom stand. Can't remember what was going through my head. But they sounded great -- especially the 10". Just fat and rich. Not at all inferior to the Ludwigs.

So this weekend I'm bringing the 14" home and setting the Yammies back up, letting the Ludwigs take a much-deserved break. Sure, I'm backsliding, but it's all good, right?

The wife is happy -- it was the set I had when she met me, and was helping me cart it to gigs as I was getting started in bands. She's talking all crazy, about getting a multi-pad controller for theater for next year and maybe doing a rewrap...

I'll let you know how our reunion goes!
 
Good thing you kept 'em! Although I'm sizing down, a modern kit and a vintage kit are good to have.
 
Sometimes when you put something away and let it stew for a while,
when you pull it back out, it surprises you in a good way.
You've got a different perspective on it.

I've had that happen a lot.
 
You're asking a (virtual) room full of gear junkies if you should sell a drum kit?

You knew the answer before asking.
 
So here it is, almost seven months later.

I took my 14" Stage Custom tom to church to Frankenstein a 12-14-16 setup, and I have been noticing over the past month how that tom has more body and voice to it than the other toms on the set (a Mapex all-birch kit).

Then, today, just out of boredom-slash-curiosity, I pulled my Yammie 8" and 10" toms off the shelf and set them up to the left of my Ludwigs on a double tom stand. Can't remember what was going through my head. But they sounded great -- especially the 10". Just fat and rich. Not at all inferior to the Ludwigs.

So this weekend I'm bringing the 14" home and setting the Yammies back up, letting the Ludwigs take a much-deserved break. Sure, I'm backsliding, but it's all good, right?

The wife is happy -- it was the set I had when she met me, and was helping me cart it to gigs as I was getting started in bands. She's talking all crazy, about getting a multi-pad controller for theater for next year and maybe doing a rewrap...

I'll let you know how our reunion goes!

Wait, your special girl is pushing for a re-wrap on your drums? And a controller? Isn't that nice. You might want to give her some love for that.

Back OT, ever have one of those days where the drum tone just isn't doing it for you? Like you think your kit sounds really bad that day? My guess is that's what happened last February when you started this thread.

Different days bring different perceptions sometimes.

Ever have a bad Ludwig Standards day?
 
Wait, your special girl is pushing for a re-wrap on your drums? And a controller? Isn't that nice. You might want to give her some love for that.

Every day, man. Every day. Took her wine tasting yesterday.

Back OT, ever have one of those days where the drum tone just isn't doing it for you? Like you think your kit sounds really bad that day? My guess is that's what happened last February when you started this thread.

Different days bring different perceptions sometimes.

Ever have a bad Ludwig Standards day?

The closest I've had yet is at the low-volume acoustic thing I brought them along on the other day. Just to speed up setup, I used a snare stand to hold the 13" tom. It reaffirmed to me why I don't use snare stands for toms. It sounded pinched. That's the only word for it. And of course, it was. I took it home, put it back on the L-rod, and it sprang back to life. I think those old beat-up tubs still got some life in them!
 
You're asking a (virtual) room full of gear junkies if you should sell a drum kit?

You knew the answer before asking.

Well, yeah, but it was with the intent of buying something else. I think that's allowed?
 
So I did it. Set them back up, retuned them again, went for a few spins. What a difference a few months makes. Yeah, I'm probably keeping them (and maybe wrapping them too, who knows?)

On a side note, going from 16" hi-hats to 13" hi-hats feels really, really weird. Had to move my hi-hat stand in a bit, my right arm was way past my left hand to reach them!
 

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So I did it. Set them back up, retuned them again, went for a few spins. What a difference a few months makes. Yeah, I'm probably keeping them (and maybe wrapping them too, who knows?)

On a side note, going from 16" hi-hats to 13" hi-hats feels really, really weird. Had to move my hi-hat stand in a bit, my right arm was way past my left hand to reach them!

If it looks and feels like home, then you must be home ;)
 
Necro-thread update: Selling the Yammies. There's a barely used Superstar Classic near me for a steal, the toms are shallower, and the bass drum is a 22" versus a 20". Pics when they arrive! Here's the Craigslist pictures of the Yammies (with impeccable tom angles, mind you)...
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I do a lot more business on FB Marketplace that CL. Our regional CL is a wasteland. Those are cool drums though!
 
I do a lot more business on FB Marketplace that CL. Our regional CL is a wasteland. Those are cool drums though!
They are on FBMP as well. I tend to hate selling there because of the never ending litany of "Is this still available" DMs, but hey! I found the Superstar Classics on FBMP too...
 
You mentioned disliking "clutter" several times in this thread. I'm the same exact way. If I have too much stuff laying around, (even stuff I like), it drives me nuts.

I'd definitely sell off the Stage Customs. Or... just give them to a friend. I gave away my bass guitar rig to my brother a couple years ago. It actually brings me more happiness than the few bucks I would have gotten from selling it.
 
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