What did you pay, back in the day?

Seems you can get great sounding kits a lot cheaper these days.

Around 1987 or so, I bought a very slightly used 5 piece Tama Granstar Custom kit from Daddy's Junky Music in Boston, and they were only that cheap because a National Act had come to town and rented them for a night at a local club.
It came with the snare stand, HH stand, and 1 cymbal stand,
They were in Absolutely Mint condition, except the Tama Insignia Bass Res had an ugly 6" hole cut in it for a mic.....looked like they cut that hole with a butter knife.

Took years off from playing until just recently, but these are the drums I still use today.
 
I rarely buy anything new but, In 1968 (high school) , I specifically remember buying a used Rogers 5 piece w/ Zildjian hh, crash and ride for $300.


45 years later, I think I could get a comparable used kit today for about $500.

To put it in perspective, minimum wage was $1.25 and gas was under 50 cents a gallon.

Today, minimum wage is 7.80 and gas is 4.00.

Wages ...........up 524%
Gas............... up 700%
Used drums.....up 66%
 
In 1987 I bought a Pearl Export 5 piece kit for $750 Canadian. That was a good deal for the kit at the time. Regular music store prices were about $1000. It came with a free set of nomad cases, because my little local music store wanted to get rid of them.

In November last year I bought a gretsch catalina maple 7pc shell pack for $890 Canadian.
 
I don't recall exactly... In 1982 I saved up my own money and purchased a 7 piece Tama Swingstar set and something tells me it was around $800 but I may be wrong. Most of what I played up until that point was Royce junk. It was all my parents could afford.
 
That's an old Rogers stick tray, I'll bet they're worth a fortune now!

That sure is vintage. It's very practical, arguably too much so.

When I recall how it was between Rogers and Ludwig back in the day I think of beta and VHS, Blackberry and iPhone, Garfunkel and Simon ...
 
wholekitfrontleft.jpg



This wasn't back in the day as such, but it was back in the day for me! It was a Premier Royale kit, 22, 12, 13, 16 with a 14 steel snare. All hardware and ZBT cymbals for £350 back in 2003
 
1969, my first new kit was a Ludwig Standard 5-pc, with Ludwig/Paiste cymbals, and list price was $532. We had a friend who owned a music store and gave us an amazing discount at the time, 35% off, so the price was $346.

Wish I still had those too...

standards_dec69.jpg

Bermuda...I had the same kit in blue mist sparkle,but with the(S-101) chrome plated aluminum snare.Great sounding drums

Steve B
 
I don't recall exactly... In 1982 I saved up my own money and purchased a 7 piece Tama Swingstar set and something tells me it was around $800 but I may be wrong. Most of what I played up until that point was Royce junk. It was all my parents could afford.

D, there are some things about our lives that are eerily similar. Just seems like a striking number of parallels. Kinda spooky.

My grandpa had picked up some Royce garbage from a junk house that I banged on until it fell apart. Which was about 15 minutes, I reckon. But my first real set was a five-piece Swingstar and I can tell you mine cost me $550. I saved up the tips I made caddying at the local golf course that summer and bought my drums with it.
 
This is what happened to my 1979 Ludwig set. All-original Ludwig hardware. The knobs broke off nearly all of the Hercules stands. The snare stand snapped off at the gooseneck. The hi-hat pedal broke at the pedal. The bass drum tom mount broke in two places. The bass drum spur mounts cracked (both sides). The screws attaching the lugs to the shell started to vibrate and many snapped off while I was tightening them. The Speed King pedal also broke.

This is what happens to a drum set that sees a lot of gigs. I still have the drums, but none of the original hardware - thankfully.

Miss those things even thou the legs on the bass were shot,there was a crack developing on the bottom of the bass drum,and the tom mount was going...Played countless gigs with my trusty slingerlands......But the time had come,but i dont know any drummer who sells stuff even if you make a profit thats happy about it.........Morel of the story.Dont sell your kit if you really dont need 2....
 
I rarely buy anything new but, In 1968 (high school) , I specifically remember buying a used Rogers 5 piece w/ Zildjian hh, crash and ride for $300.

45 years later, I think I could get a comparable used kit today for about $500.
To put it in perspective, minimum wage was $1.25 and gas was under 50 cents a gallon.
Today, minimum wage is 7.80 and gas is 4.00.

Wages ...........up 524%
Gas............... up 700%
Used drums.....up 66%

http://www.clevelandfed.org/research/Data/US-Inflation/inf_calculator.cfm?DCS.nav=Local
As another reference... I'll stay out of the monetary policy/ political debates :)
 
My parents paid $1000 including tax for my Ludwig Super Classic kit in black diamond pearl wrap in 1958. .

That's huge money for 1958. You were one lucky kid.

I ruined my first kit. 1967 Ludwig Classic in white marine pearl like the one pictured. My brother bought it for me for $300 in 1976. It was 13,16,22 and I bought another kit that was 15,18,24. I recovered them to match and drilled holes for newer bass drum mounts. Sold the 16 and ruined the 22 bass drum the seond time I tried to recover it. Still have the rest of the drums but wish I had that first kit.

photo_3290478_grande.jpg
 
Got my 5 piece Pearl set for about $500 (+ whatever I paid for cymbals) in 74. To pay for it, I made 2.50 an hour at my summer job.
 
In 1976 I paid $835.00 USD for my brand new 3 ply Blue Oyster Pearl Ludwigs. 12,14,16,18, 24 with a 14 x 5 supra and 2 atlas cymbal stands, a snare stand, a Speed King, and possibly a hi hat, don't remember. Sold it for 100 bucks in 1982. Yea, I know.

I also had a Tama Bell Brass. It was 500 bucks new in 1978. Not sure whatever happened to that one. I probably let it go with my Ludwigs. Yea, I know.
 
Back in the late 60s I could not afford a kit, so I bought a guitar. A Gibson SG with P90 pickups. It cost about £220 back then, making it about 4 months wages for me at the time.
I cant believe how much cheaper, top line instruments are now. A new SG, depending on model, is between £600 and £1800 now, about ONE months wages.

In 1981 I bought a used Rogers 5 piece kit (from the early 70s) for £100. Best kit I ever owned and I still beat myself up for selling it.
 
2 g's for rockstars? I would say that whatever cleaner you got taken to had an awesome sales day.

It would appear so! It was a Rockstar Pro kit, which I think just meant lacquered finishes..came with garabage Stilt hardware. Mom and pop shop.
 
Back
Top