$50 Score? or $50 whatever?

dirtyclinic

dirtyclinic

Member
I saw this in the local classifieds. It's a Pearl Export Series Drum set. It has 4 pieces. (missing snare drum) It seems to be in good structural shape but it is the dirtiest set of drums I (or probably all of you) have ever seen. The heads on the toms are Remos in great condition but the reso heads either have tape on them or used to have tape on them and there is tape residue on them mixed with grime. The batter side of the bass drum has duct tape on it so I was thinking the head may be broken but when I press on the tape pretty hard it doesn't seem to give like it has a crack or anything, maybe the guy just wanted the sound dampened that much. At any rate, the duct tape on the bass head is super old and is peeling off all over and is just disgusting. It came with an ultra cheap bass drum pedal and snare stand but the hi-hat stand it came with is surprisingly nice and is Gibraltar brand. It also has a set of hi-hats. They are Zildjian Scimitar 14 inch. The logos are in good shape and I could probably sell them for like 30 bucks. I haven't played them yet but I want to take them one by one and clean them really well with damp rags, they have a layer of filth on them that is almost unspeakable. Sorry about the blurry pics. I took these pics with some crappy light and it never focused. Anyhow, 50 bucks....I have some cleaning to do.

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50 bucks for any drumset in working order is a steal IMO. For the price of one semi-nice dinner, if you have a use for them, I'd go for it.
 
I play on a set of those every week. Good solid drums. And for 50 bucks, I’d say they were great drums.

Clean em up and post some pics.

Pete

Edit - those HHs make Great Wall hangers or frisbees.
 
We jam in my basement and I have a set of drums down there. We are wanting to switch it up and have different people play different instruments on some songs. I asked our singer if he wants these so he can learn and play drums on some songs and he wants them. So, I guess I won't have these drums for too long but I will clean them up and play around with them to get them in good working order. I will post a pic when I get them set up all clean with cymbals.
 
I'd clean them up, set them up, take some good pics in good natural sunlight, and then sell them for $175.
 
Great buy but if you clean them you'll be cursed. Same for cymbals. Never ever clean your drums unless you're just begging for some bad juju for da drum-so both of you will be cursed. It's that bad. I fine patina, layer of dust, dirt, grime not only add character but also adds a thin viscoelastic layer that enhances the properties of the shell or cymbal. It's bone fide. Vintage drums sound so good not because they are so old or built better but they have a finer quality of viscoelastic crap coating them. It's my new hypothesis LOL I'll send it in to Modern Drummer-my bet they'll publish it.
 
Total score. You may even get your money back if you sell the Scimitars. Surely someone would give $50 for those.
 
Okay, update on the drums. I took them to my back deck and I washed them with soapy water...I tried to be careful not to get too much water on them but they were just so dirty. The metal bits like the tension rods are a little rusty in a few spots but not too bad. I took off the tape on the bass drum and it was a few pieces of medical gauze stuck on there with duct tape. Whoever put that on there really likes a certain sound because all of the toms have these in them:
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So they have almost no sustain or overtones....They do make a cool sound if that is what you are going for but it is not my cup of tea. I started setting them up in my basement but it got late last night.

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For the hardware, I'd suggest using #0000 steel wool and 3-in-1 oil (available at many big box stores or home-improvement stores). I've used it before with terrific results. I like the 3-in-1 because not only does it help lube the steel wool, but it also leaves an every-so-slight bit of reside to protect it.
 
It's an excellent score for a couple of reasons IMO.

For one, sans snare, it's a full shell pack of drums - clean them up and put on new heads, and you've got a solid sounding kit that can be gigged without worrying about the finish, or if something is going to happen to them. You bought a whole kit for less than it's going to cost to put new heads on it.

The second reason is that now you have a project - you can really take your time about getting it cleaned up - take each drum apart, scrub everything up, soak the dirty parts in Coca-cola to remove grime and any surface rust, then really put in some time and TLC to get them looking as great as you can.

The third reason, and the reason I'd have gotten them, is the hardware itself. I build drum projects, and although hardware and parts can be purchased, there's no way you could get the hardware for a full kit for anywhere even close to $50, even at a discount. Think about it - for hardware you got:

Lugs - $2.30 each for old style Pearl lugs
Hoops - $10 each at a discount, and you've got 6 of them.
Tension Rods - $5 per six pack
Attaching hardware (machine screws, washers etc)
Kick spurs - $40-$60 per set
Kick drum tom mount - $25-$45, depending on the bracket
Tom mounts on the toms - $25 each for Pearl rack tom mounts
Tom legs and brackets - $20 per leg/bracket, roughly

Conservatively, you're looking at $450 worth of parts if you had to buy it from an online drum part supplier. (I didn't even tally everything you'd need, such as heads, or kick drum hoops) You got everything for $50 - that was an absolute steal.

If you wanted to, you could get maple shells, do a nice finish job on those, and then put all of that hardware on those shells for a nice maple drum kit. If I EVER see a kit like that for that kind of price, I'm going to be on that deal like a fat kid on cake - I'll strip off the hardware, clean it up, and then build out a nice kit in the sizes I want.
 
Good deal indeed.
I NEVER find deals like this around these parts. Before I "got back into it" with me Stage customs, I was browsing for used "deals", Cheapest Exports I found was a 4 pc. (with chad smith snare) for $350. WELL used. I probably would have got it though, IF the guy ever responded to my email.
Well, it worked out for me anyway. :)

Looks like my 1st export (well, mine was new in 1987).. , it could be I guess. Do you know what year they are?

Also, since you had the heads off, how did the bearing edges look? Just curious.
Thanks.

T.
 
V-Four said:
Good deal indeed.
I NEVER find deals like this around these parts. Before I "got back into it" with me Stage customs, I was browsing for used "deals", Cheapest Exports I found was a 4 pc. (with chad smith snare) for $350. WELL used. I probably would have got it though, IF the guy ever responded to my email.
Well, it worked out for me anyway. :)

Looks like my 1st export (well, mine was new in 1987).. , it could be I guess. Do you know what year they are?

Also, since you had the heads off, how did the bearing edges look? Just curious.
Thanks.

T.
Click to expand...

I didn't take the heads off, I could just see the Remo Mufflers from looking through the reso heads.
 
Hi Dirtyclinic. Also for cleaning hardware, lugs and hoops try Renew Rx Chrome Polish & Rust Remover by Turtle Wax. All you need is a little elbow grease. And by the way great find.
 
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I once found an identical drum kit to yours, but with the snare, all covered in what looked like rock dust stood outside of the “community shop” at our local recycling site/dump. It even had a pristine bass drum pedal in a box sat next to it. Being honest to the core (& frightened that there might be cctv cameras about) I just left it there but looking back I could have thrown it in the car and no one would have noticed.
 
I agree with most of the other posts. Definitely a score. I would have pulled the trigger without thinking about it. Trickg nailed it when he said the hardware alone is worth more than that.
 
PorkPieGuy said:
For the hardware, I'd suggest using #0000 steel wool and 3-in-1 oil (available at many big box stores or home-improvement stores). I've used it before with terrific results. I like the 3-in-1 because not only does it help lube the steel wool, but it also leaves an every-so-slight bit of reside to protect it.
Click to expand...

Should I be putting a thin film of oil on the metal parts of my drums to protect them from oxidation? Maybe we should start a separate thread about this.
 
I would not use oil. Dust & dirt collect on oil. The chrome polish works and protects against dirt, dust and rusting.
 
I like this guys approach 1. soak parts overnight 2. remove and dry 3. wipe with wd40 4. polish with brasso 5. place back on drums
 
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