Alex Van Halen Selling His Drum Gear in June Auction

Son of Vistalite Black

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From Blabbermouth.net​

ALEX VAN HALEN's Personal Collection Of Instruments And Gear To Be Auctioned Next Month​

Backstage Auctions, Inc. has announced The Alex Van Halen Collection, the auction house's most anticipated and historical auction event of the year featuring the personal collection of legendary VAN HALEN drummer Alex Van Halen.

Backstage Auctions says: "It is an unbelievable honor to represent one of the greatest rock drummers of all time and we could not be any more excited. Alex is the reason why so many people picked up a pair of drumsticks and this auction is a fantastic opportunity to see so many of his instruments and gear go to new homes. All of these pieces have a thick layer of magic 'Al' dust and we can only hope that it will bring boundless joy and thrills to their future owners."

Here’s the auction site: https://www.backstageauctions.com/catalog/alex-van-halen-personal-items/ac/0/2246/IMG_1517.jpeg
 
I had my eye on these Housewife/Homemaker Books......but then I remembered ...I would have to learn to read Dutch.......as Donald Fagen said...."everything must go.".........Thanks for the great drumming Alex......GLWS.44688.jpg
 
Really looking forward to his autobiography coming out in October.
I've read the autobiographies of Noel Monk, their first tour manager and eventual band manager (who was slapped with a 20-year NDA when he was let go), and Ted Templeman, their first producer (with more under-the-sheets stories about the band). It'd be great to read AVH's POV, provided he's as honest as Noel and Ted.

His auction is killer! I wish I had a few thousand $$ to spare for some of that stuff (which I would gladly play), but I'm repaving my driveway instead. 🫤
 
I looked though about 40% of the offerings last night before getting overwhelmed. One "piece" of note was a practice pad set with a starting bid of $2.5K! Call me a pessimist, but I predict that once the last few "big ticket" items are still sitting around towards the end of the auction end date, the auctioneers will start throwing in extras for enticement. I mean, who in their right mind would pay 2,500 dollars for a used 2 piece practice pad set? And this is coming from a huge AVH fan. Also, the snares are gonna sell the fastest. Like, who wants to buy drum kits with SIX EFFING BASS DRUMS? Even rich guys with mansions still have to negotiate space with wives/girlfriends/mother-in-laws. Or am I just too small minded?
Anyways, I wish there were follow-ups about who/what/where these kits end up at/with and how much they actually sell for. I'm still trying to find out who bought Mick Brown's, Carmine Appice's, and James Kottak's gear. I tried to buy James' 22" Paiste China about a year ago. He was posting ads on Craig's List everyday for months. I left him a voice mail. A month later he died. :(
 
Selling his gear! 😥..hard times..he needs the cash to make his lot rent payment. poor guy. I'm telling you Drummerworld..have something to fall back on.
 
Wtf
I can’t believe he is this desperate
Love his playing he’s in my top 5
Didn’t seem like the brightest though
Probably lost without his brother
 
I was hoping to see his vast "Van Heflin" collection for sale.
He was a fan......."really?"........no...I made that up.
 
“Desperate” as a couple of you say, or just at the point in life where he doesn’t need to use or warehouse all that stuff? If he was actually on hard times that’s too bad for sure, but even if he’s secure he may just want to convert all that bulky material into college funds for his grandkids or something.
 
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I was joking with a drummer friend of mine that one of his kits would take up the whole stage area of many of the places we play... ;)
 
He’s fine … One of the most innovative rock drummers to emerge in the late 70s and pioneered the design direction of big kits while also innovating with hybrid kits with the era’s newest electronic drum pads.

At 71, it’s clear he’s retired after not playing for nearly a decade. What’s sad is we never heard him without his brother. The world would be richer if he had collaborated with other musicians and continued drumming over the period since VH last played in 2015.
 
I don't know why anyone would think Alex has fallen on hard times or is desperate for cash. He received 25% of all the writing credits in Van Halen (even though Eddie wrote almost all the music).

Just looking at what's for sale (and what's not) it seems obvious he's just cleaning out extra stuff that's sitting around.

I would suspect he has a lot more drums at home that are not part of this sale.

And even though he is likely retired from the music business and won't be playing again, if he wanted it, it's not like Ludwig wouldn't make him whatever he wanted.
 
I think it’s trivial how he is just dumping all of this equipment. Only Alex can make those drums sound like VanHalen – look at what his brother did with those Dennis-the-Menace DYI guitars.



I honestly believe that one day in the future , probably after Alex dies — everyone will realize what an incredible drummer he was. His work was overshadowed by Ed and if you listen to his isolated tracks, you will realize how impossibly awesome his playing is. Power with a great deal of swing and advanced technique for the era. I would go as far as saying that he surpasses Bonzo and Moon easily



And when he does pass away, we will be exposed to at least a week of the intro to Hot For Teacher on an enless loop.
 
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