Seller's Remorse

NouveauCliche

Senior Member
You folks ever sell a piece of gear then regret it?

I was told a long time ago - by someone's wisdom I'm still trying to catch up apparently - to never sell an instrument.

I was looking at a new more tour friend kit and thinking about selling some gear to off set then ended up like deep in my head about past sales that I've regretted while I'll list below as therapy haha:

1. I had an old HUGE Slingerland 7 piece 70s kit in a rootbeer finish - HUGE concert toms - 12,13,14,15,16 "Rack" toms with an 18" floor tom and 24" kick with some kind of metal snare. It was huge - hard terrible hardware but I'd love to play it again haha.

2. My snare 3.5 X 14" brass floater snare - this was a gift from my grandparents and that was genuinely a great snare.

3. My Yamaha Maple Custom - this was back in the glory days with the gold lugs in that amazing amber honey vintage finish - had the YESS mounts - that was a killer kit. Lives in a studio now though so I know it has a good life at least - fusion kit - 22, 10, 12, 14, 16 kind of thing.

4. My gretsch renown 57 - I had a 6 piece '57 in blue - I sold it to pay for my first endorsee kit - but every time I see one I miss it. Those gretsch renowns are amazing drums for the price.

5. I had a full set of killer zildjians - again dumped them to pay for a new set with a different endorsee company - 15" k light hats, 21" special dry ride (the original release), 18" con crash, several splashes various A and Ks, 18" custom made K flat ride from like 97, 21" K hybrid ride, 15" crarsh, 13" A quick beats (still some of the best hats ever)

6. I had a hand hammered black beauty that I sold purely for $$ purposes - that was a beautiful snare.

Anyways - any cool gear you've sold that you miss?

Let's share! haha
 
I have bought/sold more things than I can recall over the last 40+ years. Most transactions occurred within the last 10 years. More cymbals than drums.

I don't regret anything I've sold. I don't even give it one thought. They were in my life for a reason, taught me something more about what I was (or wasn't) after and then moved it on. In some cases, for free.

I am done buying drum gear. It still remains possible I sell or donate part of what I have at some point, but not now.

No remorse whatsoever.
 
Some things yes, some no, some I don't even think about. I never sold anything because I needed money - it was either that I knew I would absolutely never use the item, but more often because I didn't have enough room to store everything. Some choices were harder than others. If space wasn't an issue, I'd have kept a lot more of the gear that had come to me in the 55 years since I first picked up sticks.

Bermuda
 
I have had "should have bought it remorse". Some one beat me to it on hard to find items.

Definitely a lot of that for me! I passed on so many things for the sake of $100, sometimes just $25. Always gone when I checked back. I've learned that, depending on the rarity or my need, if I'm on the fence about whether to buy something or not, I should just buy it. But if I thought something was genuinely too expensive, I never had regrets about walking away.

Bermuda
 
I bought a set of Ludwigs off Ebay and it turned out that the seller was Bobby Sherman's drummer from the 70's (among other name bands, dumb luck) and the sellers brother just contacted me last week trying to locate the kit. I sold it but remembered the name of the guy I sold it to and the brother guy is still trying to track them down. Some kind of remorse going on there.
 
Unless I really hate a tool or instrument, I tend to anthropomorphize them and be sort of protective. They become part of the family. I won't sell them and usually don't even replace them unless they break.


This is my drum set. There are many like it, but this one is mine. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life. Without me my drum set is useless. Without my drum set, I am useless. I must play my drums true. I must play better than the enemy who is trying to upstage me. I will. My drum set and I know that what counts in music is not the techniques we use, or how hard we hit. We know that it is the hits that count. We will hit.

My drum set is human, even as I am human, because it is my life. Thus, I will learn it as a brother. I will learn its weaknesses, its strengths, its parts, its accessories, its stands and its pedals. I will keep my drums clean and ready, even as I am clean and ready. We will become part of each other.
 
Never had sellers remorse because I can usually find something better. I have had "should have bought it remorse". Some one beat me to it on hard to find items.


Ahhhh...yea - this is very true. There's a couple missed opportunities out there for sure.
 
Never had sellers remorse because I can usually find something better. I have had "should have bought it remorse". Some one beat me to it on hard to find items.

I hear that ! Have had this twice in the past 18 months while searching for a used new to me kit . One of the two in particular as I still think about it every now and again , and the same thought And voice in my head ..... “DAMN I SHOULDA BOUGHT THAT KIT !!!”

As far as sellers remorse ? Don’t think so ?. But I remember my teacher telling me about 35 years or so ago at age 16 to never sell my 68 Supra ,..... even to him ! . And if I did decide to , to call him first as he would buy it . .
 
Last edited:
Years ago I traded a very nice 80's Japanese made candy apple red Fender Bullet for a Senheiser MD 421. At the time it made sense but in retrospect, not so much. Now I'm into the minimalist thing so I sell everything that's not remotely useful to me. I just traded a pair of heavy 80's Paiste HHs for a lovely 15" 70's Zildjian pair. Now I'm obsessing about the little fleabite on the top cymbal but they sound fantastic. I wonder if obsessiveness is a drummer thing? Maybe a musician thing in general. ...I digress.
 
Sold a yellow sparkle fade 20"kick Yamaha birch custom absolute for $1K (few years back) Perfect shape.
Sold Mapex Micro short stack kit for $400 (hard to find)
Sold full set of Legacy cymbals for $675
Sold 5" Ludwig Black Beauty (forgot price)
I miss the SOUND of these more than anything else....
 
Parted with a 1990's Noble & Cooley SS Classic Maple snare drum in 2000.
Also sold a beautiful vintage 18" Sabian HH Flat Ride. What a great cymbal for acoustic sets.
Instant seller's remorse in both cases.
 
Parted with a 1990's Noble & Cooley SS Classic Maple snare drum in 2000.
Also sold a beautiful vintage 18" Sabian HH Flat Ride. What a great cymbal for acoustic sets.
Instant seller's remorse in both cases.

ooooo an N&C - any pics?
 
ooooo an N&C - any pics?
Sorry, no pictures. I lost a number of photos on a prior computer crash before I could back them up.
Jay Jones and Bob Gatzen were gracious enough to allow me to custom paint a raw SS shell.
White basecoat with a touch of pearl, silver micro flake, and rose colored transmission pearl.
These days I only have Noble & Cooley shoot the finish.
 
No.

The one things I've ever sold were items where I had buyers remorse.

An old 70's oversized Slingerland kit that just wasn't me and a vintage snare that looked neat be sounded terrible. Don't miss either of them.
 
An 80's Pearl MLX kit, piano black lacquer inside and out. 2 24" kicks, monster rack toms and 16 and 18 floors. All Paiste 2002 cymbals, DW pedals. Sold it for $800 (paid $3600) so I could move out of California...in a hurry. More than all the other drums I miss that 14x8 snare. Best sounding snare I've owned.
 
I've only had buyer's remorse and I've bought and sold lots of drum things over the years. For example, the vintage Black Diamond Pearl Ludwig with the shoddy rail consolette I bought were completely unneccessary and it took me a while to find a buyer. Likewise, the Rogers set that I restored was bought because it was so cheap but I really didn't need it. The restoration was fun most of the times but primarily a waste of time.
If anything, I could have kept the GAM Spizzichino snare but it's not like I wake up screaming because it's gone.
 
I had a late 70s/early 80s tobacco fade Tama Superstar 22/12/13/16 in standard sizes. Billy Cobham had one in the same finish. Only paid £300 for it in 2006.

I'd kill for it back, great gigging kit.

Also had another 1984 last of the chicagos 402 with bowtie lugs that I part exed.
 
I don't think I ever had seller's remorse, and I've sold a lot of stuff; however, none of it was irreplaceable.

The only thing I'm hanging onto for sentimental reasons are my early-90's Tama Rockstars. They were my first drum set. My other two sets I have get played. Everything else is gone.
 
Back
Top