The First Kit You Got

That's a great story. I wish I knew who kept my old stuff - there's alot of drums I wished I never let go! Congrats on getting those back ;)
Thanks Bo! Hoping for you to ‘cross paths’ with them someday. Life can be pretty funny that way!
Best wishes
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2001 Tama Superstar. Nothing to write home about, in the days when floor tom legs were frowned upon!

Still have one of the cymbal stands and the snare stand sold the rest. Tama hardware doesn't die.
 
My first kit was a franken-kit that my cousin bought from a friend of his who was in the Army and was moving and couldn't take it with him. I appeared to have been wrapped at some point and had the wrap removed, and came with some concert toms. I used my student snare (what I now know was an Acrolite and I wished I had never gotten rid of it!) with it. It also came with some New Beats, a Camber ride, and a no-name crash cymbal.

My first brand new kit was a Pearl Export Pro in 1992-ish. I kitted it out with power toms (yuck) and Sabian B8 Cymbals.
 
When I was 8 years old - 1965 Sears Roebuck drum set. Loved it. And my dad for working extra hours to buy it for me.

Mine was red sparkle. The biggest thrill of it all was having my initials on the bass drum.
Looking back, It was a pretty good first drum set. The bottom of the pedals said Pearl. I wonder if the drums were Pearl as well.

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My first kit was a Gracy in green oyster pearl.
 

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First kit - I'll list the configuration I used the most - Initially I had different hardware and cymbals that I changed out pretty quickly - advantages to being 33 with a professional salary when I started:

Pacific Drums and Percussion (PDP) FS Series Birch with Red Satin finish, fusion sizes - 22x18 kick, 10, 12 and 14 inch toms, 14x5.5 matching snare.
Pearl 800 series hardware - snare stand, hats stand, two cymbal stands and a boom stand
Pearl Eliminator Pedal
Sabian AAX Stage Pack - 20" ride, 14" hats, 16" crash, plus a 17" AAX Dark crash
 
A Royce white wrapped kit. 20" kick, standard toms and really bad hardware. I was 16 working at McDeez to buy it.
Good times for sure.
 
My first was a “max” (maxim or maxtone ?) something-orange sparkle,20”, 12, and 16 with matching snare. It had the rail mount that constantly slipped so the Tom rested on the kick, and inside out hihat cymbals.

A couple years later my folks gave me the 5 piece concert tom Slingerland outfit with Zildjian A’s. I eventually rounded up a couple stray orphan 14’s painted to sorta match.

Playing here at the Aberdeen,SD “crazy days” (circa 1977 or so)
back when downtown retail stores were still a thing.

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First kit was a Slingerland Spirit 1000 kinda looked like this. We had set up a $40.00 @ mo. payment plan at a local music store.yzh2vfzkn8rej1xohbm9.jpg
 
A dreadful Premier Royale. Was absolutely shagged out. All different colours so I wrapped them in black electrical tape................ Luckily I have no photo's :D
 
My first kit was a 1967 Slingerland 3 piece kit my father bought me new for $187.00 (I recently found the receipt). 20" Kick, 9x13" rack tom, 5x14" snare. I still use the snare drum. I have the others up in the attic but as a stupid kid, I put various holes in them with Tama tom mounting hardware.

87577
 
Winter 2014, took a walk with my girlfriend and what I've found in the curb: 18 inch bass drum missing a spur, the front head and hoop, punctured batter head, a hi-hat stand with 12 inch unbranded crap cymbals, snare stand and Dixon kick drum pedal.

It was an MIJ remnant and I added a cheap tom (with no reso head), a set of Sabian SBR hats, an Orion crash ride, a new batter head for the kick and a Westbury snare. I didn't stood this horrid kit for too long before buying my second "real" kit, a Mapex Voyager used.

This cheap kit ended at the school where I work as a music teacher and was even used in a show... Finally put the bass drum in the trash two years ago (I should had kept it, oh well - a colleague lent me a Ludwig bass drum instead).

Still having the hi-hat stand, bass pedal, snare stand and the tom...
 
My first kit was a beat to death blue sparkle "Del Rey" stencil kit with junk cymbals.
 
My first kit was a beat to death blue sparkle "Del Rey" stencil kit with junk cymbals.
Ha. I had quite a collection of Junk cymbals too starting out.

I bought my first “real” cymbals when I once leaned forward, shifting a little of my weight onto my HH foot. The top HH cymbal turned inside out. ?

Bought a used pair of first generation 14” Zildjian New Beats that I still use today.

87580
 
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First kit memories are always fun.
An old cheap black Ludwig (70’s or 80’s) that I got in 96.
Played lots of gigs on that kit for many years.
 
It was/is a Pearl Export in Alpine Green

Sizes are 20, 10, 12 & 14

Still have it, its not left it's drum cases for a while now but I'll never part with it due to sentiment - plus I plan to give it to our child in a few years as their first proper kit.

......well, maybe only loan them it.
 
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My first set was part of a new 1972 Ludwig 3-ply Pro Beat silver/red/silver striped sparkle minus three toms (my parents kept me on a budget). The Brook Mays dealer was willing to "part" out the set and presumably re-ordered the bass drum and mounted tom. I got two Ludwig Standard cymbals, two Atlas cymbal stands and a Speed King pedal. It was kind of embarrassing to have part of kit, but it was a step up from what I was used to. I took it everywhere and played the hell out of it. I had a 1966 Acrolite that I eventually gave to my nephew and a Ludwig hi-hat stand with crappy cymbals. I still have the 14x24 and the 9x13. I later added a single headed black 10x14 and a chrome 16x16. I wish I had gotten the complete kit. Prior to getting those drums I learned to play with just the student model Acrolite and hi-hat.
 
I regret selling my first kit, it was way better than my second. It was a Star kit, 13", 16" & 20" if my memory serves me, nice shells with rerings and a Ringo wrap. Zildjian hi-hat and ride cymbal, Speed King pedal and Ludwig hi-hat stand, and a Premier cymbal stand. I got it for $35, I think it was in 1975 or so. Sold it to buy a MIJ kit with cheapo cymbals only to get two (!) rack toms. You can be stupid sometimes when you're young. Well, I'm stupid sometimes now too...
 
Haha,..Christmas day 1972,...a 3 piece blue sparkle kit, straight out of the Monkey wards catalog, with the $$ I made mowing lawns, etc I re-headed the snare & ride tom, and got a matching floor tom the following Xmas..
 
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