Whenever you come across a used drum set, why is it that..............?

vyacheslav

Senior Member
Greetings,

I thought this would be a fun topic. We all run across used kits in various states of condition. So, to provide some answers to my question, I'll start:


.........the heads are absolutely beat to SH*T? And there are almost always dents (or at least a lot of stick marks) on the reso sides too.

............one or both of the screw on rubber feet on the bass drum spurs are ALWAYS missing?

..............the upper pull rod on the hi-hat stand is ALWAYS bent?

..............the wood bass drum hoops have pedal rash on them, on both the batter AND Reso hoops, and in MULTIPLE PLACES ON EACH HOOP!

What would you add?


V
 
...the seller has price expectations that go beyond optimism, exceed mere fantasy and launch headlong into the realms of crack-fuelled addle-headedness.
 
There is a bent T Rod on the bass drum right where there is a crack in the hoop. Dropped perhaps. ? or just " relic ... ing "
 
...when changing heads, you'll find a dead fly, a lug screw and washer, and other debris at the bottom of the drum.
 
Greetings,

I thought this would be a fun topic. We all run across used kits in various states of condition. So, to provide some answers to my question, I'll start:


.........the heads are absolutely beat to SH*T? And there are almost always dents (or at least a lot of stick marks) on the reso sides too.

............one or both of the screw on rubber feet on the bass drum spurs are ALWAYS missing?

..............the upper pull rod on the hi-hat stand is ALWAYS bent?

..............the wood bass drum hoops have pedal rash on them, on both the batter AND Reso hoops, and in MULTIPLE PLACES ON EACH HOOP!

What would you add?


V

I've just sold a kit with brand new batter heads inc bass drum and spurs in tact. Has pedal rash but in one place on the batter hoop. Got next to nothing for it as well. I know what to do next time so I get more for it!

Had the dead fly happen in the bottom of a 70s Luddy floor tom. It must have been slightly older than those pre-historic mosquitos you see in trapped in amber.

Vintage drums that people try to 'modernise' is my pet gripe. I can understand bass drum spurs and tom mounts but some of the re-finish jobs like spray paint, matte gloss.
 
I would pay good money to see that finish.

I paid good money to fix it!

It was the state my 1966 Superclassic bass drum came in. it had been painted black at some point and was all bumpy when I sanded it down for re-wrapping I went through another layer of what was metallic primer which has got orange spray paint over the top. It's the bass drum in my profile pic so it turned out ok in the end after a lot of elbow grease.

There was another kit I had which was a shell pack from a custom builder that was natural birch. The original owner decided it was a good idea to paint custom artwork on each shell, (the bass drum had flames up the side...not good) wish I still had a photo, it was hideous! I ended up doing a spray job on that but took my time and got my mate who maintained fire engines (including respraying) to do the job. Why I didn't have it in fire engine red I don't know. Used it for years, gave it away only last week to my mates school.
 
There was another kit I had which was a shell pack from a custom builder that was natural birch. The original owner decided it was a good idea to paint custom artwork on each shell, (the bass drum had flames up the side...not good) wish I still had a photo, it was hideous! I ended up doing a spray job on that but took my time and got my mate who maintained fire engines (including respraying) to do the job. Why I didn't have it in fire engine red I don't know. Used it for years, gave it away only last week to my mates school.
I saw a DW Perfromance kit that someone hand painted all this "custom" artwork on the shell. Just like you said it was pretty bad.

To the OP's point:
I think it depends a lot on what level of used drums you are purchasing. Higher end drums, most of the time, are usually taken care of.

If they are lower to mid level drums a lot of times you have those issues because they were pounded on by teenagers or mid-life crisis guys that don't know a whole lot a bout drums. Sometimes people are playing heavy metal on them with 2Bs with stock 1 ply heads that are duct taped up like crazy. If they do change the heads, a lot of time little care is paid to how things are put back... which shows the pedal rash all over the bass drum hoops.

The bad paint job deals I think a lot of times come from similar situations. Some guy gets a drum set cheap and it is "boring" and they want to snazz it up. So they paint it or whatever, but they don't know what they are doing and end up making a huge mess of it. There's a I saw at a MusicGoRound that someone painted in a horrid green color. They did a horrible job and the paint is all glooped on and running. (I actually found a picture and took a screen shot, this is the "good" side).
 

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...the bd reso says Pearl or DW, but upon examination of the kit it is percussion plus or PDP? The ad says Pearl or DW, so does the reso, but the badges scream liar. What is wrong with people?
 
...the bd reso says Pearl or DW, but upon examination of the kit it is percussion plus or PDP? The ad says Pearl or DW, so does the reso, but the badges scream liar. What is wrong with people?

Man, the PDP Drums with the DW reso labeled as DW drums is just annoying. No, your PDP Z5 is not worth $800 just because you put a DW reso head on it.
 
...the bd reso says Pearl or DW, but upon examination of the kit it is percussion plus or PDP? The ad says Pearl or DW, so does the reso, but the badges scream liar. What is wrong with people?

I used to have a Hayman which has turret lugs like DW but the English slot key rods.

I even had a Hayman logo front head and badges on the kit and people would ask if it was a DW. There's dumb people out there who will fall for that scam even if you're not even trying!

It's crazy how a badge or a bit of ink on the front head dictates the price of a kit.
 
Yep, and how about that 'Remo Ambassador Snare Drum' that keeps coming up for sale? Those are really popular...

Haha, I literally saw this the other day.

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I think it's funny that people will list something like "23 piece drum set." Then you open the ad, and it's just a standard 4- or 5-piece kit. Apparently, when they are counting pieces, they are counting all of the lugs or something.
 
A funny one I saw today was someone who had a SPL set (the one that is $199.99 on Musicians Friend right now) that they had put together and took a picture of and put up for sale. It is now up for $400 after they "Reduced" the price. They didn't even bother to take the plastic bags off the toms.
 
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Has anyone ever played symbols?

Apparently all the big brands make em, never seen em brand new though :)
 
FOR SALE
Evans drum set, (that's what the heads say) 12 piece.
 
Has anyone ever played symbols?

Apparently all the big brands make em, never seen em brand new though :)

No I play cymbols, cimbals, simbels, cymbels, cimbles, or symbuls.
 
Why is it that ..........?

Everyone thinks they have gold ? As others have said above , people are completely unrealistic and delusional about what they have and it’s value. They look up their or similar kits and think theirs is of equal value . And while we’re at it and this goes to another thread on here about how people don’t know how to list drums in ads but fits in right in here with this thread ..........

They’ll list their used drums and and state ...... “No low ball offers , price is
( FIRM), but then list the price at $800 or whatever dollar amount and right next to it say (obo) or best offer . Ive been looking for a ( fair) deal on a used kit for about a year , and I hear people state that when it comes to drums .....new or used,...... that it’s a buyers market . I’ve not found this to be the case.

Someone also mentioned the pieces listed in a sale in an ad , like .....” 6 piece drum set “ only to look at the ad and find it’s base drum , snare , tom , two stands and a throne. And most times these are drummers listing these ads ( eye roll). Ehhh, don’t mind me lol ! I came across this thread after dealing with yet two more craigslist idiots lol !
 
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