Would you play gigs with it ?

This is why ultra high end kits with fancy finishes are actually limiting in terms of practicality. You either have to accept it is going to get dinged-up a little or keep at home /one off special gigs/recoding only.

I am of the view that good drums should be taken out and played, sound and playability (fun first), perfect looks always a distant second.
 
This is why ultra high end kits with fancy finishes are actually limiting in terms of practicality. You either have to accept it is going to get dinged-up a little or keep at home /one off special gigs/recoding only.

I am of the view that good drums should be taken out and played, sound and playability (fun first), perfect looks always a distant second.
Just curious what kind of kit you gig with.
 
Here's an account that might lend legs to my "it depends" status on the question. Years ago, I was gigging at a venue with a notoriously rowdy patronage. Between sets, I stepped outside to chat with associates. A bandmate raced out to alert me to the fact that some overzealous lush had perched himself atop my throne and was thrashing about like Jack the Ripper. It took two security guards to remove the miscreant from the premises. Amid the silly struggle, my hi-hats took a spill. Nothing was damaged, to my relief, but that's beside the point. My thesis is that lunatics are real. Equipment in some settings is vulnerable to violation. When you venture beyond the confines of your sequestered studio, you do so at your own risk. Prudence is a cardinal virtue.
 
Just curious what kind of kit you gig with.
I mostly gig with a Yamaha Maple Custom Absolute Noveau with cherry red finish (see pic to left), bought 2nd hand but you could never tell. Similarly, cymbals are all 2nd hand Bosphorus. A good kit but not ultra high end way cheaper than a new SQ2 with a fancy finish.
 
To be fair....the original post was a humorous, tongue-in-cheek kinda thing where the author said “I don’t know whether I would play these or set them up in the living room and have a cocktail party. Most beautiful piece of furniture I would own...”

Knowing the author, he would have no problem gigging that kit and probably owns cymbals worth more then $4500. Lol

Me personally? Soooo many other “things” I’d rather have than a $4500 drum set so I would not have to deal with whether or not to gig them. Lol.

Currently I don’t own anything I wouldn’t take out of the house.
 
I think for the most part that people buying the highest of high end drums kits (SQ2, Tama Star, Yamaha PHX etc etc.) have more than one kit. I don't begrudge anybody wanting nice things and taking care of them. Everybody should have one kit they're willing to take into the Devil's Den. It should probably be red too! :devilish:
 
I think for the most part that people buying the highest of high end drums kits (SQ2, Tama Star, Yamaha PHX etc etc.) have more than one kit. I don't begrudge anybody wanting nice things and taking care of them. Everybody should have one kit they're willing to take into the Devil's Den. It should probably be red too! :devilish:
Yeah I think you are probably correct, most with the funds to own a ultra high end kit have two or more. lets face it this is a really nice problem to have.
 
I married a stunningly beautiful woman. I rarely had sex with her. I preferred old hags. My shrink says we're making progress.
 
I think for the most part that people buying the highest of high end drums kits (SQ2, Tama Star, Yamaha PHX etc etc.) have more than one kit. I don't begrudge anybody wanting nice things and taking care of them. Everybody should have one kit they're willing to take into the Devil's Den. It should probably be red too! :devilish:

This raises the reason I don't own a $10,000 set of drums. I'm a one-kit-at-a-time drummer and always have been, as I'm a minimalist who avoids acquisitiveness. Thus, I buy high-quality, all-purpose equipment, but I don't go overboard. My current Pearl Session Studio Select is professional-grade but not "luxury." Satan is free to look upon it whenever he wishes. Who am I to dictate terms to the Devil? All I can request is protection from his trickery.
 
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I've come to believe that the main reason for having a great instrument is that it's so much easier to play. Other people can't really hear the difference so much, but if it's a lot easier for a musician to play one instrument rather than another, the big difference is in the performance.

I'd be so nervous about a hugely expensive kit that I'd be uncomfortable playing it, so my performance would suffer, and that would defeat the whole purpose of having a superior instrument.
 
Before the virus hit, I was playing out my Craviotto kit an average of twice a week. The only times I didn't use it were times I either wouldn't be able to get back home from work and the set would have to sit in a hot (Texas y'all) car all day, it was an outdoor gig with iffy weather, or it was a questionable venue. I have a yamaha stage custom for those gigs.
 
The logic? of not using an expensive kit is as dumb as buying a $400,000 Rolls Royce or Bentley and not driving it on city streets. Then again, maybe the purchase was NOT to use but to place in a position of shrine and worship. Perhaps in it's own room with spotlights and velvet ropes around it. You could add a comfortable chair or two with a small table and bottle of your favorite drink to sip while you stare in lust at that wonderful wood and shiny cymbals. You also might charge admission to those who want to witness the majesty of it all. JUST DON'T TOUCH. Please exit to the left. Thank you.
 
Generally drums are meant to be played. I wouldn't buy it if it was going to sit in a museum or locked in a basement. Its also nice to take your awesome kit out to show off to the world - you know .. like on a date!
 
Depends on the gig. For the gigs I'm playing now, I wouldn't take an instrument worth more than USA $ 500 to the gig. Some drunk might fall on it.
 
I have a couple of decent kits that I would use, if I would ever buy my dream kit, a Rogers from mid-sixties which are somewhat expensive I wouldn't hesitate for one second. When would I use it otherwise, in my garage? I'm closing in on 60, there's no time to loose.
 
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