I am 55. Been playing all my life. My first paper kit at 3or 4. Still have my Supraphonic from my Hollywood Ludwigs in 1971. Had a Whitehall set before that. Wish I still had it. Own 3 really nice vintage sets and many cymbals.
Love vintage drums. This forum is a staple with my morning coffee. Really enjoy it.
Right on! I'm in my 50's and often take my latest find into a local shop for cases . It's cool how the young drummers admire what I bring in. I think their love of good music and use of the internet has taught them to appreciate the classic craftmanship of vintage instruments. And the prices are a bargain vs. new . I feel confident that our beloved intruments are passing onto good hands.
larryYes Sir
I'm 34, my first kit was a mij "stewart" then a clubdate, I bought "old drum sets" because I could'nt afford the new sets of the day, most stuff was made in america or japan even a cheap pearl export with zildjian scimitar bronze cymbals in 1987 cost about a grand after taxes. when my highschool buddy actually did get an export, it was cheaply made, thim metal bd hoops and rims it had double faced tape to hold on the wrap, seran wrap heads, the high tension "styled" lugs were three pieces, the badges were glorified stickers and the wood looked like particle board, my little clubdate kicked A$$ all over it. everyone called it the "Woodstock" drumset.
My first job was at a music store, I was 16 and I bought a used 87 Yamaha Turbo Tour Custom in Mellow Yellow, HUGE DRUMS great quality, I thought I was so cool with my big ole 14x14 tom 18x16 floortom and 24x18 kick. (yamaha used to reverse their sizes in their catalogs) but my bandmates and freinds always liked clubdates better ( and they fit into the back seat of a car.)
I own a few japanese kits, one from each of the big three, all 1987 or older.
these drums were not considered vintage when I bought them.
as for American Drums I still own the Ludwig clubdate, as well as a 80's rocker II I took pitty on in a yardsale, A '64 Leedy, which is actually a slingerland, and a '81 gretsch, so one of each of the american big three.
I have never bought a new drum set, If I did I would probably special order an octa-plus from ludwig in the deep sizes, but they dont make real chrome-o-wood anymore!
I actually have empirical data about the demographics of the vintage drum market. In 2008 I asked about 1000 drummers who qualified as "preferring vintage drums' four questions that I needed to know for the marketing at my drum shop and of Not So Modern Drummer magazine. I found these drummers at drum shops (mine in particular), drum forums and on Ebay. They were pros, semi pros and hobbyists. it took about a year to collect all the data. it wasn't strictly scientific and a lot of the enquiries turned into email conversations that went on for way too long! :-) I did not canvas the uber collectors and hoarders, who I already knew to be older.Here are the three questions and the answers1. How old are you?80% were between 15 and 35The other 20% were between 36 and 702. How many vintage snare drums do you own and how many drum sets?The average was three snare drums and two drum sets3. What vintage brand do you prefer?Ludwig made up 50% and then, Pearl, Drum Workshop, Gretsch, Slingerland, Rogers, Sonor , and all theother smaller brands made up the other 50%, in that order. The most popular snare drums were the Ludwig Supraphonic and the Ludwig Acrolite.4. How much did you pay for your drum set and your snares and where did you buy them?drum set $500 snares $225, Ebay about 75%, Craigs List 15%, stores 10%What I surmised from all this is that Ebay drastically changed the demographics of the vintage buyer starting in 1999 which is why there are so many more younger drummers than middle age and senior citizen drummers. The Ludwig numbers were not surprising because the sixties Ludwig kits are so plentiful and can be picked up for 400 to 500 dollars, much less than a modern pro kit. What did surprise me was Pearl and Drum Workshop coming in second and third, but it only makes sense because they sold more drums in the states than Gretsch, Slingerland and Rogers ever did. Though one of my questions was not on the list I discovered that most of the younger drummers who gigged all the time had one vintage drum set, mostly Ludwigs. Another thing that I surmised was that the majority of these drummers are not participating in the forums and don't consider themselves collectors, but just needed a good pro kit at the best price. They are mostly searching Ebay and googling or facebooking for info and opinions about what to buy. Interesting, huh?
I find the fact that your data lists DW and Pearl interesting as well. I think the survey might need to be more specific and in light of your comment about ebay, some info on where drums were purchased and when would help define the vintage market. I think we would need to also know how do these "vintage" drummers compare to non-vintage and maybe also provide an explanation of what is meant by vintage.
I do find your findings very interesting and the work you did is admirable.
I seem to talk to a lot of guys in their late 40s, 50s and even 60s who are collectors and owners of vintage kits.
Still an interesting topic to discuss and debate.
Thanks for your input and analysis.
mc
I got my first 'vintage' snare drum - a 1965(?) Premier Hi-Fi in a stunning Aquamarine Sparkle when I was 30 - just over 20 years ago. It was the wrap that did it for me!
I'm 44, been collecting hand drums and percussion intruments as a player and teacher for 25 years. I switched to kit ~2 yrs ago and bought the cheapest, piece o sh?? I could find for $65. It was a PDP beginners kit that needed some parts. Spent more $ on old cymbals at local pawn shops cause I could afford them, and got all nice vintage zildjians for my efforts. With a couple new drum heads and the cymbals, I got my cheap kit to sound pretty good.
As my band started playing out, opening for some local acts, I was afforded the opportunity to play on a '58 (60 yr old player)& '80 (40ish yr old player) gretsch & a '70 3ply ludwig w/ a supra snare(28 yr old player). I LOVED the sound of the thin shell drums!!!! I'm sold for good. For me, playing vintage vs playing new is like playing a wood djembe vs a synthetic shell djembe. Sure a synthetic djembe can sound good, but it doesn't sound as soulful and has less musical mojo!
...but I digress, so I'll stop.
Brian
.
........... When your eyebrow hair and your ear hair get tangled.. Your a vintage drummer.
.
I,m 59 I have a drawing that was done of me on my "new" Ludwig super classic.
this was drawn in October 1973, 2 years after I joined my first Pro band. We were on the same circuit as Sweet, Mud and Marmalade. Never had a hit record and disbanded 2 years later. But had a good time playing 6 nights a week. I used to get a lot of my gear back then at Drum City in London, even though I lived in the Midlands.
This picture is a one of a kind, but it brings back so many good memories
29 currently, been playing on almost exclusively vintage drums since I got a '66 Slingerland when I was 21 (actually, I hated the tone of that kit but loved the look and the hardware). Currently I'm into Pearl President kits.
Can't find vintage cymbals that I like the sound of in my price range, so I settle for the Turkish brands that make in the old style.
I'm 15, although for the time being my 'collection' consists only of a 30s Zildjian Splash, Ludwig Acrolite, piccolo and Speed King.
