Hey, any fellow drummers in here who know a lot about vintage kits?

Cozy 4ever

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I am looking to build up a custom kit (a vintage 80s job made out of unusual materials) and was wondering if anybody in here might be knowledgeable.

I got some advice from a guy who is a longtime expert collector/seller, but I think he might be bullshitting me, and Craigslist is plain scary.

Don't wanna go the routes of Guitar Ctr/Musician's Friend/Sam Ash/Sweetwater either...and my local music store mostly deals in guitars and renting out horns and clarinets to kids who play in the school band.

I have been working Reverb & Ebay like a loon...but people charge wild prices, and one of my possible sellers over there turned out to be an extremely shady character.

How much of a wild goose chase is it going to be to lock down this kit?
 

Slipn

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I have a friend who rebuilds kits. His whole down stairs is nothing but drum kits.. He reconditions cymbals and apply's new outer skins.
If you tell me more about the so called materials your looking to use I can ask him for some advice..
 

Cozy 4ever

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I have a friend who rebuilds kits. His whole down stairs is nothing but drum kits.. He reconditions cymbals and apply's new outer skins.
If you tell me more about the so called materials your looking to use I can ask him for some advice..


Wow, thanks, I would really appreciate it!

I am looking to build up a setup like Cozy's tour kit from the early 80s (Whitesnake/Michael Schenker era)...doesn't have to be perfectly faithful, just good enough for a small timer like me.

The main thing is gonna be getting all of it in stainless steel...that's the big challenge right there. I need 2 kicks size 26, all steel and no wood. The steel toms I already know where I can get for a decent price. The cymbals can wait a while. The pedals I'll get dirt cheap, no sweat. It's mainly the kicks that are such a tall order.

Doesn't have to be Yamahas, I am just as happy to get 'wigs or Slingers. I found a couple of Octoplus owners, but either they split up their twin kicks, or the size is too small, and they want me to take the single undersized kick with the whole thing, a pkg. deal. I have to hold out for the right size though.

What do you think? Can you guys hook me up?
 

GreysAndy

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Sounds cool. Not sure about vintage kits but I found cool tips for pro musicians on https://bluebuzzmusic.com/. There are many articles for drummers too. I'm just an amateur right now but hope to become a pro one day too.
 
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Old Dude

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I'm not a drummer, and I don't pretend to be. So, I asked some friends who are drummers, and all of them said the same thing. Don't sweat what the materials are, or whether it's an authentic "vintage" 80's kit (like the 80's is long enough ago that the word "vintage" even applies!). If you have a Music-Go-Round franchise nearby, that's a great place to find good quality used instruments. According to all the drummers I've talked to, the main thing about getting any sort of particular drum sound is set up. Are your heads properly tuned? Are you using the right heads, regardless of the shells. Only one drummer I talked to had studio experience, but he had a great piece of wise advice. Whatever sounds from any recording you're trying to emulate with your live kit are probably the result of mic placement in the studio, and how the engineer worked the board.

I mentioned your quest for "unusual materials". That always got a really big laugh from anyone who knew the first thing about drumming. Whether the materials are "unusual" or "usual" really doesn't make enough difference for anyone to notice, except for a music store salesman or maybe a wannabe drummer who hasn't got a clue.
 

Lynn

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I bought my first "proper" kit in the mid 70's. It was a Pearl Powermate Wood/fibreglass kit. The wooden shells had a fibreglass inner lining. I think fibreglass was a big thing in drum shells at the time. The Slingerland kit, as I remember (not sure on the model name but it was the one that had horn-shaped shells), was made entirely from fibreglass.
 

DanO

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A bit dated now since your post is from March 2019 and it is now November but if you are still looking you gotta check with Buzzo in Geneseo, NY. Just google "Buzzo's music" and check out his Yelp page or give Buzzo a call at the store (585)243-2480.
His music store is packed to the rafters with vintage gear and Buzzo knows EVERYBODY so on the odd chance he ain't got it he knows who does and he can get it! Ever see somebody play two trumpets at once?
Buzzo can! He will blow you away! Buzzo is good people, a local legend and icon thereabouts, just look for the hep cat in the Santa Claus beard, you can't miss him.
 

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