Need Kent Help!

[Bebop]

OK. So yesterday (through craigslist) I got a vintage kent 3 piece WITH THE ORIGINAL CYMBALS (hi-hats and a crash) AND HEADS! (sorry about the caps just had to express that...) There are no badges. It is missing part of the tom mount. They sound great.Also original bass drum pedal is also there. I also got a SMG (import) 5 piece double floor tom and other misc stuff (like the original rototoms) all for $150 but I am just looking for info on the kent. like how old is it, value, and other stuff. I will post pictures soon. Thanks!

[ARCHxANGEL]

Kent was an American stencil company that produced drums in the 60's.I think they were around until the very early 70's when they had started to use Japanese strainers,etc...They ended up going out of business.Value wise they really are not worth much.The three piece you have is probably worth about $70.Evidence of such a low price range for their kits includes the fat that the strainer they used before they started using the Japanese model was very prone to break,the badges often came off with ease.And while they sound amazing ( I have a kit myself and its by far one of my favorites ) its sadly not a commonly looked for set.

[bigz]

Some of the kent shells were maple. Get em checked out.

[btnkbndt]

Ahh, I just happened to be looking at this site the other day:

Kent History (http://www.coopersvintagedrums.com/misc/kenthistory.htm)

[big daddy]

I'm also a fan of Kent drums and own 3 of their snare drums, so I'll chime in. I have to agree with ARCHxANGEL on several points, except the value of the drums. For starters, most of the American made, maple/metal shell Kent snares are selling for over $50.00 on eBay, depending of course on condition, originality, etc... There is a good condition, orange sparkle snare with 2 days left in the auction and it's currently at $48.XX. I wouldn't be surprised to see it hit $70.00 or more by the time the auction ends.

Also a search of recently sold Kent snares shows that 4 out of 5 drums sold for over $70.00. The low end of the spectrum was a beat up example which sold for $12.00 and the highest price paid was $88.00.

They are not as stable price-wise as the other big name American drums, but I've been seeing a slow and steady rise in price for the last 2 years.

So, depending on the condition, era and finish on your 3 piece, it may be worth a mere $70.00 or possibly 2 to 3 times that amount. Again, condition really plays a huge part in the value of the drums. Many Kent's have little or no bearing edge's to speak of. That would decrease the value quite a bit, IMHO.

Having said all that, if you're looking to sell them, I'm in the market for a good condition, maple shell kit. A while back a collector had 2 or 3 excellent kits up for sale. The reserve prices were not met as I recall and the seller decided to try selling them at a local drum/percussion show. If memory serves, the bidding was up around the $200.00+ mark. Neither kit sold.

Congrats on the new drums BTW!!

[ARCHxANGEL]

Have they really been going high on ebay finally? Its been a while since I've looked any up on ebay.And when I was ( just a few weeks ago ) most were ending with one bid or less and seeling in the $20 range.At the very least the kit should have a lowest price point of about $70. If you can post some photos I would love to see the kit.

[big daddy]

Ditto on seeing the kit. And yes, snares have been selling for well over $50.00. I've seen a few other things like tom's and kicks selling for less (a champagne sparkle tom recently sold for only $12.00), but they are usually beat, missing parts or otherwise less than desirable.

There are 11 bids on the current orange sparkle drum. I have the same drum in a mahogany finish and I paid around $42.00 for it. Beautiful piece with perfect bearing edges. I've not yet paid more than $50.00 for a Kent snare, but others have and with the prices of the bigger name drums rising, I think you'll see an increase in the price/availability of Kent drums. It happens with guitars too. When you can't afford a vintage Gibson or Fender, an Epiphone, Kay or Vega starts to look good to you.

[ARCHxANGEL]

Very good point.Matter of fact there was a lot of four stencil snares I was going to bid on since they were listed for $2.00 and I figured I would go to $30 if need be...they sold for about $80 which shocked me.So I guess were at a high stencil point where they are more in demand.

[big daddy]

Well, the auction for the orange sparkle Kent snare ended - $180.50!!!

And no, I didn't buy it. I guess we should snap them up before the price goes through the roof ;)

[ARCHxANGEL]

I agree with that.I've recently snapped up two stencil snares before they got way too high on my price chart.One is a WMP Bradley ( which I got and i'm loving it ) the other is an un-badged ( i'll pick a name when I get it and give it a good looking over,lol ) I'll definatly check the Kent auctions more as one can never have enough Kent drums.And I was actually watching another auction that ended before I could bid of a U.S.Mercury snare in Psychadelic finish...I've never seen that before...and may never again.

[Bebop]

cool thanks for the info. I have been cleaning them I will get pics up soon sorry for the delay!

[quinntheeskimo]

Hi,
I have a chance to buy a Kent 5 piece kit in a black/white onyx type finish. 20/12/13/16, matching 5x14 snare!! The kit is missing a few parts/pieces, and the only structual damage I saw was a 1"x1" chunk missing of the first few plies on a spot on the resonant side of the kick. How greatly will this devalue the kit/sound? It only has 1 badge left, and it's the oval shaped white badge with KENT in silver letters. Is this the Japanese shell, or maple shell? Looks to be 3? ply, all painted gray interiors. Let me know what you all think. Oh yes, and I have negotiated the price down to $130.

Cheers!

[Bebop]

white badge I believe is the New York made kents. For $130 i dont think you could go wrong. I would go for it. Also I noticed that the wood grain on my kents go around the shell instead of up and down which most imports due. So I am guessing mine were also made in new york.:)

[quinntheeskimo]

Well, my drums are in fact 6 ply, and the grain goes up & down. Weird....

[Bebop]

After looking over the other set that I also aquired along with the kent (it was $150) for both. I found out it was made by none other than Tama! Keep on Pl
I am still cleaning the kent. Pictures of both will be up soon. I promise!

[big daddy]

Well, my drums are in fact 6 ply, and the grain goes up & down. Weird....

Actually, not that weird. As far as I know, Kent sold some drums with the Blue flower badge and the grain running up/down on them. I've seen pictures of them. Some with reinforcement rings as well.

My guess (and it's just a guess) is that these were import shells where Kent may have affixed the badges themselves (or shipped them to japan) - Possibly, they were just using up the leftover badges before they changed to the suqare "Kent - Made In Japan" badges.

I have 3 Blue Flower badge Kent's (2 wood, one steel) and there's no question that the wood ones are maple, 2 or 3 ply, with the grain running around the shell - I assume these are USA made drums, not imports.

Some felt the imports were better made than the USA ones.

[ARCHxANGEL]

My Kent is a Japanese model ( the snare stariner gives it awsy as its the typical Japan stencil style ) though the shells are maple and have the grain running around the shell as opposed to up and down.And I had the flower looking badges on my kit as well.And matter of fact a stamp date of 1969 inside the bass drum.I'm still shocked to have found that.

[big daddy]

My Kent is a Japanese model ( the snare stariner gives it awsy as its the typical Japan stencil style )

Hey ARCHxANGEL - The strainers on Kent snares were prone to breakage so there's a chance that it was replaced with a Japanese strainer after the fact. Of course, extra holes would likely be present unless the Japanese model just happened to line up with the existing holes.

Do you have the "overkill" butt plate on your snare? Those were pretty solid and it's easy to spot an original Kent - They were HUGE.

[ARCHxANGEL]

I very much have the over kill butt plate on the snare,lol. And there were no extra holes on the snare.And considering the stamp date was 69' maybe thats when the shells were still made in NY but they could have just started to import things such as the Japanese strainer before completely out-sourcing the whole kit to Japan manufacturers.And hole wise its not likely that there was ever an origional Kent strainer on the snare.Based upon the sole fact that the Japanese stencil strainers have the two screw holes side by side ( not one on top one on bottom ) since there was always a knob to adjust the pull on the snare wires.Here is a few photos ( not sure if I even posted these to begin with,lol )

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i187/ARCHSxDOMAIN/MVC-044F.jpg

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i187/ARCHSxDOMAIN/MVC-038F.jpg

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i187/ARCHSxDOMAIN/MVC-0391F.jpg

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i187/ARCHSxDOMAIN/MVC-040F.jpg

Its an absolutely beautiful set and the finish still looks outstanding.The other clue to point me more in the Japanese direction is the use of the clip style tom mount on the rail as opposed to the pearl style that I have seen on American Kent kits.

[ARCHxANGEL]

Few More photos.

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i187/ARCHSxDOMAIN/MVC-039F.jpg

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i187/ARCHSxDOMAIN/MVC-042F.jpg

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i187/ARCHSxDOMAIN/MVC-041F.jpg

Also what clued me in when I bought the set ( aside from the lug design ) is that the reso side bass drum head is an origional Kent head.How the shop I bought this from still labeled the kit as Misc. I'll never know,lol.

[big daddy]

hmmmm... interesting kit ya got there.

First off, the "bat" on your snare throw off looks similar, but not exactly like the old Kent Bats. I've seen a picture of an import-shell (grain running up/down, reinforcement rings, etc...) Kent, with the same throw off... but your snare is maple?!?!?

Do the snare lugs have a raised bump on the outermost edge, or are they smooth? Some of the photo's look raised, while others smooth.

Second - I notice your kick has the "Giant Tom Rim" that Kent sometimes used. Older Kents had wood w/inlay hoops, but somewhere in the 60's they went to those wacky metal hoops.

Third - I haven't come across an original Kent set with the Ludwig'ish style tom rail setup, but I've seen Paramount kits (made by Kent) that had it.

I'm getting the feeling that Kent were not too fussy about what parts were used on their drums in the late 60's (before they went to completely imported kits) and that yours may be a transitional kit. It's almost like they just grabbed whatever was sitting at the top of the parts bin and made a kit - Cool!!

[ARCHxANGEL]

Big Daddy your probably right.They probably just slapped whatever was around on the kit,lol. But it makes it that much more interesting.Yes all the drums are the maple ( the two shots of the interior is from the tom and bass drum ) but the snare is no different.And yea the super tom hoops.I dig the look they have though.Not a common sight for any kit. And with the rail mount like I stated i've also never seen a " Kent " kit with it.But again I know its origional since there are no extra holes anywhere in the shell.I guess Kent kits are Like Wuhan cymbals...no two are alike,lol.

[Bebop]

Alright the Kents are coming along very nicely. I should have pictures up within the next hour! Remember I am still looking for that Kent tom arm, if anyone has one email me: bentstraw@gmail.com

Cheers!

[Bebop]

Hello everyone!
I am infact in luck! I found a kent tom arm and am buying it for $10 plus shipping. Pics are coming soon. I promise this time.

Cheers
Harrison

[ARCHxANGEL]

Awsome.I just found another Kent kit yesterday.I was at a local shop looking for a drum kit for a friend of mine who has decided to pick up the drums and to my eyes I saw an Orange Sparkle bass drum in almost perfect condition.The kits is a three piece.20" bass,12"tom,14" snare all origional hardware,decent heads,all mounting hardware.Absolutely beautiful kit.I asked the guy what he wanted and he said $75 ( which is a very fair price for its awsome condition ) so this week i'll be back to pick it up.I'll post some photos once I have it.And Harrison congrats on finding that tom arm.Out of curiousity where did you find one?

[big daddy]

Awsome.I just found another Kent kit yesterday.I was at a local shop looking for a drum kit for a friend of mine who has decided to pick up the drums and to my eyes I saw an Orange Sparkle bass drum in almost perfect condition.The kits is a three piece.20" bass,12"tom,14" snare all origional hardware,decent heads,all mounting hardware.Absolutely beautiful kit.I asked the guy what he wanted and he said $75 ( which is a very fair price for its awsome condition ) so this week i'll be back to pick it up.I'll post some photos once I have it.And Harrison congrats on finding that tom arm.Out of curiousity where did you find one?


Dang! That's a major score ARCHxANGEL. If your friend decides to pass, drop me a line. I'd snap that up in a heartbeat. Some folks are asking big $$$ for a Kent kit. And then you see something like this... crazy.

[ARCHxANGEL]

Well actually the Kent kit i'm buying for myself.My friend is going to pick up a 5 piece D-drum kit with hardware for $400 from this place.So he is getting a great deal on a new kit...and somehow i've found yet another good deal on a kent.But if I ever do come across anything that I never have use and or room for i'll definatly keep you guys in mind since I know you guys will give a good home ( you guys means you bigdaddy and bebop.

[Bebop]

Hey Arch!

I actually found the tom arm through an ebay member. He had a bass drum with the tom arm and I kept on asking him if he would sell just the tom arm even after he said no and he ended up hooking me up with a guy that had one. So I think it was a major score and I am happy beyond words...
Also Nice Deal on the kent. They are nice drums..usually. lol..

Harrison