When Ringo did it, his drums weren't vintage yet.

In the day they were just old drums. Thought nothing of adding a Pearl mount. 35 yrs. later they are special and spending quite a bit of time/effort/money to get them back to vintage configuration. I've bought and restored two hoop mount tom holders that will only see use for one picture session. The toms will reside on isolated snare stands for playing.

I enjoy gathering the vintage parts that belong with the drums. It is an important part of the stewardship to not cause further harm and find the period correct bits while it is still possible.

Guess I'm a downgrader and proud of it :-)

Creighton

Yes!!!!! Cool1

I guess a working musician doesn't really think of the value of his present/new instrument 30-40 years down the road; rather it's convenience and 'serviceability' (if I may use the term). I know I do: I'm usually careful with my gear (and I don't like messing around with it), but when I carry my Pearl Ian Paice model around with me on my gigs and bash it mercilessly, I rarely think of what it might be worth to a collector in 2040. I want it to work properly, sound good and be easy to use/carry. If for example the throw-off gives me trouble, I'll switch to another that doesn't - simple as that.

There's a difference between that and what an e-bayer does to a drum in order to get a better price for it (cause it will look more 'vintage' that way) - and most people in here are experienced enough to know the difference. One way or the other, 'restoration' is about trying to bring it back to its original shape, whatever that was, whatever the reason (collecting or playing), no matter why it was changed. Isn't it??

Alex

As with many of you out there,my drumming was "born"in Feb. of 1964.By April I had my first drum set.I still do not know what it was.I have two pictures and will try to post them if I ever learn how.Anyway,back to the subject.In the 70's I was playing 3-6 nights a week and following all the fads.My resonate heads came off(I still don't know why,more volume?")Tension rods, rims, washers and who knows what all were lost.To this day I beg forgiveness for being young stupid and pretty sure I knew all about all.It seemed like the correct thing at the time.I now have a small,but beautiful(to me at least)collection of vintage drums.I do not play them.I play some "made like they were"Ludwig Legacy Classics.I promise I will save the legacy I tried so hard to destroy when I knew no better.I PROMISE!It is all I can do to make up for what I have already done.

Honestly, I don't know why we get so upset about that. We all know that much of the hardware (specifically the mounting hardware) was nearly useless for many of these brands with only a few exceptions. Drummers started playing harder and playing more regularly and the filmsy mounts provided with a lot of kits were not up to the task. Guys made substitutions because they had to. Simple as that.

I recall reading an interview with Stewart Copeland fairly early in his career with the Police. The question of manufacturers came up and he said that he chose Tama because they made hardware that was suitable for contemporary playing. He mentioned that comparing Tama hardware to other manufacturers that the difference was like "chalk and cheese" whatever that meant. We got the idea though.

When purchasing vintage kits, obviously, a fully original kit with no mods is worth more to a collector. Finding a kit with mods means it is worth less, but it kind of drives me nuts when guys get bent out of shape simply because a previous owner needed a kit that worked. If a seller calls that an "upgrade" it really doesn't matter and here is why:

If you are a collector, you know better so no harm. You can bid or offer what you think is appropriate...or not.

If you are looking for a player kit, then it probably is an upgrade for your usage. Of course, no one really wants a 60's Gretsch kit with a 7/8" tube arm plowed into it.

At some point it is just semantics. Salesman are always looking for an angle to increase profits. That is what the advertising world calls "glittering generalities". "Country Style", "Home Style", those are terms that really mean nothing but they catch buyer's attention. Remember Folger's "mountain grown" coffee? It was the richest and most aromatic kind. It was also the only place coffee grows. In this case It is simply a seller pointing out what they think the high points are. Truly, before joining here, I would have said exactly the same thing and I am pretty knowledgable about drums.

Here is a tutorial on how to upload/resize pics to the Forum:

http://www.vintagedrumforum.com/showthread.php?t=1713

Cheers

Here is a great example of an upgraded drum. Looks good, but ...

Good thing it still has "that classic Slingerland sound", because that classic Slingerland look is gone.

At least there aren't a bunch of extra holes, only a couple.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1960s-Slingerland-5x14-Snare-lots-of-work-done-awesome-drum-/281240915785#ht_375wt_880

HUH? (There are other phrases I could type, but they wouldn't get past Tommy and he seems like a fine fellow, so that will have to do...)

I've got two kits I haven't tackled yet that have the 'upgraded' affliction. Actually, all the hot rodding on both (well most) makes sense. One is a mid 60's Ludwig that's got more holes in it than a sieve. I keep going back and forth on it since it's also been stripped and stained, and it's ugly. However, I think I can put it right, maybe. The next is a Gretsch that got 'fixed'.

groovesonly has a good rant, but, like has been pointed out already, a lot of the hardware from the 50's through the early 70's was designed for jazz. Back then, if you got tired of chasing your bass drum around the stage, or something broke, you fixed it with something better.

Yeah, it isn't original, but back then it made sense. Heck, if by the time I quit playing when I got married and all that, I would have done the same thing.

Playing vintage drums is fun, and I do haul 'em out on occasion and gig 'em. However, most of the time I use something I don't have to keep track of when playing out. There is far too much great gear around from the new-ish vintage stuff that doesn't want to crawl up the vocalists rear end every time you give it a kick.

Yes, just as with cars, there's such a thing as a "vintage modification" and a "modern modification". There's a huge difference between a drummer replacing a Ludwig rail on a vintage bass with a modern Gilbralter mount, and the drummer who in 1966 replaced the same Ludwig rail with a 1966 Rogers Swivo mount. When we were young, and before these drums were vintage, we made a lot of stupid mods to our drums simply to make them more playable. I don't have a problem with drummers who made such "upgrades" long before their drums were vintage or collectable.

So I'll pose this: Will mods to modern drums hurt their value 30 years from now? I don't think so, because I don't see too many modern drums (those without any special provenance) attaining any kind of collectability status, any more than a new Honda Accord becoming collectable 30 years from now.