If the tube legs, post and arms are standard sizes, then I'm sure you could find chromed tubes to replace the dull grey pieces. The replacement pieces would probably be stronger too.

I have a line on a Big R kit 24/12/16. It's a strange beast, becuase each shell is a different style. Bass drum has grey/speckle interior w/re-rings, floor tom is just grey interior w/re-rings and the tom tom is an XP-8. The current owner disassembled them and removed the cracked Silver Mist wrap. All of the hardware is in a plastic tote (lugs, screws, mounts, legs).

Jammin Sam's has White Pearl Special starting at $169 for a 12×8, 13×9, 16×16, 22×14 piece kit. This would be a classy, but inexpensive wrap solution for these Big R kits.

-Tim

There is nothing wrong with the shells or the sound of Big R drums but the looks are IMO horrific when compared to the slim downed earlier versions , the hardware was a huge step down from swivomatic But it is sturdy and tough. the cutting costs hurt Rogers but the sound was still up there the beavertail lugs got cheap along with other hardware and the over all package just was not up to what I call Rogers heyday quality.

Now if you had never played Rogers drums before there was probably no problem but I played them from 1965 and I am sorry but no way could I sit behind something that hideous and be happy.... BUT if I was in the market for a players kit It would not bother me at all to get a set of big R and do some mods to them and rewrap them for my own pleasure or for gigging.

Welcome to the 1970's...

"The decade that taste forgot"

Thats funny...

I got a 8 by 12 Dayton tom last summer that someone ripped the script logo off,and put a Big R badge over it..oh...and of course blasting a big hole for the Big R pipes to go in too....

Amen bro... amen to that. I was there, living it! (no, I won't post pix... my kids still think it's hilarious to pull out the photo albums on holidays saying 'Dad, how could you...') LOL

Nice setup. Checking out your miking. I see you sing, like me. So you've also got kick snare and overheads? Do you take those, or someone else in the band, or do you have a sound guy? Currently just sorting all this out in my main band. So that would be 5 channels for you; just wondering how big is your regular desk? Thanks.

The finishes on the Memriloc kits are a major problem: they do not evoke any nostalgia in most people interested in vintage drums. And the cracking problems on some of them don't help.

Mainly though, it's the lack of Swivo hardware that puts buyers off. For most of them, these are simply not 'collectible' drums. The Swivomatic hardware recalls an earlier time, back to the 50's in fact, and that is where the appeal of vintage Rogers is strongest. The mid 70's does not seem so long ago to many folks, and the 80's?, well, that was just yesterday...

For someone who wants to gig a lot with vintage drums, the Memriloc stuff is a great way to go.

If the Big R shells are the kind of quality one would expect from Rogers, then those kits are probably great deals.

As has been mentioned, I really felt the Big R badge was horrible, even as a young kid. The heavy hardware was the first of it's kind and imitated by Pearl and somewhat later Ludwig. The idea of memory locks was very cool and much nicer than hose clamps. Keep in mind that most hardware to that point, with their own being an exception, was pretty horrible. Stripped parts, failing pieces, not good. Drummers were starting to play harder and needed some help. Rogers answered the call. I will say I never understood the gigantic vertical mount on the toms. That is certainly an eye sore in my book.

When you consider all that, purchasing a Big R kit for small bucks, doing a re-finish, and possibly filling the holes to skip the hardware if you don't like it could produce a really great kit. Look at that KOA kit Jccabinets created. That is a better kit now than when it left the factory.

The shells are that good.

Then it sounds like that may be one of the great deals in the later vintage market if one were so inclined. Thanks Ploughman.