Vintage in style?

slowrocker

slowrocker

Silver Member
Seems to me more and more people want to go vintage with the 70 and 80s sets. What's up with this? I don't own any vintage by the way and I'm not bashing it, but what is with so many drummers now and vintage sets? I like some vintage bass drums and floor toms, but I don't care much for deep rack toms.
 
Overall, I think it boils down to the old addage that "everything goes in circles." As of the past several years, we've seen a dramatic shift towards "vintage" style drums. While the 22x18, 10x8, 12x9, 16x16 is still widely popular, there's been such a rise in the demand for 2 types of vintage-style gear: the "big band" with the 24" bass drums and the "bop" with the 18" bass drums both with their classic tom/snare configurations. Some of this is surely out of necessity, specifically the smaller bop sets for gigging/transport reasons.

Regarding the actual vintage drums (actually made 25+ years ago), I would imagine the sound of the shell construction and the edges are the desire. As far as the deep toms, I'm not sure what the desire is there....personally, I've never cared much for that.
 
I don't know about 80s being vintage. The "vintage sound" is more early 70s and before. People dig the kits because of their sound and their vibe. The vintage "fad" seems to be dying down. With the fad on the decline, you might be able to score a decent kit for a good price...
 
I can't speak for others, but I prefer a drum sound that is more "woody" and more about the drum's tone and less about the sound of the head. I also find most modern drums to sound pretty generic- that is, they sound alike, regardless of brand. To me, vintage Ludwigs have their own distinct sound, which is different than vintage Gretsch kits, which also have their own distinct sound. (This is not to say all modern kits sound alike. That is certainly inaccurate. Many do have similar sounds, but not all of them.)

In my opinion, modern drums with super sharp edges, tend to give more of the sound of the head and the attack. I don't play super fast music, so I don't need a super clear, attack-driven sound. I do like the fact that modern kits can produce a bit more volume if they need to, and I like the fact that the hardware is actually decent, so modern kits do have some things going for them.

Having said that, I have two C&C kits with slightly rounded edges, which gives sort of a modern resonance but with a vintage tone (and modern hardware). To me, that is the best of both worlds.
 
I dont think you can call drums from the 80's vintage but i know that the sound of 60's- early70's 3-ply Ludwigs is like nothing else and i love it to death. So speaking for myself at least it's the sound.
 
slowrocker said:
..... but what is with so many drummers now and vintage sets? I like some vintage bass drums and floor toms, but I don't care much for deep rack toms.
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Deep toms, or "power toms", are kinda a late 70's, 80's thang. If you know guys getting into those kits, it might just be that those kits are affordable. But I think most people consider 12x8, 13x9, 14x10 (traditional sizes) to be the common "vintage" tom sizes. And kick drums, either 14 or 16 inches deep.​
For me, personally, it's all about sound ... and different sound. I have a few "vintage" kits, and a few modern kits, and a few in between.​
 
Why can't we call the 80s vintage? My 80s Granstars are 25 years old when you considered they were big in 1987. I love them, they sound great. They're of the heavy thick birch shell-era and definitely sounds different to the new thin light shells these days.
 
Bo Eder said:
Why can't we call the 80s vintage? My 80s Granstars are 25 years old when you considered they were big in 1987. I love them, they sound great. They're of the heavy thick birch shell-era and definitely sounds different to the new thin light shells these days.
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I guess we can but it's odd to think of things made in the year i was born as vintage. I'm certainly not. I mean it takes a minimum of 50 years for music to become classical so i guess your 25 years for vintage works but i tend to put the vintage label on things that are at least 30-40years old and even then i'm not sure it's justified.
 
MJD said:
I guess we can but it's odd to think of things made in the year i was born as vintage. I'm certainly not. I mean it takes a minimum of 50 years for music to become classical so i guess your 25 years for vintage works but i tend to put the vintage label on things that are at least 30-40years old and even then i'm not sure it's justified.
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Probably not. I just play 'em ;)
 
Well, does anyone want to mention their age? Are you vintage-3-ply cats here the guys who grew up listening to music in the 60s and 70s? I guess I'm pointing at the nostalgia factor. Personally, I'm 34, and the 80s drum sound isn't exactly the organic tone you had before, what with all the synth stuff and electronic music, plus all the studio post-processing.
 
Vintage, basically means "anything" that isn't made, anymore. So by true definition, a lot of the 80's drums (Imperial Stars, Art Stars, 6 ply Ludwig's, etc) are indeed vintage. After that, snobbery starts to happen. It ain't a vintage Ludwig, unless it's a 3 ply, or a Keystone 3 ply. It ain't a vintage Gretsch, unless it's a Round Badge. Or a step further, it ain't a vintage Gretsch, unless it's a 3 ply Round Badge.​
 
Soupy said:
Well, does anyone want to mention their age? Are you vintage-3-ply cats here the guys who grew up listening to music in the 60s and 70s? I guess I'm pointing at the nostalgia factor. Personally, I'm 34, and the 80s drum sound isn't exactly the organic tone you had before, what with all the synth stuff and electronic music, plus all the studio post-processing.
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Well I'm 42, but I wasn't really into drums until 1987ish. For me, I have owned/played a ton of kits ranging from Ayotte to Gretsch to C&C to Pork Pie to Pearl to Ludwig to Yamaha and I simply prefer the tone and the sonic characteristics of vintage drums.
 
harryconway said:
Vintage, basically means "anything" that isn't made, anymore. So by true definition, a lot of the 80's drums (Imperial Stars, Art Stars, 6 ply Ludwig's, etc) are indeed vintage. After that, snobbery starts to happen. It ain't a vintage Ludwig, unless it's a 3 ply, or a Keystone 3 ply. It ain't a vintage Gretsch, unless it's a Round Badge. Or a step further, it ain't a vintage Gretsch, unless it's a 3 ply Round Badge.​
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Well, technically "vintage" means "of a specific year or era". That drum set that somebody bought new last year would be considered "of a 2011 vintage".

With that said, drummers who are into "vintage" drum gear are into drums from a certain era with specific construction. Once the drums start to be made with thicker shells that project more than resonate (like Ludwig's 6-ply shells, Rogers' XP8 shells, or Slingerland's 5-ply shells...), then those drum enthusiasts are less interested. So, in that sense, "vintage drums" are from those eras, and there's a commonly referred to and understood definition of the word "vintage" by said drum enthusiasts, even though "vintage" means of ANY year/era. It's not snobbery, so to speak, but a specific clarification of a widely-held viewpoint that specific construction methods create a sound like no other drums created since.

The term vintage is not on a sliding scale of sorts, like some people believe. If a kit is 25 years old tomorrow, that doesn't mean that tomorrow it can officially be referred to as vintage. That's just silly...
 
Soupy said:
Well, does anyone want to mention their age? Are you vintage-3-ply cats here the guys who grew up listening to music in the 60s and 70s? I guess I'm pointing at the nostalgia factor. Personally, I'm 34, and the 80s drum sound isn't exactly the organic tone you had before, what with all the synth stuff and electronic music, plus all the studio post-processing.
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I'm 25 but those 3-ply drums are my faves because they sound better to me. I did listen to some classic rock but i'm mostly a showtunes and opera person. Lots of jazz too which would explain my partiality to the sound of these drums but it is primarily the sound that gets me and i really dont care if it was made today or 50 years ago. I like the newer DW classics and Ludwig Legacy's because they sound the way they do which is because they are made with essentially the same shell design as the "vintage" drums i love. I do think modern hardware is superior to the old and dont necessarily think that vintage means better. It comes down to the fact that the combo of the 3 ply shell and rering plus rounder bearing edge produces the sound i want and i'm more likely to find that in older drums than newer drums.
 
caddywumpus said:
Well, technically "vintage" means "of a specific year or era". That drum set that somebody bought new last year would be considered "of a 2011 vintage".

With that said, drummers who are into "vintage" drum gear are into drums from a certain era with specific construction. Once the drums start to be made with thicker shells that project more than resonate (like Ludwig's 6-ply shells, Rogers' XP8 shells, or Slingerland's 5-ply shells...), then those drum enthusiasts are less interested. So, in that sense, "vintage drums" are from those eras, and there's a commonly referred to and understood definition of the word "vintage" by said drum enthusiasts, even though "vintage" means of ANY year/era. It's not snobbery, so to speak, but a specific clarification of a widely-held viewpoint that specific construction methods create a sound like no other drums created since.

The term vintage is not on a sliding scale of sorts, like some people believe. If a kit is 25 years old tomorrow, that doesn't mean that tomorrow it can officially be referred to as vintage. That's just silly...
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On another note when did the term vintage start being applied to things other than wine?
 
I'd say its more of the vintage sound, than the vintage era correct drum.

Who want's a vintage japanese stencil set if it doesn't sound good, or even a GRETSCH round badge?

80's GRANSTARS don't sound vintage. They may be considered vintage of their age, but not their sound.

Some 3 ply LUDWIGS don't sound that good either. There's a lot to consider when buying an older (vintage) drum, generally build quality across the board was not very consistent among the pre late 70's manufactures as an example.
 
Les Ismore said:
I'd say its more of the vintage sound, than the vintage era correct drum.

Who want's a vintage japanese stencil set if it doesn't sound good, or even a GRETSCH round badge?

80's GRANSTARS don't sound vintage. They may be considered vintage of their age, but not their sound.

Some 3 ply LUDWIGS don't sound that good either. There's a lot to consider when buying an older (vintage) drum, generally build quality across the board was not very consistent among the pre late 70's manufactures as an example.
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Even so you could label the sound of any dog set pre 70's as 'vintage'.
 
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