When do you decide to sell gear?

bearblastbeats

bearblastbeats

Senior Member
I love gear. I have a few vintage weapons and (to me) a lot of cymbals and drums.

But, on the other hand, I am a very minimalist kind of person and I just can't stand clutter or things sitting around collecting dust.

Between my dads 76' Ludwig, my 1970 Slingy, a yamaha stage custom, and an electronic drums, and enough cymbals to complete all 3 sets, I don't see the reason to keep most of it.

Sure, I won't ever sell my dads kit, in fact, I plan to re-wrap it to its original white marine pearl and keep it as a show piece and stay in the family.

The slingerland I got off Craigslist for a wicked steal, but the sizes I don't really enjoy playing.

The yamaha, I've giged this kit for about a decade and have made enough off it to pay it in full tenfold. The sizes and sound are great. I gifted this kit to my son, which I hope he will start playing when I finish my kit.

My wife suggests I sell the slingy for something I really want (Ludwig CM in sky blue pearl), but I don't want to give up the vintage gold.

Don't even get me started on the cymbals.
 
". . . I am a very minimalist kind of person and I just can't stand clutter or things sitting around collecting dust."

You seem to have borrowed an excerpt from my diary. In what's nearing forty years of drumming, my standard has always been to possess only one shell pack at a time, one set of cymbals at a time, and no more than two snares at a time. Hence, if I get a new shell pack, my current shell pack goes; if I get a new set of cymbals, my current cymbals go; and if I get a new snare, one of my current snares must go. Give me efficiency, not variety. That's who I am. That's how I roll.
 
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C.M. Jones said:
". . . I am a very minimalist kind of person and I just can't stand clutter or things sitting around collecting dust."

You seem to have borrowed an excerpt from my diary. In what's nearing forty years of drumming, my standard has always been to possess only one shell pack at a time, one set of cymbals at a time, and no more than two snares at a time. Hence, if I get a new shell pack, my current shell pack goes; if I get a new set of cymbals, my current cymbals go; and if I get a new snare, one of my current snares goes. Give me efficiency, not variety. That's who I am. That's how I roll.
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But but... what about the vintage cool man.
 
I found this guy's perspective to be pretty darn reasonable:

 
Jeremy Crockett said:
I found this guy's perspective to be pretty darn reasonable:

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I just saw the Ludwig Cm in sky blue pearl on reverb for 1800. ugghhhh.

To add: I should of saw this video before finishing my basement. Figured if I finish my basement for a studio, that a new band would come of it. Build it and they will come, well, not yet.
 
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When my wife says " wth, there's no space in here for anything!!!"
 
someguy01 said:
When my wife says " wth, there's no space in here for anything!!!"
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Funny situation.

She LOVES plants, we have something like 65 tropical plants in the house, in every room. I even built her an ikea greenhouse for some.
Well, I noticed while shower the other day that we must have ran out of room in the house, because hanging off the shower head was a bushel of eucalyptus. She claims it has calming and soothing affects. Idk.
 
I sell anything not currently being used. I have one of everything I need and nothing I don't.
There has been times when I've had to buy something again, but these are very few and far between.
 
I sell something when I don't have use or room for it. My gear has to earn its keep!

I'm whittled down to 2 kits. One modern sounding, one vintage tubby sounding. Both are gigged regularly

I have a roster of 6 snares, an A squad of Ks.

I have bag full of really nice high end cymbals that have all been up for sale as I'd rather see them played and loved but I attract cheap bastards and timewasters like moths to a lightbulb and I can't be arsed with that. A cymbal bag doesn't take up much room.
 
I recently visited a drum collector that I met at the Connecticut drum show. He was well into his 80’s with significant Heath issues. His collection was immense.

At the time he was asking me to help him begin to sell this gear. He had Manila tags on most of it with a description and valuation. Almost none of the valuation was based in reality.

There were closets and closets of NOS cymbals in bags. Treasure after treasure. He alluded that this was not even the best of his collection which he had squirreled away.

So much great gear, so much money, a lifetimes worth of hunting and buying and history that could only be accomplished by someone who loves drums and drum history, someone with tremendous knowledge and significant financial means……and so many ways that it was all a complete waste of time and money and the potential that it will all be squandered if he passes and the collection falls into the hands of some ignorant, lazy fool or charlatan.
 
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I had G.A.S. real bad many moons ago. I had boxes of hardware & stacks of kits and shells all over my studio & shop.
Then one summer morning, I came in, looked at everything & like a brick to the head, the desire for "more stuff" just went away.
I spent the next 3 hours reboxing & photographing everything I knew I'd never need or play on.

Facebook Marketplace & Let Go were my friends over the next 2 weeks as I watched everything I separated hit the road to new owners & students.
It was a very cathartic time & I've never looked back. Now I have one full sized rig & one small footprint stage set up. All sharing the same hardware. One roller box with clamps & other occasionally used items neatly put away.
Life is good.
 
I haven't sold a single drum related item since 2003. Which was my Export kit that was used for rehearsals, guitarist wanted it for his church.

So I'm not sure when that point will come again, if ever.

I'll go with never.
 
Nacci said:
So much great gear, so much money, a lifetimes worth of hunting and buying and history that could only be accomplished by someone who loves drums and drum history, someone with tremendous knowledge and significant financial means……and so many ways that it was all a complete waste of time and money
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In the end, it's just stuff. I've realized this in recent years with certain heirlooms and trinkets from my grandparents that have special meaning to me. But my grandparents have been gone for several decades now. And these items that have meaning to me have little meaning to my adult kids. They didn't know my grandparents. Which lead me to the conclusion that the vast majority of things I own are just stuff. Virtually all of it will have no meaning to the next family generation or two. The clarity has been helpful with regard to where I spend my time and energy.
 
ottog1979 said:
In the end, it's just stuff. I've realized this in recent years with certain heirlooms and trinkets from my grandparents that have special meaning to me. But my grandparents have been gone for several decades now. And these items that have meaning to me have little meaning to my adult kids. They didn't know my grandparents. Which lead me to the conclusion that the vast majority of things I own are just stuff. Virtually all of it will have no meaning to the next family generation or two. The clarity has been helpful with regard to where I spend my time and energy.
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Yup, it's all just stuff. I've been carrying around my moms old coffee table for 15 years. Last summer I refurbished it and thought to use it in my house. Well, it's too big and bulky and not in the style of our current furnishings. It's been sitting in the basement now for a year and I just put it on craigslist this week.

“If you want a golden rule that will fit everything, this is it: Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.”
― William Morris
 
I sell gear that no longer has a place in my then-current projects, and isn't projected to have a place in future ones. I currently have 2 maple snares that came with my kits, then one each of steel & brass, and 2 aluminum Acros, one of which is gonna go soon, probably the older gray one, per this thread. I recently sold a Yamaha steel (after I found this baby for a song, with functional muffler and strainer/butt... uh, thingies [the spring-loaded roller doodads that enable use of extended snare wires]), and about 15 years ago, a Legend maple, due to redundancy. Traded a 13" maple snare for a 10" aux snare because I had more use for the latter than the former. Several years ago I sold one of my favorite snares I've ever owned, a simple & inexpensive Pearl brass piccolo (not the free floater version) because, despite cracking like a gunshot and having a surprisingly brassy tone for its shallow depth, it just didn't fit in anything I was doing. I purchased and hung onto it for a while in case I needed a snappy hip-hop-like snare, but I never did. Same with a Tama StageStar (1st gen) kit- purchased in case I needed a super small kit for super small rooms. I didn't. Off they went.
 
timmdrum said:
I sell gear that no longer has a place in my then-current projects, and isn't projected to have a place in future ones. I currently have 2 maple snares that came with my kits, then one each of steel & brass, and 2 aluminum Acros, one of which is gonna go soon, probably the older gray one, per this thread. I recently sold a Yamaha steel (after I found this baby for a song, with functional muffler and strainer/butt... uh, thingies [the spring-loaded roller doodads that enable use of extended snare wires]), and about 15 years ago, a Legend maple, due to redundancy. Traded a 13" maple snare for a 10" aux snare because I had more use for the latter than the former. Several years ago I sold one of my favorite snares I've ever owned, a simple & inexpensive Pearl brass piccolo (not the free floater version) because, despite cracking like a gunshot and having a surprisingly brassy tone for its shallow depth, it just didn't fit in anything I was doing. I purchased and hung onto it for a while in case I needed a snappy hip-hop-like snare, but I never did. Same with a Tama StageStar (1st gen) kit- purchased in case I needed a super small kit for super small rooms. I didn't. Off they went.
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thats a lot.

I often had only one kit at a time.

first set was a pearl export, sold for a yamaha oak custom (1st gen), sold that for a gretsch renown maple (1st gen), sold that to pay for a retainer for a lawyer. At this point I inherited my dads kit. Then bought the yamaha stage custom for gigging.

bought and sold dozens of cymbals. Actually have bought and sold a 24" paiste modern essentials ride 3 times! kept thinking I wanted to use.
 
Only out of necessity. If I need money there are other avenues. I dont really buy stuff I dont use, so gear accumulation/hoarding isnt an issue here.
 
It depends if I need money or not. Basically it is the easiest pieces of equipment I can sell if in an emergency (a cymbal or maybe a snare, as long as I have my bare essentials). Ideally I would love to have a big selection, if I had a big house with lots of storage I'd have at least one more shellpack and more snares. Right now I could not sell more than maybe a few cymbals before I'm down to what I need to get by. So I guess I am sort of inbetween. But if money was no issue, I would definitely like a lot of selection.
 
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