Collecting Drums

Collecting and reselling drums is a great way to acquire all the gear you want without needing a warehouse in which to store it! A former bandmate of mine does just that. He usually has three or four complete drum kits at his place at any given time.

Collecting drums is not only fun, but educational, especially if you want to resell them profitably. You need to learn something about the history of the various drum manufacturers to know which models are sought after by collectors.

You need to learn to scout garage sales, newspaper and online ads, and other sources for drum gear that people want to unload, usually fairly cheaply. You can often pick up a complete kit for a few hundred dollars that’s worth well in excess of that. Even single drums, snares in particular, can go for big bucks on the collector market.

If you’re a gearhead like I am, it’s fun to acquire new, and new-to-me, gear, but it often ends up collecting dust after a while unless it becomes a particular favorite for practice or gigging. In that case, you can clean it up and offer it for sale on eBay, Craigslist, or any number of other resources.

If you’re shrewd and knowledgeable about vintage gear, you can own it and make money off of it at the same time!

ImADrumPlayer.com

First Set of Drums

When I was a kid I had a couple of buddies who played drums. It looked like fun, so I harassed my parents until they agreed to rent a drum set for me to learn on. To avoid taking lessons (I hated piano lessons), I said I’d learn from my buddies.

I mainly learned by listening to records (yes, I’m that old!) and getting a few pointers from the aforementioned friends along the way. I probably played that set for 6 months or so before I got sidetracked and went in a different musical direction.

That set of drums was a rent-to-own situation where if I’d stuck with it long enough, I’d eventually have owned them (or rather my parents would have!). It made a lot more sense than buying a set outright since my parents knew me well enough to know that it was very possible I’d lose interest in them after a while.

Buying is not a horrible idea because music gear is pretty easy to sell used for a decent price. There’s a thriving market on eBay for used music gear, for example. I still think rent-to-own makes sense for drums for several reasons:

• You’re establishing a relationship with a local music store
• You don’t have the hassle of selling them if the need arises
• If you stick with it through the life of the contract, you own a nice set of drums that you’re already used to

Sure, you may decide you need a better set before the contract runs out, but in that case, the store will generally apply what you’ve already paid toward a new, upgraded set.

The upshot is: by going rent-to-own you can get a good set of drums to learn on without the expense up front and you can start out with only what you need and build from there. It always pays to get the best gear you can afford because it will last longer, play better and sound better. It’s hard to maintain interest in learning when you’re having to fight the instrument. The good news is that there is a lot of fine equipment available for very good prices these days.

I’m A Drum Player