Welcome to the world of vintage drums. Sorry to hear the saddest of news, but it is the way it is for all of us, my condolences.

Those are some very nicely kept drums, it appears. In order to get a better "appraisal", if you will, and this is not exactly a "legal" appraisal for insurance purposes...it is only our opinions, we will need to know some specifics, like are there any "mods", additional holes from such mods, lifting seams where the wrap comes together and much more detailed photos...but all in all, those appear to be in excellent shape, thus far.

When uploading new pix, try to include shots like any damages you might notice, the "strainer mechanism" on the snare drum, (not the little wires, the actual device that moves the wires up and down) also known as a throw off lever, any pitting on the metal parts, any missing hardware, such as hoops or rims.

Also, if there is any stands, they will need to be documented and the brand(s) of cymbals. In this era your drums came from could have some of the very finest and most sought after Zildjian cymbals, or not. It just depends on what they are.

Please take some very detailed shots of any stamps or inscriptions on them, and note any damage, such as "keyholing" at the bell, cracks and "flea bites" at the edges. Cracks can be very minute and hard to find. If you are considering selling, PLEASE BE CAREFUL. THERE ARE MANY EYES THAT WATCH THIS SITE DILIGENTLY LOOKING FOR PEOPLE JUST LIKE YOU, LOOKING TO LOWBALL BEFORE SOMEONE ELSE GIVES AN HONEST AND FORTHRIGHT APPRAISAL...."YOUR DRUMS ARE JUST OLD LUDWIGS, NOT REALLY WORTH A LOT, I'LL TAKE THEM OFF YOUR HANDS FOR $400.00"....RIGHT.

YOUR DRUMS ARE, BARRING ANY REALLY BAD DAMAGES, WORTH MUCH MORE THAN THAT.

I think I got everything that will get you the best and brightest of our minds to working on it for you.

Have a great week!

Sizes are also invaluable to a determination of value. This appears to be a "Downbeat" kit, they would be Bass~20~tom~12~floor tom~14 (20-12-14 and that floor tom, if it is 14x14, is worth more than it's wieght in platinum) and looks like a Supraphonic snare. Is it a chrome over alloy or brass? Or do you even know?

Looks like a 22 bass to my eyes. Also, I believe that's a Rogers Swivo cymbal mount.

I have to ask, why are there all those other drum rest pics on the photo site?

Thanks for the replies jonnistix and Rogersling.

jonnstix, thank-you for your 'welcome' and condolences. He passed away two years ago and played his kit up until the week he died at 70. He was a great man, dearly loved and had a great life. This man knew how to party and did so until the day he died. There was no suffering. He was sitting at his kitchen table at 10 in the morning, with a half-full beer (Stella) and a half-rolled 'cigarette' and had a heart attack and just kinda slumped over. I miss him dearly but life indeed goes on.

I am looking for a value not for selling purposes but for curiosity sake. I don't have them insured but probably will do so shortly after any approximate appraisal you might provide. I'm 45 years old and although I was born during the day, it wasn't yesterday so I know that I am sitting on something of value (besides the incredible sentimental value) and would never fall for a sham offer. I can well imagine however that over the years, there have been some real sob stories on this website of people letting go of vintage stuff for a song. Sad indeed.

I will take more photos shortly after my first coffee kicks in. The first set of pictures will be without taking any skins off. As far as I saw when I replaced all the heads, there was no separation at all of the shell seams. There is a red stamp on the inside of the floor tom that states, from recollection, Nov 1956. I'm pretty sure both the ride and crash symbols are from the same period and I will look carefully for damage but I believe there is none. The snare mechanism works perfectly and fluidly. He babied that snare like you wouldn't believe. Well, maybe you would lol.

Rogersling, the other pictures have nothing to do with me and seem to be some kind of automated feature of the site. Imageshack was the first photo hosting site that came up on my search.

Thanks guys and will be posting soon.

Don't know what kind of cymbals or snare it is, but a rough ballpark figure would be around $2000.

I like the Rogers swivo cymbal mount in the bass drum (which may be an extra hole, but not a big deal)

Are you sure it is a '56? It would be nice to see closeups of the badges. If they have serial numbers they're more likely '66 drums. Sweet! Nice your dad left you something he loved playing. The enthusiasm goes beyond time.

Closeups of the cymbals would also help in valuation.

But if you're a musician and you have a studio, these would be excellent for a studio or for gigging (if you take care of them).

All pictures taken with my Blackberry so apologies for lack of crisp detail.

SNARE

14" x 5"

No pitting in the shell or rims but a few scratches in rims.

Strainer mechanism in perfect working order and original as far as I can tell.

Badge has no serial number.

'Seems' to be chrome over alloy.

[IMG]http://img846.imageshack.us/img846/631/img00146.th.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/5227/img00147c.th.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/4143/img00148u.th.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://img861.imageshack.us/img861/994/img00149.th.jpg[/IMG]

STAND

Pretty sure it's not the original as it has the word 'JAPAN' stamped into it. lol

Has lost its rubber guards and has electrical tape in its place.

No other discerning marks/stamps.

[IMG]http://img851.imageshack.us/img851/2453/img00150.th.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://img839.imageshack.us/img839/722/img00151g.th.jpg[/IMG]

13" x 9"

Badge has no serial number.

Seems to be missing the damper. Probably long gone into the ether.

Rims have no overall pitting.

No damage to the outside of shell.

[IMG]http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/7408/img00152q.th.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://img851.imageshack.us/img851/6259/img00153.th.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://img709.imageshack.us/img709/9431/img00154c.th.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://img577.imageshack.us/img577/3277/img00155y.th.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/2476/img00156.th.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://img846.imageshack.us/img846/1940/img00157.th.jpg[/IMG]

you have the date wrong, if it was a 1956 it would have a wfl keystone badge not a ludwig keystone badge, but with the preserial numbered badge you just showed it dated it from 1960-1963.

16" x 16"

Badge has no serial number as usual so pic not included.

Rims have no pitting but need to be cleaned. Ick!

The red stamp on the inside actually is 'Nov 21, 1960'.

Hmmmm not '56 then. Can I change the subject line of the thread? Sorry guys. I guess my dad's memory was a tad foggy.

One leg is missing rubber foot.

[IMG]http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/2949/img00159k.th.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://img52.imageshack.us/img52/3517/img00161r.th.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://img852.imageshack.us/img852/4703/img00160.th.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://img841.imageshack.us/img841/5705/img00163.th.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://img577.imageshack.us/img577/1948/img00164.th.jpg[/IMG]

this is a beautiful kit, the pics are so great but what i can see . yeah this is most certainly a early 60's kit, is the muffler missing from the floor tom also it should have a red pad on the muffler and look like this one I'm showing you?