I happen to have a Mint one, here it is enjoy it also has the jazz fest Supra and downbeat snare and the 18/20 ft

Wow jahog. Original buyer (if not you) just walked in and told 'em he wanted one of each, hehe.

I think what I'm gonna do on snares is pick up this local Acrolite since it's here & now, then keep my ear to the ground for a Supraphonic. Even if the Supra happens this week, I won't get burned too bad on the Acrolite and in the meantime I'll not have to play this crappy Olds that came with the kit when I bought it. I swear it sounds like a rattly coffee can with the rebound of a pork brisket. And of course the throw-off takes a few minutes of mystery ritual to switch it both in the on and off positions.

by the way Mitch, "the lure of a fine instrument can be inspiration to practice..." is verging on poetic. I like it enough that it's spurred me to want to keep an eye out for a Supra.

The guy with the Acrolite is a gear junkie and has some stands I'll probably be interested in too. Says he'll give a great deal since I need so much of it. Hurting

Out with the old...

Here's the old (Olds) snare and the couple cymbal stands I had:

[IMG]http://www.callkck.com/storage/LwOldSn.jpg[/IMG]

And I drug this home today along with two MUCH better cymbal stands (boom/straight convertible) and similar quality snare stand to boot. Total cost me a couple hundred bucks, so it's probably about half of new for stuff that's about new condition anyway.

[IMG]http://www.callkck.com/storage/AcSn.jpg[/IMG]

so here's the new look as of five minutes ago:

[IMG]http://www.callkck.com/storage/LW1.jpg[/IMG]

The snare is a newer Acrolite "black galaxy" finish I think they call it. Splitting hairs I would have preferred the chrome finish, but this one looks better than OK - the condition is excellent. Thow-off works smooth & snappy both directions. But the coop degrass is the sound and it does sound and respond MUCH better than what I had so I should be happy with it for a while.

The guy had at least a dozen snares, a few listed on CL, and we tried a few comparisons just for fun & education. He had a newish hammered Black Beauty Supra and it did indeed sound very sweet. It was my personal favorite sound of the collection, but the acrolite sounded better to me than all but two that we tested while I was there. He, too, liked the Black Beauty enough that he didn't want to part with it even though he prefers another one he recently bought. I do see the appeal as it was definitely a step or few above the Acrolite. But the Acrolite sounds pretty darned good - better than I expected actually - and response is pretty nice. Certainly something I can work with now.

And I'm happy to have better stands all around too. I already had a pretty nice hi-hat stand (though wouldn't mind getting a better clutch) so I'm actually in pretty good shape all of a sudden. I have an eBay cymbal purchase on the way that ought to get me by for a while (19" crash/ride 60's vintage Zildjian to match the current hi-hat pair). In a week or two, I ought to have this tweaked and tuned and free to spend my time playing instead of shopping.

I know you're never really done, but I'm almost "there" in regards to a good working start.

Yea, I know. I need a throne. The dining room chair isn't quite ideal, eh? I figure it best to sit on a few at a store or two to see what I actually like instead of guessing on an internet picture.

Don't throw out those flat based stands as they are worth pretty decent money and are original to a Hollywood outfit. Pity that someone tried to create a homemade boom by bending the top of one of those 1400 cymbal stands though.

Wow, really? They are so flimsy I assumed those stands were just some student stuff that got into the mix over the years.

I've been into a ruthless de-cluttering mode for a few months now and my first instinct was to sell (for cheap) or donate that stuff rather than store it. Chances are I will play this kit and never buy another, so it's strictly a player for me. But if I ever sell this kit off, those stands would increase the value? I can store them away since they don't take up much space.

I can probably straighten out that rod to original but the chrome may crack a bit. It might not, as it appears to have survived the original bend. Would it be better to straighten it out? I have the technology.

BTW, I know K.O. ... "Doesn't anybody look at the pictures I link to?". I did take a look but the ones in the catalog sat differently so I assumed they were at least slightly different. A closer look shows that the catalog and my original ones indeed match.

Always keep the kit as original and complete as you can for resale. Yes, it will increase collector value.

I`ll bet there are guys here looking for those.

You can squeeze flat stands closer together.

The70's catalogs even showed the Hollywood in Champagne sparkle. Notice the stands included with the set.

BTW: Ludwig only made one kind of drum at the time so all the different named sets are just different configurations of those same drums. An 8x12 tom included in a Hollywood set was identical to one that was part of a Big Beat or Downbeat outfit. There were no such things as "Hollywood" or "Downbeat" drums (although there was a Downbeat model snare drum). I know you didn't suggest that but I'm just throwing that factoid out there as there seems to be some confusion related to this from today's perspective where every manufacturer has several tiers of different drums with different shells at different price points. Even Ludwig's slightly cheaper lines (the Club Dates and the Standards) used the same 3 ply shells back in the day.

Also, as mentioned above in another post, it was no big deal to order different sizes for your outfit, or make up a setup entirely of your own. Ludwig was eager to please and would build whatever you wanted so if someone came into a Ludwig dealer and said I want the Hollywood outfit except I prefer a 20" bass drum that is what they would get. Another possibility is a music dealer ordering a set for the sales floor and maybe specifying a 20" bass to bring his cost down a bit (lots of kids and parents buying drum sets back in the day that wouldn't have known the difference...or cared). Anyway, people tend to get hung up on sets having to match exactly to the catalog descriptions these days (which is why it would be wise to hang on to those original stands) but a lot of vintage sets do not conform exactly to the catalogs and that is the way Ludwig built them as per somebody's request. I don't think anyone forty or fifty years ago when they ordered their Downbeat set with a 16" floor tom or a Hollywood with a 20" bass drum simply because that was their personal preference was worrying about resale value half a century later.

Those flat based stands are actually pretty good. They will do the job for most anything but an outdoor gig on a windy day. They worked for Ringo. More importantly they are nice and light. Many of us have ditched all our double braced monstrosities as we get older and don't want to (or can't) lug all that extra weight around to gigs.

I just have one request for you vinito,...take the pillow out of the bass drum after each and every time you use the kit,...There are so many threads here on how to fix the damage it will do to the shell`s interior.