In the late 70s/early 80s I had a set of Ludwig B/O label that I rewrapped and added Rogers Memory Lock hardware. The fact is that the Rogers hardware worked a lot better than what was on the Ludwigs. If you are playing a lot, always setting up/tearing down, function means more than keeping something original, which was a non-issue for something as (forgive me Ludwig lovers) pedestrian as what I had. They were pretty beat when I got them. Even at that time I would not have modified an original Ringo set.

In the guitar world there were a lot of great Frankensteins. Did anyone care when Eddie Cochran modified his Gretsch 6120 to suit his needs? I think not. If any of us who modified our drums had become famous using those drums they would now be reissued in that modified form.

I did that also,when I was around 13-14....couldn't get the dang strings through the holes,so I bored out 2 of them the next size up......

I have seen quite a few strainers like that,actually!

Dont know if you would call it altering but one time i applied contact paper to a Slingerland BDP snare.Ten years later I peeled the contsct paper off with no damage to the drum.

Again- this is why altered kits are called "player" kits, as they were actually played. This means you got tired of exploding mounts, slipping stands, and falling spurs. Same thing as why a '59 'Burst has Schallers, rather than the original and EXTREMELY crappy Gibson POS NOS tuners!!!!

I'm seeing the other side of this now. I have recently purchased and am restoring a mid 50's Slingerland kit and have played a few gigs with it. Except for a couple of extra holes in the BD (not by me), the kit is original.

I forgot how bad some of the hardware was but am reminded whenever I play these. On the other hand it's a lot lighter and some of it is pretty good. If you have enough bits around you can also compare the "good day/fresh tooling" stuff to the "Bad day/time to replace the jig" stuff. My plan is to improve things only in a way that can be turned back to original with no permanent modifications.

It's a little like driving a vintage car. Even inexpensive commodity cars (and drums) these days are functionally a lot better than the old stuff. Try stopping a '57 Chevy from 100mph, you'll appreciate the brakes on your Hyundai.

Surprised that nobody asked. I took that picture just 2 days ago and just bought a used P83 for replacement.

35 year restoration in progress.

What colour and pattern was the contact paper?

I hate to say it, but contact paper is one of the BEST ways to temporarily alter a drum without a re-wrap. I used brushed stainless steel for a drum kit I played in a video years ago. I then toured with it for a bit, and had no issues afterwards. The adhesive is pretty nice, as it holds but leaves little residue (especially the newer contact paper).

Many of us did replace the dodgy bits if we were playing regularly and considered it maintenance as much as customization. Spurs and tom holders were particularly common alterations.

I feel I am in good company. Ringo completely devalued his BDP's with that Rogers hardware. Ditto Keith Moon, destroying any collector value for his kits with more Rogers hardware and that odd little Gretsch DRB custom snare drum.

It's no wonder you can't give away one of Ringo's altered kits.

cheers,

Patrick

Of course Ringo and Keith have kits wort a lot of $$$ 'cos of who they are.

I gigged with a few vintage kits that are now worthless 'cos of the mods that HAD to be performed in order to be playable for the next gig. My current kit is probably worth more APART than together because they are orphans that were given another life thanx to me not finding a nice example of a Premier kit. If I can find a four or five piece Resonator in a one-up, one or two-down configuration, I will be all over it if it doesn't cost a mint.