Very nice drums!!...I think the guys who operated the company were x Gretsch employees and copied a lot of the ideas into Kent drums.Qlty control was hit and miss.If it missed it was terrible,but a few kits have popped up in exceptional condition.They were made in New York i believe.Clean them up and play them.If you want to sell them you could be anywhere between 3-700.00,and considering what you paid for them......

Nice set indeed. I'm in the process of becoming a Kent expert, but I still have a ways to go :)

What Wayne said was right on and I can add a few things myself. Some of the drums appear to have been modified. The snare has a baseball bat muffler installed (Ludwig?) which is not original. Also, the kick has a Ludwig cymbal arm/tom leg mount on it which is also not original.

The wrap does look a bit beat up (stained) in spots and the rust on the hi hat stand looks considerable, but you can try cleaning this up. There's lots of info on the site about cleaning up wrap, chrome, etc... do a search and you'll find it.

As Wayne said, QC was hit or miss with Kent, which comes down to things like bearing edges, lug placement, snare beds, etc... Some or all of these things may be good/bad on your drums. The most critical of these would be the bearing edges and snare beds, but the only way to tell is to pull the heads off and have a look.

I have the exact same snare drum and after considerable work to make it playable, it's become my favorite snare. And I'm not the only one who likes it - I was in the studio 2 weeks ago and I swapped out the vintage Slingerland snare I was playing for my Kent, without the engineer realizing I'd done this. After playing for about 30 seconds, the engineer walked up to me asking what I'd done to the Slingerland snare to get it sounding so good. I explained about the swap and he offered to buy it on the spot as it was "the sound" he'd been trying to get for years. I still own the drum but I offered to try and find him one for his collection :)

If I were you, I'd tear them down and determine the condition of the shells (cracks, splits, bearing edges, etc...) and if they look decent, clean them up, re-head them and see how they sound. You might be surprised.

If you're not up to the task, there are several Kent guys (myself included) on this site who would be interested in this kit.

Hi Guys,

I also have an interest in Kent drums. I recently purchased my first Kent snare drum off of ebay for $20! It's a six lug, white marine pearl model. Needs some major TLC, but for $20, it's well worth it.

Here's a great link for the history of Kent:

http://www.coopersvintagedrums.com/misc/kenthistory.htm

I think my interest in Kent is two-fold: (1) I have a soft spot for them because they were "underdogs" compared to the big boys like Ludwig and Slingerland (2) It seems that there is some level of mystery behind their company, simply because it wasn't documented nearly as heavily as the Gretschs, Leedys, and Rogers of the world.

Two Interesting things about Kent drums:

(1) Their badges are made out of foil - yes, FOIL! - to save money.

(2) I've read (in Great American Drums: And The Companies That Made Them by Harry Cangany) that Kent abruptly shut down after the owner's son was killed in a car crash. However, it is merely a rumor.

Anyway, good luck with your drums. Have fun, and congratulations!

Kent was a drum company that made drums from the 50s to the early 70s.

As someone else said they were hit and miss. The most commmon kent drums are in champagne/gold sparkle (the wrap you have). Their strainers were faulty and prone to breaking. Quality wasnt consistent. Valued between 60-180 bucks. Prices fluctuate alot though. A 3 piece (most common kent set up) set just sold for 80 on ebay, which had all the badges,(blue badge not white. blue badge kents are more valuable) great condition hardware in BDP. Nothing missing. So that gives you an idea for pricing.

Kent was based in Kenmore, NY right up there by buffalo. Used Meinl cymbals stamped Kent Kenmore, NY. I have a 16" crash and VERY RARE 13" hihats.

In the later half of the 60's kent was going out of business so they tried to cut costs by using imported hardware. Eventually in about '72 I think they went out of business.

If you would like to sell the kit I would be interested. Or just the floor tom (considering the shape its in I dont think vintage drum gods would get mad =) My email is [email][email protected][/email] if your interested.

Cheers

Harrison

PS I noticed that your kit has an aftermarket rail consellette mount on it bringing the vaue down.

This kit is going to need alot of work hands down.

P.S.S I was looking at the kent floor tom. it has the single tension lugs that Kent used when they started importing japanese hardware. Does this drum have a badge on it?

i just got home. the floor tom is a 14", it does have a badge, the blue one. Appears there is a knob on the side that i guess goes to the muffler device. it has kent heads (top and bottom). the legs and lugs are rusty. the rims seem to be ok.

the 13" tom has the bat style muffler as well. the tom mount on the has ludwig stamped on it. it sounded good when i got it, surprisingly.

are you saying the tom mount on the bass was aftermarket item? do i need to remove it or is it too late due to holes drilled?

i'm going to try to see if i can clean these up before i give up on them. the interior of the bass, snare and 13" tom seem to be in good condition. I havent removed the heads from the floor tom. the wood hoops on the bass show major wear.

i'm going to see if i can fix them up or go as far as i can (with the forums help :) ) if not, i'll see if someone wants them that has the resources/talent to restore these.

Check out this Kent (Japanese) kit. A five piece in Yellow Tiger Pearl, or Black Onyx. I don't think Kent really had a catalog for colors. I installed a Rogers-type snare strainer, and there are a few other unoriginal parts. It actually has both metal hoops with all the inlay (wow!). 20/12/13/16 .What do you guys think?

I see drums like this gaining in popularity....could be time for some changes.After all,this gear will NEVER be re-producedCryBaby

Outstanding!! I love the weird wraps you see on some of the import kits from the 60's and 70's. I had a floor tom ages ago (mid 70's) which was wrapped in tiger eye (like the semi-precious stone). It was awesome and I wish I had an entire kit in that color.

drumdude - The tom rail is a Ludwig or Ludwig style, which means it's not original. I would leave it on there as it's (A) too late to do anything about it and (B) if it's in good condition, it will be way better than the Kent mount was.

I can't recall ever seeing any kind of muffler on an American made Kent drum (correct me if I'm wrong). It seems like someone used a bunch of Ludwig parts on this kit which improves the playability, but takes away from the originality (and usually the value as well). Consider it a "players" kit and heck... just play it!!

OK Kent Fans.Here's my take on it.I've lived in Buffalo since 1971.About 1974,I purchased a gold sparkle Kent set from Edwin's Music Store on Broadway.It was used,and cost about 50 bucks,with original cymbals.The owners son,Greg Granchowski,told me the drums were assembled across the street in an upstairs attic.The building was razed in the aerly 90's.Greg died in 2002,but his brother still runs the store(on Sat morning)and owns another small drum making company.He would be the an expert on Kent drums,and their history.

joey