My take on what a Vintage drum is,for American makers anyway, is the 70's,and to me, mid 70's and back Because of,

1. 1976 /77 is when the Pro market saw the Japanese product really becoming a major force,in 1977 I remember Tama superstars going for about 700.00 and change while Ludwigs were 850.00 or so,and started seeing the lower Line Imperial stars all over the place.Before that U.S. made drums were considered the best,and Sonor had not become quite the Mercedes Benz of drums yet. I also feel that anything D.W. made in the 70's or 80's as Classics.

2.For me,I have a hard time considering power tom or square size drums vintage, 12x12 etc. These American made kits I consider "Classics"

As far as Japanese drums go,I consider the Pro lines pre 1986 to be "Vintage Japanese" drums.

I guess it is all a matter of perspective, but as for a lot of sellers on E bay and such, Vintage means largest return on the dollar as far as original cost goes,the U.S. drums from the 50's and 60's are the ones that do that,and I think that is what the sellers of a "Vintage Pearl Export" Drum kit are trying to take advantage of a lot of the time.

Which comes back to what I have said, and that is the term vintage is over used these days. That being said, I mostly consider anything pre-1980 vintage and '81-99 old and 2000 thru now merely pre-owned. Yeah, I went back on what I had said earlier, and I still believe in my exceptions.

The power Tom kits will end up being highly desirable. They are the platform shoes of drums. Dorky, yet totally cool, just not out of the closet yet. Concert toms are that way, as well. All of the different shell crazes definitely end up being indicative of the decades they represent. Eventually, everything will be old enough to be vintage rather than plain old.

I think many people use 25 years to consider an item vintage. This would be the standard for automobile collectors. I have often used the term vintage just to indicate when an item is made...IE "VINTAGE 1983" simply means it was made in 83, not necessarily that it is collectible or classic.

I started collecting 20 years ago and 60-70's drums were considered vintage then, so if the scale slides fairly, 80's and 90's drums should now be entering the fray. As a collector, I wanted what I saw as a child(60-70's), but now, I would think a 30 year old would more likely be nostalgic for and 80 or 90's kit and this would seem vintage to him, as it was built and used when he was just a tot....I know I own an old Tama Superstar kit, its 30+ years old and very collectible(to me) and I do consider it vintage.

....so, the term may be over used, but it can be used in different lights and has different meanings to different ages/eras/etc....

People are trying to recapture their fleeting youth when trying to collect in many cases. How many times did you say "I wanted that (place name of item here) when I was a young person!"?

The term is relative, but it does get over-used when people are trying to trump up the values of old crap they are trying to sell.

Here is what Merriam-Webster says about "vintage":

vin·tage noun \ˈvin-tij\

Definition of VINTAGE

1a (1) : a season's yield of grapes or wine from a vineyard; (2) : wine; especially : a usually superior wine all or most of which comes from a single year b : a collection of contemporaneous and similar persons or things : crop

2: the act or time of harvesting grapes or making wine

3a : a period of origin or manufacture b : length of existence : age

I just want to know when Sonor became the Mercedes Benz of drums not trying to be smart but i have missed something in the last 45 years of playing drums...

I get the comparrison! they are both rather good looking, cost a lot of money, but you'll flip them the moment you can get good old american muscle :p

OK i can see that.. makes sense but I consider DW will go down in history as the biggest rip off in drum history.... Sonor, Tama, Pearl, good drums but never the quality of 60's Rogers slingy or Ludwig..... then again I am old..... D' DrummerEye Ball

Yep. I fully agree with this, but the term "vintage" is thrown around so much that you have to learn to deal with it in the incorrect context, or spend all of your time being frustrated from constantly correcting people.

"Vintage" to me designates certain drums from certain eras. Ludwigs until they went 6-ply, Rogers until they went 8- and 10-ply, Slingerlands until they went 5-ply, etc. None of these time frames line up, of course, but once these companies started going straight-shelled, the vibe got lost. That vibe, that mojo, is what "vintage" is, IMHO...