I am very pleased with my Gretsch Purewood African Mahogany (PWAM) 6pc. Only 60 shellpacks in each of two configurations were offered in 2007.

They are just awesome drums...the look, the build and sound are second to none for me. I think they may be collectable in time. There are only 59 other kits somewhere out there and I've already seen a few that have been split up for whatever reason.

I also like how some of the 50's - 60's Japanese drums are collectable these days - or at least sought after by some of us. Who whould have known? Not me, I certainly did not think I would be thinking about my 1965 Japanese Pearl wrapped drums 50 years later. I would love to have them now though.

Personally...I think people 40-50 years from now will still want the same drums we want. There was a post in here a few pages back, forgot the poster, who said everything has been done. To a degree, I think that is 100% correct. I mean...there MAY be something different that can be done, some new polymer head or wood combination or some such crazyness...something I am sure. However, in 2065, I fully expect people will still want what we would call vintage drums.

Much outside of that, I don't see much today that really cuts a different cloth or stands out to make it desirable in 50 years. Heck, I don't see much today that will last 50 years...let alone be in working order for that long.

From a vintage point of view I see very smart move from Ludwig with their Legacy Series. You see that 3-plies are already desireable and collectable items. It's like fashion: some vintage design comes back influencing in a modern style in 30-40 years period.

So their drums.

I expect that Legacy series will replace downbeats,holywoods,superclassics in a "+50" vintage section.Same with classic snare b/o badge reissues.

And those above mentioned will be "+100" and more collectable Excited

When the national lifestyle, in general, did not tolerate their children becoming musicians, music stores, for the most part, were small and jammed with instruments of all kinds....because, comparatively-speaking, there were only a few brands in each shop.

In my small town, there were NO music stores, so whenever my parents drove to "the city" I got to go with them and visit the TWO music shops there. Rogers, Ludwig were the drum brands and Fender and Gibson and Gretsch were the guitar and bass brands.

There were VERY FEW families that would allow their kid to get an electric guitar or a set of drums, because, for the most part the family plan was for people to inherit the ranch and raise the next generation of kids with the girl next door.

In modern times, EVERYONE is a musician if they want to be...so it follows that there are seven kajillion different brands of everything available now to accommodate all the variety of players. There's just too much of everything for any of it to be anything, imho.

Because of the influx of foreign-manufacturing that provides most all of what is purchased here these last 3 decades or so, I really can't get excited about much of it. The originality of manufacturing is long gone. Everything is pretty predictable and has settled into a common, basic design.

If I had to venture a guess, I'd say that Peavey RadialPro and Arbiter might make a cameo appearance in the future -the way that Trixon does, nowadays. Other than a few creative designs that sadly failed in the marketplace....nothing stands out, really....Craviotto, maybe. It's just a marketer's game these days. It's all made in China and it's just a matter of who can dress it up with the best story....from what I can see.

I think that just as now,the instruments that will be collectable,will be dictated by the the musicians that used them,and the music that they made while doing so.Just the other day,I was watching a Zep vid on youtube,and quite a few of the commenters were very young(as in teens)drummers.There were a series of the expected "John Bonham is the greatest that ever lived" comments,but more than a few concerning the Ludwig thermogloss maples.Then a discussion of Bonzo's green sparkle classics,as well as the vistas,and the stainless kits.

I think rarity isn't the only factor to be considered.:2Cents:

Steve B

I think the configurations and artists, have a hudge factor. For instance I have collected a couple of the kits I really wanted when I was young. (80s and 90s)

And also look at it this way 10 years after production a 79 trams am would be no where as collectible as now. It takes acouple decades to recycle. As the generations shift certain people might be saying I would really like to get that tama I wanted when I was 18.

There all ready people lining up to buy specific kits and add ons from the nineties

I am betting that my Yamaha rock tour customs will catch a pretty penny 15 years from now.

I am going to chime in here and I appologize if this is a little long.

I agree with Mike and his high end shopping list of limited edition drums, the manufacturers have marketing 101 down to a science by creating supply and demand and the supply is deffinitely low on some of the drums he mentioned. I think that most of the drums he mentioned fall into the first of four catagories that I see for collectability (Rarity) and will fetch a very good return on the initial investment if they are cared for well and I also recognize that these drums were created as limited editions by the manufacturers with the intention of them being collectible pieces. The beauty of many of the drums mentioned as collectables in this thread are that they were never designed to be collectable and in many cases are only collectable because of their rarity which, in many cases is because they particular drum or color was not very desirable at the time they were originaly manufactured. The only problem with this catagory and dealing with new drums is that some of the high end drums, whether they are very limited productions or not is that some of them have very high retail price tags on them new and when it comes time to sell and recoupe your investment then you are dealing with a limited number of potential buyers because of the price range. As mentioned earlier in the thread too, if you try and sell too soon then there is the possibility that the drum will hit that dip where it isn't worth as much as you paid for it. I have seen more than one friend try and sell off a DW kit that is 10 to 15 years old and get hammered on the resale price because the kit was expensive to start with.

The second is also mentioned here which is the star appeal factor. Black diamond pearl and white marine pearl finishes and the configurations that some of those kits were offered in arguably owe their popularity to Ringo, Buddy, Gene etc. The kits and colors became more popular as the drummers did and is the reason that you can pay several thousand dollars for a 60's era Ludwig BDP set.

The third catagory is all about provenance and how much history you have on the drum(s). If you have a vintage Radio King snare it could fetch $1,000.00 or more depending on size, color, age etc. If you have the same drum and documentation to show that it was owned by Buddy or Gene then the price of the drum can sky rocket.

The fourth catagory I see, and I do see this a lot is the wild card called personal prefferance. I know a drummer that collects nothing but blue sparkle finished drums because he likes the color. He has blue sparkle kits and snares from Ludwig, Gretsch, Slingerland and other major manufacturers but also drums in this color from Kent and other lower end drums as well. The collectability isn't always in the monetary value of the drum and aren't always going to fetch huge dollars but are still things that people want. Drums with uniqueness also fall into this catagory. I have a no name Japanese snare drum that I bought because the snare throw off was different than any others I had ever seen. The drum wasn't expensive but sounds great and I picked it up for pocket change.

I don't see as much of a market for the non American drums at the drum shows that I have attended but I am sure that their markets will increase because they are very popular in the American market but only time will tell if they will be as popular as the vintage American drums have become. If you are looking at drums to purchase for future investment then ask yourself if it fits into any of the first three catagories. If you are not collecting foor monetary then personal prefferance dictates what is collectable and what it is worth is what you are willing to pay for it and what someone else is willing to sell it for. If it is something you want in your collection then that Mapex Saturn drum is now collectable but someone has to want it for any reason first.

Just my thoughts on it.

This is a pretty old thread, but I was thinking about it today. I'm starting to think Premier Signias, Sonor Hilite Exclusives, Nashville Slingys and Yamaha Club Customs may have cache in the future. Jenkins-Martins may well be very collectible as well, as mentioned earlier.

Great thread.

I want to add that I was thinking the very same thing about one of the points you made in your reply (Quoted below)

I have noticed a few Gretsch finishes that are sought after and relatively rare simply because the finish wasn't popular and not many sold. Two I can think of are Anniversary Sparkle (1958 - the 75th) and Sunset Satin Flame. I personally have been involved with the latter finish in that I bought a Sunset Satin Flame kit in 1969. I didn't have a choice of finishes and it was the only Gretsch kit in the store at the time. I always thought it was Pink Satin Flame - I liked it okay but I even got razzed a bit about it back then.....'hey you have a pink drum kit' that sort of thing. It would not bother me in the least today - I'm way past stuff like that. So I came full circle.....I'm one of those guys that want's to have the "rare kit that he sold way back when and wishes he could have it again now." Well.....I just bought a Sunset Satin Flame kit and I could not be happier.

I do have some very cool Vintage MIJ snare drums and one MIJ kit - I love them all and I'm playing my Red Sparkle Apollo snare drum tonight and I love it.

I think, the answer is anything that has a little bit of heart to it. In the last 3-4 years, we have seen a tremendous amount of 'grassroots' companies, making snares, kits, and more. Believe it or not, there was as time when people didn't know or care who Craviotto was...now they do, because of the effort and heart he has put into his company.

I think it de-values the product & brand when companies put out 'limited editions', and they try to create a modern collectible. Example, and I love Ludwig, but are you truly telling me that there is no other drum in the world, that sounds like the anniversary versions of the snare drums they did a few years ago? That may be a 'player vs. collector' debate (for another time).

Finally, I think it has to be a product that isn't too definitive of the time. Couple examples- I saw a Gretsch 100th Anniversary kit, either blue or green with 24k gold hardware, 6 or 7 piece kit. The 10" tom was 9" deep, the 12" tom was 11 or 12" deep. Did the drums sound good, probably! Did they look cool...eh... once all set up, I think to an average eye, they would just look ANOTHER 80s kit. Something collectible has to have the hip or coolness factor- any museum or private collection will attest to this. Last example- the over sized bass drums. 80s and 90s I think the 20" and 22" depths run wild! As cool as they might be, they aren't a universal drum size. Also, new guys are getting custom built kits, thinking that these large sizes will be awesome- any given time, I can usually find 3 kits on C-list from Shine, Truth, etc. that have massive depths, that the seller can't give away!

So, to sum up- classic, timeless sizes. Timeless, usable voicing. Drums made in a country you value, trust, and respect. Drums made with some heart.