Sweet set in one of my favorite wraps (I have two Gretsch sets in tangerine) but way out of my price range. Given enough time someone probably will cough up the required dough, those RB 18's are relatively rare and in high demand, and high demand plus low supply equals big money. Add two inches to the diameter of the bass drum though and the price for a kit drops about 80%.

I'd bet even more on this kind of thing - people can forgive Rogers hardware on an 18" but I bet they'd be way less forgiving of any nits that could be picked on a 20". There was a really groovy yellow satin flame 12/14/20 RB a couple months ago with a BIN of $1200 (I coveted it because I have the 16" to match) that sat for 3-4 days before somebody shrugged and hit the button.

Exact same kit with an 18" and a $7500 BIN would have been gone in minutes.

It's weird.

It makes me wonder - does that mean the 18" bass is worth $6k on it's own? Does that mean the bare shell is worth $5750 on it's own?

Hard to suss it out once you start breaking it down, but I'm happy for anybody sitting on a pile of 18" Gretsch kits!

Thanks for clearing that up. I do seem to recall it now.

-Mark

That kit is really very cool with the Rogers hardware. Too bad they didn't do that on the floor tom legs and spurs as well. I really like the universal approach to the layout of the mounts, where that kit can be used by either a righty or a lefty.

But the price thing is stunning. For that kind of money, I got two fairly cool drum sets, three snare drums, two of which are Dynasonics and a spare car too. And, I still had $$ left over to go out to dinner a few times. D' Drummer Car Driving2

Well put!Yes Sir

I just can't get over it! Of all the US vintage stuff, Gretsch's chrome is THE worst. Almost always pitted!

Surely I'm not the buyer, but if you paid over $10k for a drum kit like that, you either just won the Powerball, or you need your head examined!Coffee Break2

I'll happily talk smack about all the things about Gretsch that stink (which are mostly hardware-related), and that's as someone who has 40-some of their drums in my house. But there is an ineffable sonic magic there.

Guys who sell these vintage "bop" sets have stated that the buyers are typically pro jazz players who are able to justify spending that much money in order to have the proper tools for their job (like a professional violinist might buy a Strad). I don't doubt that this is true although I'd expect that anyone at that level would likely be able to wrangle an endorsement deal of some sort, which would require them to use new drums of whatever brand, or if they aren't at that level wouldn't have the money for a set like this (starving musician). But I suppose there are guys with that sort of money to spend. If I were much better off to the point where spending 10 grand wasn't a big deal I'd consider it. I have a lot of drums so I'm sure I've spent many times that amount although spread out through many years, but I'd have a very hard time spending that much in one lump sum.

well yes of course endorsements are commonplace for pro players, but in the studio the old drums come out to play.

But what do you really think top flight pro Jazz drummers playing with big names really get? Probably not as much as you may think.

Somehow I believe the top players have they're vintage drums but probably of player condition because the sound is essential over it being shiny etc.

I reckon the 12K plus kits land up with rich businessmen/woman who have an interest in drumming. Not saying its impossible though.

Yeah, Gretsch bop kits end up with the same people who buy (or maybe they're priced out of their reach now, too) late 50's Les Pauls or a full set of accurate Beatles gear in their man-cave. It's a sensible place to park some of your diversified investment portfolio, and it's more stable and fun to have around than gold bars. One of these will sell for $25k in the next 5 years, or I'll eat my shoe.

Maybe they were into music before they took over the hedge fund, maybe they own it and never even see it.

There are a few lucky guys here who have these and may have gotten them for a working-man price, but the next owner probably ain't gonna be some starry-eyed aspiring kid with a lotta moxie and a wicked press roll.

But nobody is schlepping a RB bop kit on the subway going to a hip jazz gig at a little dive in the East Village. That world is gone.

There was a black nitron RB bop kit listed on the Chicago Craigslist about a year ago for $1200. Didn't last long. I was certainly late to that party. Actually I'm pretty sure that the same people who are selling this tangerine set snagged that set as well.

These sets are most likely to pop up in major urban areas which were big enough to support a "jazz scene" in the 60's. Those areas will typically now have folks who make their living buying and selling vintage drums (and other instruments) and can justify spending hours trolling Craigslist and ebay for things like this. Hard to compete with that. If only time travel were possible, I'm pretty sure that 20-25 years ago these sets were probably tough to sell and bargains could be had by anyone who did want such a set. Of course if you could do that you could also just go back to the 60's order a bunch new and then warehouse them somewhere.