Ned Ingberman founded Vintage Drum Center and has bought thousands of vintage drums, almost all of them sight unseen by phone, email or online, then shipped to his shop. In a 2016 piece for Modern Drummer he made a point that applies to every eBay listing. Two drums that look the same in photos can be very different drums, because re-cut bearing edges, extra holes and repainted interiors don't always show in pictures. You have to read the text and ask. Here are the listing tells we look for, and the questions that clear them up.
Vague titles and borrowed photos
Titles like "vintage Ludwig style kit" or "old drum set, 60s?" usually mean the seller doesn't know what they have. That can be a bargain or a trap. Read every word for what's missing. A seller who knows the drums will name the model, give the sizes and read the badge for you.
Be wary when the photos look like catalog shots or the background changes from picture to picture. Ask for new photos of the actual drums, with the badge, the inside of each shell and the bearing edges. If you're searching, try several phrasings too. Ingberman suggests running a few versions of the same search, including collector shorthand like "WMP" for white marine pearl, because sellers describe the same drum in different words.
A re-wrap sold as original
Vintage Drum Center's inspection guide lists the signs of a wrap that isn't original. Look for plastic that's cut or sized sloppily, edges that aren't burnished, glue at the seam or edges that's still tacky, and signs the badge was taken off and put back. Watch for holes you can only see from inside, a finish that looks much newer than the rest of the drum, and bumps or dips where bits of the outer ply broke off when the old finish came off. On a lacquer refinish, look for graininess, uneven color, streaks and lumps.
Ask for a close-up of the wrap seam and photos inside each shell around the badge and lugs. A re-wrap is fine on a player kit like a later Super Classic, as long as it's priced as one. When a re-wrap is listed as original, fold the difference into your offer or move on.
Extra holes and hidden repairs
Count the holes you can see inside each shell, then count the hardware outside. Old tom mounts, cymbal holders and moved lugs all leave holes, and on a bass drum they cluster around the top. Vintage Drum Center adds two tells. Washers bigger than normal inside a shell can be covering widened or extra holes. Interior bolts and washers with paint on them mean the inside of the shell was repainted. Ask the seller for a photo straight into each drum with a light inside.
Bearing edges deserve their own question. Ask whether they've been re-cut and ask for close photos of each edge. Our bearing edges guide covers what you can judge from photos.
Badges that moved
A badge is easy to move, so treat it as one clue among several. Vintage Drum Center notes that a badge that's been off and back on usually shows on the inside, with a chewed-up, nicked or bent edge on the grommet or the shell around it. Ask for a photo of each grommet from inside.
Even factory badges don't date a drum exactly. Vintage Drum Guide points out that makers kept loose records, old boxes of badges turned up and got used, and new serial-number badges were sometimes put over older ones. Gretsch says two factory fires destroyed its serial records, so it can't give production years from serial numbers. Vintage Drum Guide dates a Gretsch by the inside instead, by whether the sealer is natural or silver, how many plies the shell has, and whether paper tags are there. That's why a round badge bop kit should come with interior photos. Our badges and date stamps guide goes maker by maker.
Married kits sold as matched
A married kit is put together from drums that didn't leave the factory together. That's fine if it's priced as one. Vintage Drum Center's kit checks are simple, and you can ask for each one in photos.
- Color. Line the drums up in daylight. The finish should be close to the same shade on every drum, allowing for some fading.
- Interiors. The inside finish should be the same color on every shell, not a mix of white, clear and gray.
- Serials. Serial numbers on a matched set should fall within a reasonable range of each other.
- Add-ons. Ask outright whether any drum was added later. Extra toms are the usual ones.
On a Rogers kit like the Holiday, ask for the badge on every drum and check the logos match an era.
Swapped and missing hardware
Strainers, mounts and spurs get swapped, and the swap often leaves a trace. Vintage Drum Reference photographs the hole spacing of dozens of strainers, and they differ, so a replacement usually means filled or extra holes. Check the part against the era too. On a 1960s Supraphonic, for example, Vintage Drum Guide's hardware notes say the P83 strainer was used from 1955 to 1969.
Some parts go missing because owners took them out. Vintage Drum Guide notes that frustrated owners sometimes pull the snare frame from a Rogers Dyna-Sonic, so always ask to see it. When a listing shows only the outside of a drum, ask what's missing. Then fold the cost of finding the part into your offer, or pass if it's the part that makes the drum what it is.
How to ask the seller
Ingberman's advice is to talk to the seller first if you can and to notice whether you get direct answers or evasive ones. He also suggests asking the seller to work through a written inspection before you buy, since a slipping strainer knob or bad overtones never show in a photo. These questions cover most of it.
- Is the wrap or finish original, and has anything been re-cut, refinished or repainted inside?
- How many holes are in each shell, and do they all have hardware in them?
- Can you photograph the inside of each shell with a light in it, including the badge grommet?
- What are the serial numbers on each badge, and are there any date stamps inside?
- Does the strainer hold tension and fully release? Could you send a short video?
- Were any drums or parts added later, and is anything missing?
Check the seller's feedback and return policy, and pay through eBay checkout. eBay's Money Back Guarantee covers an item that doesn't match its listing, but not a purchase paid for outside eBay. Then browse the drums we track, or read our first vintage kit guide if you're just starting.
