Old Drummer
Very well Known Member
- Joined
- Jan 14, 2019
- Messages
- 711
- Reaction score
- 602
Back in the 60s when I was starting out, I don't remember any of the drummers in my small orbit having cases for their drums. Even my teacher, a weekend warrior, didn't have cases. We all just hauled our drums au naturel, and I don't remember anyone having a drum damaged in transit. Car backseats are padded, after all.
As fate had it, I soon chanced across a set of used cases cheap and bought them. They were really lousy cases, just cloth coverings, a few with holes in them and one with a broken zipper. But for the price I figured they were worth it. I proceeded to use those cases for many years and never had a damaged drum, but I have no idea whether or not the cases helped.
Now I once again don't have cases--and don't think I need them. It's not as if I'm hauling my drums anywhere, and I only paid $530 for my drums to begin with. Who cares if one gets damaged? I also have a sneaking suspicion that you don't get your money out of cases on resale. If cases are thrown into a sale, great, but I doubt that buyers pay much more for drums with cases than they pay for drums without them. And selling cases separately is surely tough, since everybody's size requirements are different and nobody wants to pay a lot.
Today though I saw an ad from a local seller offering a set of 5 cases exactly the sizes of my drums for $150 total. The cases don't look bad. There aren't any holes, the zippers all work, and they're even padded. Also, because I don't live in the US or another big market country, buying cases from sites like Amazon, Reverb, and Sweetwater is very expensive as a result of international shipping charges and import taxes. $150 looks cheap for a set of cases.
If I even want cases. Do any of you go without cases? My sense is that nowadays almost everyone has cases for their drums, but I'm not sure they're necessary. Are they? Or are they an unnecessary add-on sale that we've been duped into buying?
As fate had it, I soon chanced across a set of used cases cheap and bought them. They were really lousy cases, just cloth coverings, a few with holes in them and one with a broken zipper. But for the price I figured they were worth it. I proceeded to use those cases for many years and never had a damaged drum, but I have no idea whether or not the cases helped.
Now I once again don't have cases--and don't think I need them. It's not as if I'm hauling my drums anywhere, and I only paid $530 for my drums to begin with. Who cares if one gets damaged? I also have a sneaking suspicion that you don't get your money out of cases on resale. If cases are thrown into a sale, great, but I doubt that buyers pay much more for drums with cases than they pay for drums without them. And selling cases separately is surely tough, since everybody's size requirements are different and nobody wants to pay a lot.
Today though I saw an ad from a local seller offering a set of 5 cases exactly the sizes of my drums for $150 total. The cases don't look bad. There aren't any holes, the zippers all work, and they're even padded. Also, because I don't live in the US or another big market country, buying cases from sites like Amazon, Reverb, and Sweetwater is very expensive as a result of international shipping charges and import taxes. $150 looks cheap for a set of cases.
If I even want cases. Do any of you go without cases? My sense is that nowadays almost everyone has cases for their drums, but I'm not sure they're necessary. Are they? Or are they an unnecessary add-on sale that we've been duped into buying?