Re cut bearing edges vs resale value

[jptrickster]

I’m curious what you all think about the overall resale value and desirability of a vintage kit with edges recut.
I know drummers can be fussy about originality , I can attest to that myself.

Let’s just say the edges were milled professionally to original specs, in most cases better than new by a pro shop such as Precision or Maxwells and the drums sound killer.

 

[D. B. Cooper]

I guess it depends on the drum for me. If I was buying a RB Gretsch or Slingy, there's something about the mojo that originality brings to the table. I don't know why.
A couple of other brands fall into that category for me as well.
I've had so few wooden Ludwig drums that sound good to me that they would fall into a "cafe racer" kind of category. Onwhich recut edges would impart a sort-of hotrod-ed quality. Which has it's own value.

I think a certain amount of mysterious nuance is lost when items are restored and for me, recutting edges has the same affect.

 

[Tanabata]

I'd be happy to buy drums with great edges, but I'm not a collector.

Play them to death, throw them in a dumpster when you retire.

 

[shuffle]

I ran across a 67 downbeat wmp w a supra,original owner,cased. Pristine
He mentioned he was terrible at tuning,i found bad edges, i bought the kit,called S.Maxwell and another Ludwig expert,both said dont alter the edges,so,i didnt,took it to a gig that night,they would not stay in tune,the 20 and the 12.
14 and supra were amazing,i sold them that night at the gig for 3x what i bought them for! Whew!
This was 20 yrs ago,i didnt do it under counsel but,now,I would do it and still sell for a chunk o change.
I can see both sides of that coin.

 

[CaptainCrunch]

If it's a true collector piece - Cadillac Green Gretsch, or a rare color bop kit, or Black Oyster Ludwigs, or whatever example you like, I'd leave it. Certain things are worth enough original that non-functional doesn't matter. The stuff that's almost too valuable to actually play. But most any other example, I'd rather have it work. Once you're talking things like bass drums that had the front bearing edge bouncing off a cinder block as the house kit in some dump, or the matching no-bottom-heads toms that rolled around in the back of some hippie van for a couple decades, "originality" is LONG gone. Fix what's broken.

Might hurt resale, but we're all gonna die sooner rather than later anyway so who cares?

 

[ARGuy]

There are players, and there are collectors, and re-cutting the edges of a drum will devalue it for a collector. It’s that simple. A collector doesn't buy a kit to gig with, so what it sounds like is really unimportant. If a player wants to gig with a vintage kit, then making it sound good by having the edges done the way they should have been done at the factory does make sense, but it will diminish the value to a collector. It might make it more desirable to a player looking for a vintage kit to play, and it might be worth doing if it's a really common configuration and finish that isn't highly valued by collectors.

 

[TheElectricCompany]

In my eyes it's no different than someone adding Pearl mounts to a vintage kit. If you re-cut edges it's a player's kit, no matter what. I trust my ability to tune and determine if a shell's edges are good. I don't trust someone else's ability to do the same, and I'm not paying anything other than player's price when you've modified a drum from its original state.

 

[rikkrebs]

With vintage drums even modifications that make the drum better and more playable can hurt the value. I like to play them so some mods are OK with me. However, I would expect the value to be less than a 100% original kit.

 

[blueshadow]

There are players, and there are collectors, and re-cutting the edges of a drum will devalue it for a collector. It’s that simple. A collector doesn't buy a kit to gig with, so what it sounds like is really unimportant. If a player wants to gig with a vintage kit, then making it sound good by having the edges done the way they should have been done at the factory does make sense, but it will diminish the value to a collector. It might make it more desirable to a player looking for a vintage kit to play, and it might be worth doing if it's a really common configuration and finish that isn't highly valued by collectors.

Perfect answer.

 

[jaymandude]

There are players, and there are collectors, and re-cutting the edges of a drum will devalue it for a collector. It’s that simple. A collector doesn't buy a kit to gig with, so what it sounds like is really unimportant. If a player wants to gig with a vintage kit, then making it sound good by having the edges done the way they should have been done at the factory does make sense, but it will diminish the value to a collector. It might make it more desirable to a player looking for a vintage kit to play, and it might be worth doing if it's a really common configuration and finish that isn't highly valued by collectors.

It is indeed the perfect answer. But it is missing the answer as to value. And recutting edges will diminish the value/lower the price every time IMHO. I've seen it, we've all seen it. And I've recut edges and lost $$. But the drums sounded great for the few years I played them.

 

[BennyK]

Original edge profiles can be re defined without altering them . The real problem is out of round shells and/or edges that are uneven from side to side .

Now that the great unwashed have a little knowledge, recut edges can be a thorn in the side of vintage drum salesmen .

 

[Trilock_Gurtu]

I play drums, not collect them and leave them set up in the corner of my man cave. So, first and foremost, I care about sound. If a vintage kit sounds great as is, leave it, but lots of old kits don't sound good, and if giving the edges some love by a pro helps, I'm ok with it.

 

[jptrickster]

I've posted this before/recently, fond of it cause its done really well , icing on the cake its a vintage Oyster black Ringo kit....one of the top money getters of vinatge Ludwigs lol. Somebody took sound over $

 

[Tanabata]

There's no violinist afraid that their 40 million dollar violin will be unwanted after it's worked on to make it sound and play better. They're just very careful to go to the right shop.

 

[wflkurt]

I can see the point why some people get this done but I myself would not do it unless I fully intended to keep the set forever. I like the electric company's answer as I would rather trust my own ears. If someone were to have it done, I would expect to pay a lower price for the set as I too see it as a mod done to original specs even if it was to improve the sound. I sold an absolutely beautiful 1968 Ludwig silver sparkle super classic to a well known drummer at one time and still kind of regret selling them. I thought they sounded and looked just great but I guess the drums were given a bearing edge re-cut after they left me. That kind of bummed me out as I wouldn't have seen the need.

 

[ARGuy]

There's no violinist afraid that their 40 million dollar violin will be unwanted after it's worked on to make it sound and play better. They're just very careful to go to the right shop.

They might be afraid, if their 40 million dollar violin would be worth 30 million after it was worked on.

 

[Tanabata]

They might be afraid, if their 40 million dollar violin would be worth 30 million after it was worked on.

Utterly worthless to them if they can't play it, actually.

 

[Fullerton 9/72]

Keep in mind that the resale value might affect your heirs, more than it does you.

Re-cut the edges (to factory specs) if you need to make them playable. Just remember, you're part of that drum's history too.

 

[jptrickster]

I get the Caddy Green Birdland kit reference , possibly a 25k kit you don’t want to alter, it’s serious history and mojo, the drum gods would frown upon theee. On the other hand a 70’s 3 pc Ludwig kit might sell for 12-1400 , edges get re cut your going to get half that. No big loss especially if you made some music with them.

 

[RIDDIM]

If I buy a drum, I'm going to play it. That means it has to sound great. If the edges need work - and too often they have, in my experience, so be it. Whoever buys my stuff will have superbly sounding instruments.