Selling regrets

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bobsyouruncle

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What have you sold that you wish you still had ? And I don't mean for monetary reasons, in the sense that most things have gotten more valuable. What do you wish you had back that you would play or you would appreciate more.

I've bought and sold a lot of stuff, some really really great kits, cymbals, and snares. But there's not much I want back. Only two things.

20-12-14 Oaklawn Blue Satin Flame Camco I sold to Joe Luoma, probably in the late 90s

18" Canadian K crash I sold to JR Richley, also in the 90s. I just didn't know how to play 18 crashes back. then, I wanted paper thin. Now I know :)
 
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I bought an old (50's) Zildjian ride that was 20" or 22" for $40 - killer deal. It was thin and washy and terrible - likely just a jazz ride. I sold it for $80.00. Of course, I did not play jazz back then and now SO wish I kept it!
 
Never really sold anything to before...to date it's been all collecting.
I've been too late to the party on some aquisitions, others I just didn't have the dough.
However, I've got an Oaklawn 20/12/14 Aristocrat Blue Moire and its a keeper. Just looking for a matching snare now.
I also recently obtained an 18" Canadian K (medium weight) and it turns heads.
The day is coming in a year or two, that I will need to start down-sizing.
 
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The first snare drum I ever owned was a mid-60s Ludwig Pioneer in blue duco, which I got along with my first drumset which was bought highly used and probably overpriced at $200. It had been dropped on its side and there was a badly patched hole where it had landed on the snare strainer and broken through all three plies. A previous owner had tried to fix it by moving the strainer and butt plate over to the next space between lugs, which of course wasn't over the snare beds - and didn't even manage to drill the holes straight vertical to the shell. So this thing was pretty janky sounding. My stepdad and I cleaned up the hole and repatched it, and then redrilled the holes in the correct place. That snare became my ride-or-die for the next twenty years, until I had to sell pretty much everything I owned to keep my head above water in a bad turn of events. I regretted selling that snare ever since, not because it was some amazing snare, but because it was my first.

But at least with this story, there's a happy ending. Last spring, after getting debt free, I told my wife that replacing it was high on my priority list, and she agreed. I wasn't optimistic, because in the intervening years Pioneers in good condition had gone way up in price. But within a week, I found an amazing deal on a very well-preserved Pioneer in the same finish and pulled the trigger. It made its live debut playing at a 50th high school reunion behind my not-much-younger Standards.
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My biggest regret is selling (or really, abandoning) my very first kit. My grandparents bought it for me when I was about 11, because I had stuck with lessons and earned the drum captain's position at school. It was a used four-piece in marine pearl. It was a brand I'd never heard of.

But me, being a dumb kid, longed for a bunch of concert toms and a brand I recognized, like Ludwig. So I eventually saved enough to buy a set of (gag) CB700 concert toms. Not Ludwigs, but at least I was finally surrounded by concert toms, lol.

The 4 piece eventually was left in my parents' basement and was sold off.

What was this "unknown" brand, you ask?

A lovely set of Marine Pearl 60's era Rogers drums. Doh!! I don't even have a photo of that set any more, sadly.

Dumb kids. SMH
 
bobsyouruncle said:
What have you sold that you wish you still had ? And I don't mean for monetary reasons, in the sense that most things have gotten more valuable. What do you wish you had back that you would play or you would appreciate more.

I've bought and sold a lot of stuff, some really really great kits, cymbals, and snares. But there's not much I want back. Only two things.

20-12-14 Oaklawn Blue Satin Flame Camco I sold to Joe Louma, probably in the late 90s

18" Canadian K crash I sold to JR Richley, also in the 90s. I just didn't know how to play 18 crashes back. then, I wanted paper thin. Now I know :)
Click to expand...
Mid 90's Ludwig Black Beauty Piccolo.
 
60's Supraphonic 400 that looked like it just came off the showroom floor. Sold it back in the 80's for fifty bucks.
 
I always say my biggest regret is in what I did NOT buy, not in what I sold. The only sold item I regret is a set of Sabian 15" Vanguard hats that was a Memphis Drum Shop exclusive. What a dufus!
 
I don't have many but two that come to mind are my Ludwig 68,Clear interior, GB in Black Cortex!! That's probably the biggest mistake of my younger days.

And the other one I think of from time to time is a Gretsch 14 x 20 bass that was just special. Even with a vent in the front it still could sound double headed.
 
A Brady 12 x 7 Sheoak block shell snare is my main regret.
Another was a local custom 14 x 8 Mahogany block shell snare that I miss.
Finally an 18" Paiste flat ride many years ago that I can still hear in my head.
 
Being in the process of moving house at the moment, I regret that I haven't sold more! Now I have to pack it all up...

I did donate my first kit just last week, later 80s Pearl Export power 12-13-16-22, to a local youth center. That felt good, hope it gets used. Indestructible, but I won't miss it for sound, it was just a bit sad to part with a part of my youth.
 
I've regretted selling almost all of my kits at one time or another - usually I get over it.... except for a 70's Ludwig butcher block kit.
IIRC it was a 12/13/16/22 and remember having problems keeping it in tune, but I didn't know anything about drum tuning or drum maintenance. {sigh}

I also wish I still had my first drum kit.... an early 70's stencil kit that was branded "Atlas" and said mfd by pearl drum co all over the place. It was a 12/13/16/20 with a black diamond pearl wrap. They occasionally show up on Craig's list.... been tempted....
 
There are things that I might miss, but as a whole, it feels good to move things on that don't get used. Not just music gear, but household items, etc. We've cleaned out the basement and realized that we needed something. But, if the cost of a clean basement is having to buy a new blender, then I'll take it.
The other thing that I consider is, if I didn't sell X, I wouldn't have Y. And I love Y.
 
Ludwig bop set in Burnt Natural finish.

Missed it enough that I got another, (but in a different finish).
 
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