UPDATE: Both sets have been relisted, with a significant price drop on the Sonors. Don’t make me call these guys and beg them to ship the drums to Portland, and incur some debt I don’t really need right now.
I hope I’m not ruining somebody else’s bargain by pointing these out, but a couple of really great drum sets turned up on eBay just in the past couple of days, and I would rather my readers got them, than some other non-CSD!-reading, undeserving, rabble…
Sonor Phonic Centennial 10/12/13/14/20starting bid $1700, BIN $2500
RELISTED: starting bid $1500, BIN $2000
After playing and recording with some Sonor Phonics in Belgium in 2012, I had being driving myself crazy trying to get a set, and finally found some last year. These are the ones with the fat, 9-ply beech shells. Not many Phonics turn up in usable sizes, like these; you can get them in rock & roll sizes for under $1000, but non-power tom sets with 18 or 20″ bass drums tend to be up in the high teen-hundreds or low 2000s. It’s not an insane value, but not absolutely ridiculous, either. They are special instruments, though, and, to me, worth the money. I think I paid $1800 for my 12/14/18 bop set, and will probably be spending another $500 to add 10 and 13″ toms, if I ever find them, so I think you’re getting a pretty darned good deal here. Fortunately the auction doesn’t include that goofy snare drum.
Eames 10/12/14/18 $900-1200, depending on options
RELISTED: $1200 OBO
I would totally be buying these if I had not just gotten my Phonics. These are right in the sweet spot for quality / size / price / not having anything goofy about them. The toms are a little deeper than standard, but that’s cool— it’s not some ridiculous-looking power tom set. But this is the type of deal I hold out for when buying new drums; I basically would never pay more than this… except to get my Sonors. The Eames company, custom drum shell manufacturers, have been overshadowed somewhat by Keller with the drum-building crowd, but they’re great drums. I just picked up a Craviotto-built (in the 80s) snare drum with a thin Eames shell, and I love the thing. The seller is offering some purchase options— I would be getting these with the snare drum, and without the die-cast hoops (assuming they provide standard hoops instead).
Both sellers are in the US Northeast, and say they’ll do pickup only, but maybe you can cajole them into doing something for you. Whatever you do, resolve that before you buy…