What is the most expensive drum kit ever sold?
In 2000, George Michael outbid Robbie Williams for the Steinway piano where John Lennon wrote ‘Imagine’, taking it home for a whopping $1.75million.
Some 15 years later, another of The Beatles’ memorabilia would take the auction stage, and go home with Jim Irsay of the Indianapolis Colts for $2.1m instead – and that’s the Ludwig Oyster drum kit that Ringo Starr played more than 200 performances on since it became his in 1963.
Although that’s the largest known transaction to have taken place for a drum kit, the commercial market for kits isn’t much less expensive when it comes to what’s the best in the shop. OK, maybe minus a zero from Starr’s numbers, but the most expensive drum kit available to buy today is much more expensive than it needs to be, although maple tree traders might disagree.
So, drumroll please – Pearl’s custom drum Masterworks Stadium Exotic goes for a bonkers $20,091, or £15,230. The 100% maple shells have dual kick drums and six toms – drummers might know what that means – and with five models to choose from, its fit and tone are tailored to the drummer whose budget fits the spec. The handcrafted-to-order shaping means that the instrument is versatile to whichever task it’s put to, and can flexibly bend into any genre its owner has mastered, from jazz to rock.
One reviewer did care to inform the buyer that the hefty price didn’t include any stands or cymbals, but still gave his ambitious purchase five stars. The drumming blog The Drum Ninja gave it a 9.5 out of ten, since it’s “designed to provide a perfect balance of warmth, depth, and attack, making them equally suitable for studio recordings and live performances”.
Quality aside, that’s a pretty penny compared to the average price for a drum set. In the UK, that ranges from £200 for beginners to £700-£1,400 for intermediate kits, which is still a far way off from what Pearl is asking. The cost difference depends on shell quality, whether it’s custom-built, and its hardware. According to reviews, however, flexing credits drum into the mix as well.
The drum kit of dreams may be worth every penny to someone out there, but one thing is certain: Starr’s definitely was. Part of the proceeds from the sale of his kit went to the Lotus Foundation, a charity supporting initiatives from social welfare to animal rescue initiatives, founded by Starr and his wife, Barbara Bach.
Like all Beatles fans willing to pay a significant fraction of their net worth to own a kit on which ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’ was played, the American football team owner tried to buy the Liverpool boys into a reunion. Six years after buying the kit, he succeeded in owning a piece of each of the Fab Four: Irsay’s winning bid for Paul McCartney’s bass guitar was at $471,900, setting a new record for the highest price paid for a bass guitar on auction.
His living room was already the host of John Lennon’s old Gretsch guitar, purchased for $530,000 in 2015, and a Gibson SG guitar once in Harrison’s collection, which he took home back in 2004 for $567,000. Turns out money can buy you love.
