Vintage Simmons Drums (UK) Users Group

Hi there Ken
 
You wouldn't by chance have bought this of the guy in Bondi?  I saw 
a red SDS9 on ebay that I really wanted but he was only offering 
local pick-up, I told him I'd pay $400 straight away and would get a 
Sydney friend to pick them up but he wanted to take his chances with 
the auction......he ended up getting only $307!
 
I just bought a white SDS 1000 (Which still has the SDS9 pads), 
without exaggerating it looks brand new and I'm now even too scared 
to play it!  I also have a red SDS9 on the way from the US and I was 
looking at pictures of it from ebay, I can see the faded blue-grey 
thing you're talking about, not sure what it is but my first thought 
was to try some Armour-all type stuff that you use for dashboards in 
cars, might just work.
 
As far as the Simmons hardware, it's really just cheap Jap stuff 
with the Simmons logo on it, I too have some Simmons Hardware 
including one of thier rack/frames and the quality is just terrible, 
I use Pearl stands for all my pads live with both 80s Enuff and 
Pseudo Echo, much better.
 
I play in an 80s coverband here in Melb called 80s Enuff plus I have 
also been playing on and off with Pseudo Echo for the past 7 years 
so between the two bands I need all the Simmons pads I can get!
 
Cheers mate,
 
Matt.
www.80senuff.com


--- In Simmons_Drums@yahoogroups.com, "ken_evans_99" <tycho33@...> 
wrote:
>
> Hi,
>  I'm a new member in Australia. I bought myself a fairly beaten up 
> red SDS9 kit recently, just the pads, stands and leads, not the 
> brain. I'm hoping to marry the kit up with an SDS-8 brain sometime.
> 
> I was hoping for some info on how best to set about restoring this 
> lovely kit.....
> 
> The pad playing surfaces are in excellent condition, but the edges 
of 
> the pads have faded a bit to a dark blue-ish colour.
> 
> The shells have some scratches and scuffing.
> 
> I'll have to re-chrome the kick legs (that's the easy bit).
> 
> One of the locking nuts on the kick is missing, I think it's 
broken 
> off inside, and the screws on the edges of the pad are rusty.
> 
> The stands are original Simmons stands, black. There is some rust, 
> especially on the rivets and the cylinder shaped locking nuts and 
> levers. One stand has a broken clamp (ie the clamp that slides up 
and 
> down the lower part of the stand that holds the legs in position 
when 
> the legs are spread out).
> 
> A couple of the little slip on collar clamps that snug into the 
sides 
> of the pads to help stop them rotating around the stand arm are 
> either broken or missing.
> 
> Any suggestions and restoration tips etc would be hugely 
appreciated. 
> I want to restore this beautiful kit as best I can without 
damaging 
> it further!
> 
> Cheers,
> Ken.
>