Vistalite Collections - Greg H

Greg wrote in from Cleveland, Ohio with information about two superb kits and a whole lot of bubbles....

"The Tivoli kit goes back to 1978 when I used to walk by a local music shop. It sat in the window with the lights on and I thought it was the greatest. I was only 11 ot 12 years old at the time so I knew that I could never afford to purchase the kit. Years went by and the Tivoli was gone from the store - I didn't think much more about it until the late 1980's when I would visit local drum shops and talk with people about the kit. Some people told me that there was a music store east of where we lived that had a Tivoli. I tried finding the store but couldn't locate it. In 2000, a friend and I were talking drums when I brought up the Tivoli. He lived east of me and said he knew a store where they had one in the window. As it turned out, the music shop that I used to walk by in 1978 with the Tivoli opened another store east of me and had set the drums up in their front window for 20 years! The kit was hardly ever played and was in mint condition. I eventually talked the shop owner into selling the drums to me. Since the lights were on for most of those 20 years, many had burned out. I contacted a local electrical supplier who helped me custom order new lights (same type and size as original) from the Tivoli lighting company. The power supply worked fine and is still going strong. The kit is a standard Big Beat (12", 13", 16" toms, 14" snare, and 22" kick) though I usually leave the 13" tom off when I'm playing. I have only played the kit out in clubs three times. It is now retired from gigs though I still play it at home."

"The amber kit was pieced together through ebay. The 13" tom and 16" floor tom were part of the same kit from South Carolina and the virgin 22" kick was purchased from a gentleman in Texas. They were all manufactured in 1974. I use a 96' Ludwig Supraphonic snare with this kit. All of the amber drums were scratched and scuffed on the outside and inside. With the use of Novus polish, I was able to work most of the damage out. I added new Ludwig rims and tension rods, installed new heads, and the kit has become my favorite to play. As with the Tivoli kit, I use double braced, Ludwig Modular hardware from a 1988 Ludwig Classic that I own."