Welcome to the eBay home of Stardog Customs, the home of “Art You Can Play.”™

With your winning bid or Buy it Now purchase, not only will your instrument have a finish like no other in the world, a portion of your purchase will help fund a project we started called Kids Rock! – a non-profit effort to provide free guitars, drums and keyboards to underprivileged kids that want to learn to play music but do not have the money to buy an instrument.

Here are the details of this beautiful custom-finished Van Gogh drum kit:

Scroll down in this listing to see the photos... The brand is Ludwig, and this is a new Accent kit in a 5-ply birch construction. Sizes on the drums are 22x16 on the bass, 16x16 on the floor tom, and the toms are 11x13 and 10x12 inches. The Van Gogh images that adorn this drum kit came from a pair of high quality new retail art books printed on super high quality paper. The finish on the drum is the highest quality lacquer that I applied in a dust-free, climate controlled spray booth. The kit is new and unplayed. The original finish was a black wrap, which was removed by me as I prepared the kit for a different finish. I ended up buying a different kit for myself, so I was inspired to do this one in a Van Gogh theme to honor one of the most amazing artists in history. My photos do not do the quality of this kit justice - you will LOVE playing this set and showing it off.

The finish itself has been waxed and buffed, and the lacquer thickness is nearly two-dozen coats thick. When you receive this drum kit, you will notice that you can feel some texture on the image edges – that is totally normal and adds to the unique handmade coolness of this drum. I wouldn’t like it as much if the whole surface were as smooth as glass, and to get it there would have added probably another $150 to the drum kit cost because the number of coats and sanding in-between coats would have resulted in nearly four dozen layers of lacquer. Once you run your hands over this beauty, you’ll agree that the feel adds character to this truly one-of-a-kind drum finish. Before I forget, I recommend purchasing at least a padded set of gig bags to carry this set around if you are a working musician. I will gladly repair any scratches or damage you may incur on this drum for an appropriate fee, but to avoid damaging the finish, please invest a few dollars in a case if you tend to carry your drum kit around a lot. Please note - if you plan to put your own brand of heads on this kit, I will keep the stock Ludwigs and it will save a little bit on shipping. Also, when the drums arrive and before you put heads on it and tune it up, you will notice that not every image goes right up to the edge of the drum... I don't always take images to the edge of the drum for a couple of reasons - it saves time, and I don't have to obsess over making images fit all the way to the edge. The only time you'll ever see that is when you're putting on new drum heads. If you'd like a snare to go with this kit, click on my other auction listings to see the Van Gogh snare. This kit comes with only the drums shown, and no pedals, cymbals or hardware other than rims, lugs, lug screws, mounts, arms and bass legs.

So, why should you choose Stardog Customs?

Other custom instrument builders and finishing companies charge thousands for hand painted work, and their prices and limited design options will leave you penniless and frustrated. Our exclusive “Art You Can Play” instruments will dazzle your eyes and delight your pocketbooks – you won’t pay exorbitant prices here. We like to call our work “Pro finishes at garage band prices.”

Once you see how amazing and unique our results are, you’ll never go back to off-the-rack instrument finishes. Our design options are truly unlimited… if you can find it in books, posters, art prints, calendars or magazines (virtually any kind of print/paper medium), we can take your ideas and our expertise and craft a truly one-of-a-kind instrument for you that you will love so much, you’ll never trade it or sell it. No matter what kind of music you play, you’ve longed for a drum or guitar finish that would stand out from the rest and reflect your personality like no other instruments in the world… we are the one’s to turn your dream finish into reality.

 

The story of Stardog Customs and the Van Gogh drum kit

As a musician, have you ever had an amazing new song running through your mind – a creation so personal and exciting that it kept you up at night? Well, the beautiful snare drum you see here is the source of my creative insomnia. Before I share the details of this drum, you should know a little more about me to fully appreciate how I created this custom drum finish…

On January 1st of this year, I walked away from the world of music journalism after 18 years. In that time, I interviewed some of the biggest names in music including Peter Frampton, Merle Haggard, Foo Fighters and Zakk Wylde. Writing was my calling in life, and it seems that something else began to call out to me. I needed a break from writing, but wanted to stay in a field that would let me be creative while still working with musicians. Those requirements made me look back to my teenage years…

Ever since I was in junior high school, I have decorated my walls, skateboards and book covers with collages of band images, hearts, skulls, peace signs and cartoon characters. One night years later in 2003 while enduring mind-numbing boredom in a Denver blizzard, I even collaged my microwave (which is now known as “My Punk Rock Microwave”). Now, as a grown man of 36 and a part-time drummer, I’ve looked for years for a drum finish that reflected my personality – I searched the world over for something unique – my perfect drum kit. And then it came to me…

Why not combine my artistic eye for collage design with my love of music instruments? It turned out that the desire to combine those two was easier said than done, like many things in life. Because the finish had to be of a high enough quality that would be durable, long lasting and look good under stage lights, I couldn’t just slap some glue on paper images and slather the drums in some cheap clear coat gloss. After many months of research and lots of trial and error (ok – many, many errors), I perfected a type of high-quality collaged instrument finish I have dubbed “Art You Can Play.”

Yeah, I know – basically what I’ve done is known as decoupage, but this ain’t your Grandma’s decoupage. My exclusive techniques have yielded quality unavailable in typical paper collage or decoupage-type finishes. The very first adhesive and clear coat I tried was the old stand-by known as Mod Podge. But as I quickly found out, that stuff doesn’t exactly work very well with drums or guitars – the water-base in Mod Podge caused the paper images to wrinkle and bubble. It might work well on little trinket boxes or cheesy looking Folk Art plaques, but there was no way it was going to look good and be strong enough for drummers and guitarists. So, I moved on to other products, methods and ideas. Months later, I finally discovered the right combination of adhesives and clear coat and perfected the methods for each product application. 

While we cannot divulge the specific methods and products we use to craft these amazing finishes, rest assured that you will be proud to play your Stardog Customs instrument and to show it off – be prepared to have admirers asking for a closer look.

 

And now for the photos... I have about 18 listed here. Please wait for all the photos to load - they are all about 10" wide at 72 DPI.

 

With your purchase, I will include a free pair of Aquarian brand size 5B Powersleeve Hickory drumsticks. I will ship internationally - Email for a shipping quote. Shipping in the U.S. will be with UPS for $60 with delivery confirmation and insurance for the purchase price.

For more information on our custom drum and guitar finishes, check us out at www.myspace.com/stardogcustoms. I will have a Fender Strat guitar with a tattoo theme here on eBay soon as well as a tattoo-themed drum kit. Be sure to add us as a friend and to refer us to other musicians. If you have any questions about this drum or the tattoo Strat, or to inquire about your dream finish, give me a call at (832) 934-2637. Leave a message and I will call you right back. I also a finishing service for your existing drums, bass or electric guitars.