Neil Peart's Tama Artstar Prototype - History after Rush
After Neil Peart used this kit from 1982 - 1985 (Signals, Grace Under Pressure, and Power Windows), he gave it away as part of a Modern Drummer contest in 1987. Since then, there have been five owners of this kit.
First owner: Jack Hess of Indiana won it as part of a Modern Drummer Neil Peart drumset giveaway in 1987 and stored it in his basement until August 1999. He sold it on eBay for $26,100.
Letter from Neil Peart to Jack Hess dated July 17, 1987 (click for larger view, although this is a low-res copy):
Second owner: Scott Jemm of Arizona, who displayed them until 2002. He sold them on eBay for $14,621.12.
Third owner: Ian Coley (UK). Robert Telleria helped restore the drums, which cost $20,000. Here's a sidebar that accompanied the Drum! magazine article, "Mean Mean Stride: The drums of Neil Peart".
Fourth owner: Robert Telleria, author of Rush: Merely Players.
Fifth owner: Bob, who bought these in a Julien's auction. See the Facebook page about this kit. Here are some pictures that Bob shared:
Julien's auction photos
