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David Frangioni, Collector: Netflix’s King of Collectibles and the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame Collection

I have been collecting all my life, and today I am the curator of one of the most significant collections of historic drum kits and drum memorabilia in the world. That collection, housed at the Frangioni Foundation’s Modern Drummer Hall of Fame Museum, brought me onto Netflix’s King of Collectibles: The Goldin Touch in Season 2, Episode 7, and it is the source of the iconic pieces going to auction on November 6 and 7, 2026.

David Frangioni with Danny Seraphine inside the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame drum collection
With Chicago’s Danny Seraphine inside the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame collection.

Upcoming Auction: November 6 and 7, 2026

A new group of iconic pieces from my collection goes to auction on November 6 and 7, 2026. Each lot comes with its story: who played it, where it was played and how it reached the collection. The featured lots and their bidding links are posted here as the catalog goes live, and I will keep this page updated through the close of the auction.

If you want first word on the lots, join The Signal Chain or follow along on my YouTube channel.

On Netflix: King of Collectibles, The Goldin Touch

King of Collectibles: The Goldin Touch follows Ken Goldin and his team at Goldin, the collectibles marketplace, as they source and sell rare pieces from sports and pop culture. Season 2 premiered on Netflix on June 12, 2024. Goldin asked me to consign pieces from the collection and appear on the show, and the cameras came into the museum for Episode 7.

The episode gives viewers a look inside the collection, including a drum battle, Ringo Starr’s one-of-one Ludwig kit and the KISS mirror ball kit, where every mirror tile was applied by hand. Carmine Appice’s custom Slingerland leopard kit from his years with Cactus also appears on the show. Watch King of Collectibles on Netflix.

In March 2026, Ken Goldin sent his content team to Florida to film a full tour of the collection for his own channel:

Four Decades of Collecting

I started playing drums at 18 months old, and collecting grew out of that same passion. My career took me into music technology and onto the other side of the glass with Aerosmith, Ozzy Osbourne, KISS, Journey and Styx. Along the way, I saw how often historic kits disappeared after a tour: into a warehouse, to a friend or simply gone. It is a small miracle that many of these instruments survived at all.

So I started bringing them back together. Many kits came directly from the drummers who played them, including Alex Van Halen, Ed Shaughnessy and Ringo Starr, through his own auction. For almost ten years, the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame Museum was a private, invitation-only home for these instruments, with every kit set up to the original player’s footprint so you could sit in the cockpit and see how they played it.

Highlights From the Collection

  • Ringo Starr’s one-of-one custom Ludwig kit, obtained from Ringo through his auction. Ringo stated it was used in the “Hello, Goodbye” video and for overdubs on Abbey Road and the White Album, and he signed the snare drum.
  • Carl Palmer’s hand-etched stainless steel ELP kit, a one-of-one previously owned by Ringo Starr. The kit weighs about two tons, and the bass drum alone is around 450 pounds.
  • Alex Van Halen’s 2015 personal kit, from the final Van Halen tour, with the Van Halen logo on every cymbal.
  • Hal Blaine’s Wrecking Crew kit, played on more Top 40 hits than any drum kit in history.
  • Buddy Rich’s stage-played Slingerland kit, his last kit as a Slingerland endorser before moving to Ludwig in 1978.
  • Joe Morello’s Ludwig Super Classic in silver sparkle, and Ed Shaughnessy’s Ludwig kit from The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.
  • Neil Peart’s R30 tribute kit, one of 30, with its certificate of authenticity and his Modern Drummer Hall of Fame plaque.
  • The BC-52s kit from The Flintstones movie, complete with its original hardware.
  • Tommy Clufetos’ DW kit from Black Sabbath’s The End tour.
Nicko McBrain at the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame museum with Carmine Appice's Ludwig kit and Joe Stefko's Bat Out of Hell kit from the David Frangioni collection
Iron Maiden’s Nicko McBrain in the museum, between Carmine Appice’s Ludwig kit and Joe Stefko’s Bat Out of Hell kit.

The Kits Get Played

A drum kit is a working instrument, and some of the best moments in the museum happened when great drummers sat down at these kits. Nicko McBrain played Carmine Appice’s Ludwig kit, Danny Seraphine played Buddy Rich’s Slingerland, Charley Drayton played Hal Blaine’s Monster kit and Eloy Casagrande played Todd Sucherman’s 2012 Styx tour kit. Gregg Bissonette came back to sit with his one-of-one Yamaha from David Lee Roth’s Eat ‘Em and Smile tour, which I owned for many years. You can read Nicko McBrain plays Carmine Appice’s Ludwig kit and the story of Gregg Bissonette’s David Lee Roth kit.

Past Auctions With Goldin

Since 2024, I have partnered with Goldin to bring pieces from the collection to the public with detailed provenance. Past lots have included:

  • Neal Smith’s one-of-one 1973 Billion Dollar Babies tour Premier mirror ball kit from the Alice Cooper band, an 18-piece kit.
  • Joe Stefko’s one-of-one Slingerland kit from Meat Loaf’s 1977-78 Bat Out of Hell world tour.
  • Alex Van Halen’s custom one-of-one 2012 Ludwig tour kit with Paiste cymbals, which I bought directly from Alex. It was built by his longtime drum tech, John “JD” Douglas, and played for 60 shows on the A Different Kind of Truth tour.
  • Eric Singer’s mirror ball kit from the KISS and Mötley Crüe tour, and a collection of Neil Peart’s sticks.
  • Eric Carr’s one-of-one 1980-81 Ludwig 20-piece Monster kit, made for Eric Carr of KISS.

Coverage of these auctions appeared in Metal Shock Finland and SonicState.

What Makes a Piece Iconic

When I evaluate a kit, I look at the player, the moment and the paper trail before I look at the shells. A kit tied to a defining tour or record carries that moment with it, and documentation from the artist or their drum tech is what turns a great story into provenance. I wrote more about this in What Makes a Historic Drum Kit Valuable?

CRASH: The World’s Greatest Drum Kits

The collection is also the foundation of my book CRASH: The World’s Greatest Drum Kits, From Appice to Peart to Van Halen, published by Insight Editions. It is an illustrated history of the kits of rock legends, from Neil Peart and Carl Palmer to Ginger Baker, Keith Moon and Ringo Starr, with the story and significance behind each kit.

Collecting With a Purpose

The collection supports the Frangioni Foundation, a nonprofit that inspires and empowers young artists and communities through music. CBS Evening News featured that work in Drummer and collector opens school to inspire young musicians. You can see more of the instruments on the Frangioni Foundation drum collection page, and more of my appearances on the Press page.

Quick Facts

  • Collector: David Frangioni, owner and CEO of Modern Drummer.
  • Collection: The Modern Drummer Hall of Fame collection of historic drum kits and memorabilia, Frangioni Foundation, Florida.
  • Television: Netflix, King of Collectibles: The Goldin Touch, Season 2, Episode 7 (Season 2 premiered June 12, 2024).
  • Auction partner: Goldin, since 2024.
  • Next auction: November 6 and 7, 2026.
  • Book: CRASH: The World’s Greatest Drum Kits (Insight Editions).

For collection, consignment or media inquiries, please contact me.

David