On what planet? Sure doesn't look like any Maple I've ever seen. Ruddy brown color, vertical grain pattern, could not be more obvious. That's Luan Mahogany through and through. Look at the top edge of the Floor tom and you can see the grain pattern better.

Definitely an MIJ kit, except for the Luddy.

Wow, interesting insight. So how many plies do you think these Trempcos have?

Looks a lot like my Astro stencil kit, which the fine folks here quickly identified as Pearl. Everytime I take my Astro's out I receive compliments on the wrap and get questions about them.

[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b273/ryanculberson/Astro8.jpg[/IMG]

Cheers,

Ryan

Now, that is interesting... I got that exact same snare, badged as an Astro with this Pearl kit. The guy swore that it was the snare that came with the kit... which is badged Pearl. I just nodded and we went on with our negotiations... I didn't believe a word he said about that. So, was Astro another name that Pearl built? Lucky for me, I still have the snare and the kit.

Yes fish, Astro is a Pearl stencil!

I was up at Bentley's a few months ago and saw your kits there (the Pearls and the Stars). The Astro snare with the Pearl set is totally feasible based on the expert opinion of members here.

Cheers,

Ryan

The kit in the OP is indeed a Pearl built kit. The odd tom is indeed a Standard. Some of these "battleship" lugged toms and basses did indeed have a rough-ish maple interior ply. I have had some different badged drums, all with the "battleship" lugs. There is no mystery as to the interiors, many of them had the maple interior ply. It does make a difference in tone, and not all of the shells in any given kit will have it, mainly the floor and bass. Clean them up and play them! The name of the wrap color is [COLOR="Red"]Red Grain Pearl[/COLOR], seen here:

http://www.vintagedrumguide.com/images/my_collection/literature/pearl/1969-pearl-catalog-15.jpg

The snare in question is indeed one of the finest low-dollar snares ever built, IMHO....and it matters not which badge is on it, it is still the same hot-rod snare Pearl built in the late 60s to very early 70s. Too bad they dropped it. Most are COS some COB snuck through, and those are really the ones to have, although any of the ones with that specific band around the middle is worth having.

this was my old set from late 60's i played for years with old cos 8 lug snare no name pearls with custom holly wood drum co.wrap, the way i bought them, i put hydraulic heads on them they actually sounded quite amazing. sold them earlier this year for 150 with snare it was time to move them the wrap had issues and parts lost but the buyer still got a nice deal...

Hi Ryan,

Yep, Dana told me that you had come in a day or two after... That's been some time back now though.

Well now folks... I seem to have a diamond (or at least a cubic zirconia) in the rough setting on a shelf in my garage! I guess I had better dig that thing out and give it a good clean and shine.

Thanks Ryan & Jonni, heck, I prob would have polished it up and gave it away with some Sunlite or Excel kit or something...

Craig

Is the wrap on your Astro kit the same as mine on the Pearl kit? It looks it in the picture.

They both appear to be Red Grain Pearl, Craig. It is a really cool finish, kinda mimics the Ludwig Standard wraps, like your Avocado.