Deano! First off, they are Star. No telling what badge would have been on them, but the wrap is fairly rare. We tend to call it "Candy Cane", but give me a few and I'll see if I can locate the actual name of it.

The hi-hat, pedal and bass muffler are all original to the kit as well. Great score! Let's see the interiors!

Red Oyster Pearl is as close as I can get, or maybe it's called Cinnamon Oyster Pearl. I have heard of the "cinnamon" wrap color before, but not certain this is it. It is an oyster, it's just really rare and not in any of the catalogs. It is original, not a re-wrap. "Dixon" was one of the few "badge names" that typically used this wrap. I believe Brooklyn Music Supply owned the Dixon name. I am not positive, but there are so many "name brand" badges and some of them we know for sure which were owned by certain distributors.

Thanks Jonnistix for the info. I have attached some pics of the interiors as you requested. As far as I can tell the heads appear to be original as well. The floor tom reso head is on another drum that I bought with the lot. The bearing edges on the drums look perfect. Other then the floor reso it looks as though the heads have never been removed. The stick saver hoops and bass hoops are also in excellent condition. Other than needing a good cleaning the drums are superb.

Dean

Wow, they must have led a very cosseted life....

Extremely nice condition!

Congrats!

Jon

Very nice Dean! 3 ply shells, I would suggest you replace the batter side heads with Aquarian Z-100 coated single ply heads. They typically are a little less expensive than Ambassadors and, according to Mr. Roy Burns, are optimized for the thinner mahogany shells of the 50s-60s, and he insists they will be great on our 3 ply MIJ. I am using them on some of my drums and I love them. They are more responsive and seat better than the Remo heads, meaning you don't have to re-tune after 30 minutes. They are more supple out of the box, the coating is guaranteed not to peel or flake off like the Remo does, and if you do any brush work, the texture of the coating is simply amazing for brushing.

I would start with the batter on your snare just to get a feel for it, unless you can afford to outfit the entire kit all at once. I am certain you will like them better than Ambs, as they are not a "one size fits all head" like the Ambs are (remember, they are purpose-built for thin shells). I fell in love right off the bat when I first played one, but then they were on introductory pricing of less than 10 bucks.

Anyway, feel out your "new" bearing edges. If they are not smooth as silk, take a few minutes and some 220 grit sandpaper. Lightly sand them all the way around, not digging in, just kissing them smooth. This will allow the heads to seat faster and takes away any opportunity for head rattle because of an uneven surface.

EDIT: HERE IS YOUR PEDAL AND MUFFLER ('63 catalog):

http://www.tamadrum.co.jp/anniversary/expansion.php?cat_id=2&now=5

Jonnistix, where do I find the Z-100 heads. I don't even see them on the Aquarian site?

Thanks Jonni, you are the man when it comes to these drums. I will definitely try the Aquarian Z-100's. The bearing edges are already pretty smooth, but I can certainly make them smoother. Is it possible to make them too smooth?

I think finding the matching snare for this will be next to impossible. Luckily I have a chrome MIJ snare that can fill in.

I have never heard of too smooth. I usually sand mine smooth and then wax them. You are correct about finding a matching snare, but keep an eye on ebay, they pop up from time to time. It would do you well to do a complete lugs off detailing on this kit. I can give you some really good technique for deep cleaning all the parts that need the most attention. Typically those parts are the smaller parts, such as tension rods, swivel nuts (lug inserts), springs etc. I even do the screws that hold the lugs to the shell.

Get with me when you decide to get down to it and I'll give you in depth instruction on how I do it. Many others say it is too much work, but when you are done, the results speak for themselves. My restorations, short of the wraps, look like new parts, in as much as they can. I get them to te very cleanest I possibly can.

GC has them for snare. It is a relatively new product, about a year old, and it has not been properly marketed. All you have to do is ask and they can get any size from 8" or 10"-22". I prefer, on these shells for the bass batter, an Evans EQ1. Call Aquarian, they can get you set up with a dealer that either has them or will order them. Almost any decently stocked drum shop should have at least the snare heads. Push your retailer to get them for you, I assure you, they are available, and don't let them try to talk you into ambassdors because they just have them i stock. I think too many sellers mistakenly believe they are too similar to the Ambassadors. They are the same thickness, 10 mil, but that is about the extent of it.