Billnvick can help you.

I don't know how much help it will be to you, but I had 6" and 8" concert toms in fiberglass that were Pearl branded, but white. My memory is spotty because I painted all my drums red to match back then (it was a big mis-match kit) but I think these had a white wrap on them, and I think I just painted over it!

Nothing definitive for you, but I can attest to the existence of "fiberglass shell Pearl branded drums".

I think the price is fair if you like the kit. Other than those concert toms, I have not seen other fiberglass Pearl drums (that I am aware of) so they may be quite rare...

I'm sure you will get more from some other members that may be more helpful to you.

Billnvick is the expert and I am sure he will have some great info for you. Pearl made a lot of fiberglass drums back in the 70's. They were very loud. They also made a wood / fiberglass drum which was most likely luan with a fiberglass sprayed interior which was usually off-white, though some of the earlier models may have been more reddish in color. The badge on those drums should be a black rectangle with an embossed "Pearl" logo on a bronze finish. Those drums would also have a thin badge denoting "FIBERGLASS" or "WOOD FIBERGLASS" on the shell that I believe is tacked on. These were Pearl's top of the line kit back in the day as they were taking their brand out of the stencil market and creating higher quality drums.

If a six piece kit is in fact a kick, two rack toms and two floor toms, then $300 is a really good deal. It is possible these will be concert toms though as Pearl manufactured a lot of those back in the day. You can decide if that is good or bad of course. If it includes a snare, it could be a Jupiter which is pretty highly regarded by many.

Hey Gary,Two fast ways to tell if the shells are F/G the drums would have two badges one will say Pearl should be black with Pearl in white.The other badge will be across the shell from that this one will say faberglass shell..That badge is about 1/2" wide and about 3" long...The shells are in a brown color and thin.If the shells are wood/fiberglass the second badge will say that.If the drums have only the Pearl badge then they are wood shell's..Pearl made f/G and W/fg shells from about 1972-78..Oh did you win that Rogers snare?.I won the Tama snare on the site from 17.78...Mikey

Slingerland!

It's not too hard to tell the difference between Fiberglass- or Wood/Fiberglass shells. Fiberglass shells are a lot thinner than Wood/fiberglass.

And they are thinner than standard woodshells as well.

Compare the drums in the photos, and the difference is quite obvious.

The Wood/Fiberglass badge is nailed to the shell.

The Fiberglass shell badge is just glued to the shell.

Remember that Pearl also made shells in a material called "Phenolic Shells". Old electronic boards in amplifiers are the same material. A lot of concert toms from the 70's where made of this and are sometimes referred to as "Fiberglass shells".

The real Fiberglass Shells should look like the white drum in my pictures.

what is prefered, WFG of just FG shells, I think he was throwing in some cymbals too, almost sounds too good a deal. who wants to come with me this weekend> I'll buy you coffee>? Mikey, I didnt wiin the snare, I got outbid, some thing on a sabian pie....nice site though. G

Without going back and checking available research, Pearl's FG shells made their debut in and around 1970 with their "Dyna Family" drums. They continued to offer them until the early 1980s (the wood FG were only available in the 1970s). The "phenolic" shells also mentioned were kinda the "forerunner" to the FG shells and were available on the President Series drums in the very late 1960s and then also appeared in the 1970s as concert toms (sometimes) and as the base shell of their vari-pitch drums. They were a darker "maroon" type of color. See second photo for comparison between FG and phenolic shells.

Fortissimo has already provided valuable info and pics.

A couple of things to add:

1) The earlier Pearl FG shells were actually a little thicker than the ones manufactured in the late 70s and early 80s. So, when you go and look at these, one thing that tips them off is the style of tom mount. IF it's the hex-style mount, you've probably got the thicker shells. IF the mounts are the newer, 7/8 arms, you've got thinner shells. It really don't make much difference -- either shell is nearly indestructable!!

2) On the thicker shells, the "Fiberglass Shell" badge was also tacked on with nails (like on the W/FG shells). There was double-faced tape on most whether the nails were used or not. See first photo.

Go to the sister sight (VDG) and look at the Pearl catalog pages. A lot of good info.

$300 sounds good to me! UNLESS you plan on flipping them and you have to put a lot of money into them fixing them up. Unfortunately these don't bring anywhere near the bucks Ludwigs do... Just do a search on "completed" listings for "Pearl Fiberglass" on eBay to get a good idea of current value.

Are these the drums you're going to look at?

http://chicago.craigslist.org/wcl/msg/3273372460.html

If so, probably well worth it. The 24" BD and 18" FT are not easy-to-find sizes...

The pics in this listing are too small to tell for sure, but the tom arms appear to be the 7/8" variety, which would place this set in the late-70s/early 80s range.

Bill

THIS! I remember the badges now (Thanks Tnsquint) these were the badges on those concert toms I bought so long ago. I am still foggy on the smaller fiberglass shell badges. I think these were about 3/8 tall and 2" wide or so, rounded ends and aluminum printed/anodized lettering right? I just don't remember if they were on these drums or not (but most likely they were from what you said)

Thanks for resurrecting some memories!Mind Blowi

EDIT> And then I see all the other posts with badges etc... Sorry!