I like MIJ drums, & a small group of musicians on the VDF like them, but I hope you didn't bet any money on the statement that, .."professionals are increasingly using them to tour & record". (there used to be a legal definition of a professional as one who made a living for 2 years at a stated profession). ..so this would not be the VDF weekend warrior or the occasional gigster who reports on forums about his MIJ set.

I think a professional who toured w/ an MIJ set would be as rare as an Indy driver who raced w/ a YUGO.

Questlove is the only Pro I've seen who used a vintage MIJ set (Yamaha 70's ?), (though recently he switched to a Ludwig kit).

This (and another over to DFO) is a young thread - let's see what it captures. We all might be surprised. I understand it is becoming a trend to tour with an MIJ so as to leave the expensive new modern or expensive vintage collectible kit safe at home. Meanwhile, drummers of this caliber would not sacrifice sonic quality when they are working at this level. It is my assertion that using a vintage MIJ kit does not result in significant inferior sound and that they can hold up on the road if treated with care and respect. Sometimes drummers want a warm sound, which can easily be achieved by these MIJs. In fact, I know a drummer who decided to forgo his quest to own a quality maple kit, instead choosing to stick with several MIJs - but the reason was a frustration with the sound out of the maple kit. Maple kits are harder to tune and while they have better projection, they lack the warmth that is easily pulled out of a 40yr old vintage MIJ (especially the 3ply with re-rings). Of course this is speaking to a case of discussing the natural sound of the drum and not an EQed result.

John

John

I think your topic is very interesting, & I would be curious to hear more. I agree that MIJ drums can hold their own sonically. I've had many sets of mixed orphan drums that include the best American makers & MIJ drums. ( I don't feel it is a put down to say that they just might not hold up on a tour. They were made w/ a budget consumer in mind, & the results can be seen in their thin plating, , thin wrap, budget types of metal that rust easily & strip out, hoops that dent easily. mounts that weaken quickly, shells that deform, re-rings that aren't glued well, bearing edges that look like a saw blade, etc.,).

This guy is a Yamaha endorsee and he has 3 vintage Yamaha kits. Here he is playing his black Willow kit at Glastonbury. Stages don't come much bigger. To be fair, they don't get a good beating playing with Rumer. I have the same kit. Check out his gallery page and notice he's using a base model vintage Yamaha kit (6 lug BD) with Allison Moyet.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YYA-o-SN-Y[/ame]

On the other hand these kits have taken a pounding by multiple snotty nosed kids trying to sound like Bonham over the years then stored unceremoniously in damp basements. Then one of us buys them and cleans them up and off they go again. I've restored a fair few kits now and I'm amazed at how well the old Pearl, Star and Yamaha kits have survived over the years of abuse. I rarely see broken mounts and only once have I had a broken lug (I've had a couple of Ludwig lugs break though). My point is I think they are tougher than most give them credit for.

Having said that, there are a few MIJ kits that would not hold up well but the better ones are fine.

I think it would be a really, really stupid thing to use an MIJ set on tour with the hardware being all metric! When a piece of that cheap, metric hardware breaks, you cant just go to GC and get a replacement. You would have to already have spares on hand.

Mij drums with the correct heads, good tuning , well cared for , and the use of mounting the rack Tom on a snare sound is completely acceptable in my personal opinion for a gigging set. But I am personally a fan of the vintage warm sound these drums are capable of.

I use remo coated diplomats on my batter toms and powerstroke 3 coated batter side bass and remo powerstroke 4 coated reso side on my bass. The sound quality is incredible in my eyes. I would tour with this kit .. But I only have experience playing mij kits in small jazz assembly's

With that being said I would love to hear about others doing the same

Here's a Soundfile clip of me playing my pearl presidents nearly 5 years ago in my early 20s. Please disregard the chops and the crappy video camera audio. Regardless still great sounding drums !

http://youtu.be/85fZjEn8po0

I would say that it would be a really, really stupid thing to tour (or play out anywhere for that matter) without a well stocked spares and tool kit regardless of the type of drums you are playing. I started in high school carrying a fishing tackle box full of cymbal sleeves, felts, wing nuts, straps, spare pedal parts, etc.

Drummerjohn, when you say "professional" are you talking about anyone that is playing out or are you talking about the kind of acts that are doing national level touring that might even show up on a talk show?

wishful thinking doesn't really belong in a professional environment

its like all those early internet posts about "professionals" using ADATs, Reason, Cubase and bedroom studio PCs with SoundBlaster cards

anything CAN be used, but a lot of the times ISN'T, for practical reasons

My '66 Star sounded great on stage & recording...and took quite a beating. IT was certainly one of those kits used by some snotty nose kid and left for dead. I did the dust off, recondition, and find needed parts...all for less than$200 in the end, and it has many years left in it. My comments towards touring, though are skeptical...at least for a three-ply, luan shell. I ended up selling my Star to a singer/songwriter as a studio recording kit for folk rock. I was always afraid of those fragile, luan shells breaking. Maybe I made a rash decision, cause my '73 Premier doesn't sound nearly as good, IMO, but they are sturdier drums & I can only have one kit at a time. I just picked up a Slingerland stage band 20/12/14/14x5.5 and am hopeful I'll regain some of the size tone I lost with the sale of my Star. I am interested to see what this thread digs up.

That video that Ralf posted with the old Star, I wonder if that drummer tours with that same kit?

Brian