Ahh the age old debate. To MIJ or not to MIJ, that is the question - Whether it is nobler to suffer the slings and arrows of the intellectually lazy, or to take arms against them with the results of decades of empirical evidence contrary to their tightly held beliefs.

Although I certainly count myself among the MIJ enthusiasts here, in fairness, the drums Pearl bdged with their real name and at least one of their stencils (Whitehall) did seem to be a cut above most of the other stencils of the era. Their flagships as it were. I for one don't really consider them in the same class as most of the other Pearl sub-brands of the time.

Every now and then you will find a stencil kit that has thicker lugs and a bit better hardware in general. This is evidence that there was a wide variety in the stencil world, including the actual Pearl and Star brands/models. Crown is another like this, Rodeo is another.

I'm going to agree with Retrosonic-- If you won't be the only person using this kit, then i'm afraid others won't see the vintage kit as you do..They will most probably see it as a relic, waiting to be thrown into someone's garage or on the curb with the rest of the trash.. I personally love MIJ kits, as a lot of them were and are unique, sounded great, and some were even well constructed.. If it's a bargain he's looking for regarding a more modern kit,, then i would suggest to go for something a bit more solid like say something from the late 80's through the mid 90's..

Pearl Exports and Tama Swingstars, Rockstars from that era were built for the road, sound great, and are like a Sherman tank, ready to withstand the rigors of any live musical environment..I should know, i owned some of those drums in my youth, playing 80's hard rock and metal, and then later 90's era grunge and punk.. You can find any of those series of kits used and in decent shape to almost mint for under $700.

UPDATE:

Thanks you guys for all the comments. I think you all know by now that I am an MIJ junkie and LOVE the topic!

Looks like I will be getting into a different band - with more connections, pays way better, and pretty much dominate most of the west half of the state of ND. So - I have decided that next time I get home (in April) I will be bringing a kit of my own back. For a band that is 70%country/30%rock - I have chosen my Tiger Eye Pearl (AKA Root Beer Swirl) Whitehall. It is a perfect fit/look for the gig and leaves fuzzies in the wake of her thick rich beauty! Mine are pre-67 thin shells with the rerings. Until I get the 14in thick shelled tom converted to a snare, I will be using a 10 ply maple homemade 6.5x14 I built years ago (Premier XPK hardware). 13, 16, 20 are the sizes and all are the thin shells - and leaves the oddball thick 14 that will convert to a matching snare (converting it from a 6 lug to a 12 lug). It has been my experience that the thick shelled Luans make very respectful snares, perhaps better than the thin re-ringed shells.

Once I get it all cleaned up and ready to go I will shoot some pics. (Never headed/played this kit yet - but have another MIJ with the same shells)

Thanks for your thoughts on this.

That kit will sound great! I have one just like it (except for the finish), they are really awesome sounding drums. Not the loudest around, but the pure quality of the tone can't be beat.

I also build a lot of snares out of the thick walled MIJs, IMHO they make interesting and versatile drums, but they do lack that ringiness one expects from a high end drum. Still, that's not always a negative, especially when recording. Don't really need to even use the muffle on most of those.

With the thick shelled MIJs, have you ever converted a 6 lug into a 12 lug? (like this one -

Ebay item number 261826776504 Whitehall / Ludwig

(Also featured in this video - [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sf6OcB3GhlY"]whitehall demo - YouTube[/ame])

Then again - this Whitehall example is of the thin shell.

It's funny you should ask that John, I've been contemplating doing exactly that. I did convert a 8 lug bass drum to a 16 lug, what a hoot that was. Check it out: [IMG]https://scontent-dfw.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/v/t1.0-9/10458643_1387439091511401_3690773899205724004_n.jpg?oh=bc9b7f29a4590e51f9b62be2e32cb0bd&oe=557346BD[/IMG]

When I say this, I mean it affectionately as if between old friends.........

You bonehead! Why would you waste 16 BD lugs like that? I don't think you need that much support/tension on those heads - it's a BASS DRUM!?!?????

I will file that into my 'You don't see that everyday" drawer.

-John

It IS between old friends, no offense taken, anyhow I guess you are not familar with Banda musicians. This was a commission for a Mexican Banda drummer. They like as many lugs as possible, it's like a status symbol or something. Sort of like a musicians equivalent of a low rider complete with air shocks and fuzzy dice. They also do this with their tarolas, a mexican snare drum. They like them real deep and with a lot of lugs. Then they tighten the crap out of them to get a real high pitched crack on a real deep drum. May seem weird to you and me, but the customer is always right you know. [IMG]http://www.vintagedrumforum.com/images/icons/icon7.gif[/IMG]