I have seen plenty of wrinkled, bubbled, pulled, etc. Cheap is cheap. It can be very affordable when new, but .... built on the cheap never rises above that. Not all MIJ drums were made like that. Some were better quality. Some were well made. Corners were cut in a lot of different ways to make them more affordable. I bought a set of Stewarts once in WMP. They were decent drums. They sounded decent. They didn't sound like Rogers. But they were decent. All of $64.00 I paid for them. But the wrap was stuck to the shell. Not well, but not taped on either. I left a set of Tempro drums at a practice place a few years ago. They might still be there. They weren't as good as the Stewarts. And they never sounded like Rogers.There are cheap ways to get a car painted. When you are done, no one will need telling you did it on the cheap.

I have seen plenty of wrinkled, bubbled, pulled, etc. Cheap is cheap. It can be very affordable when new, but .... built on the cheap never rises above that. Not all MIJ drums were made like that. Some were better quality. Some were well made. Corners were cut in a lot of different ways to make them more affordable. I bought a set of Stewarts once in WMP. They were decent drums. They sounded decent. They didn't sound like Rogers. But they were decent. All of $64.00 I paid for them. But the wrap was stuck to the shell. Not well, but not taped on either. I left a set of Tempro drums at a practice place a few years ago. They might still be there. They weren't as good as the Stewarts. And they never sounded like Rogers.There are cheap ways to get a car painted. When you are done, no one will need telling you did it on the cheap.

My two cents (on basis of a lot of experimenting):Determinants of (sound) quality in measurable dimensions like resonace, volume, ease of tuning, etc. in an estimated order of importance (most important first).-TUNING-heads (single/double ply, pre-muffled, etc.)-roundness/flatness of shell/bearing-edge/hoops-way of hanging/standing the drum (use of floating floortom feet for instance)-material of shell-type of bearing edge-thickness of shell/shell constructionDeterminants of (sound) quality in more subjective dimensions:-TUNING-wood/metal/other material-construction type (ply, stave, etc.)-wood speciesSo, what I mean to say is:If a drum is in-round and has good edges and hoops, it can, with a certain selection of heads and decent TUNING, be made to sound very good.And I'll say something daring now that'll stir some people: All the rest (nationality, brand, "high-end artisan" stuff, etc) is dogmatic mumbo jumbo. Nice to occupy the mind, but mumbo jumbo nonetheless. I have 6 kits and have had (and worked on) many more. All of them (high-end, low end, no end at all) were made to sound great and each of them could be my only kit if I had to choose one and stick to it the rest of my life.Of course there's the question of durability. Sturdy built drums with high crome plating etc. will last longer and will hold up better in the hands of touring drummers.

I have seen plenty of wrinkled, bubbled, pulled, etc. Cheap is cheap. It can be very affordable when new, but .... built on the cheap never rises above that. Not all MIJ drums were made like that. Some were better quality. Some were well made. Corners were cut in a lot of different ways to make them more affordable. I bought a set of Stewarts once in WMP. They were decent drums. They sounded decent. They didn't sound like Rogers. But they were decent. All of $64.00 I paid for them. But the wrap was stuck to the shell. Not well, but not taped on either. I left a set of Tempro drums at a practice place a few years ago. They might still be there. They weren't as good as the Stewarts. And they never sounded like Rogers.There are cheap ways to get a car painted. When you are done, no one will need telling you did it on the cheap.

Drums are really just big dumb tubs of wood. Heads and tuning are where probably 90% of their timbre comes from. Cheap kits usually can sound great if they're in decent shape, modern or vintage.And lots of people hear with their eyes. Every single drum that Ludwig wrapped in the 60's was horribly out of round. Even Steve Maxwell describes the signature vintage Ludwig sound as a dry thwack, and still no one has any trouble selling Keystone kits.Now, there was an awful lot of cheap hardware from Japan in the 60's that I can't begin to defend. Flimsy mounts and flaking chrome galore...

I never had any issues with my Rogers kits and they are fine instruments, but I can produce as good a sound from my MIJ kits.