gecko!

The Billy Cobham "Spectrum" album are NOT TAMA drums ... they are his Fibes clear acrylic Crystalites. He recorded that album while still with The Mahavishnu Orchestra .. ( on the sly of course ) .. and used the clear Fibes that he was playing at the time. That is probably the reason you don't care for the sound of them. He had those tuned pretty high, and that clear acrylic shell lends itself to a very "cutting" note, and especially so his rack toms. When I caught him a year later touring in support of the "Crosswinds" album, he was still playing the clear acrylic Fibes Crystalite set. I sat close ... I mean close! ... probably 20' from his bass drums .. ( small club! ) .. and those drums KILLED. Course, so did BC! I got one of his drum sticks from that concert... and still have it!

Tommyp

Hmm, that's intersting, well so far, I haven't any issues with the claws or t-rods on my kits. But, even if I did, that's any easy fix, buy some new ones. I'm not too concerned with the hardware. As long as it works and I can tune the drums, I'm good. I use newer Yamaha snare stands and Gilbralter flat based cymbal stands. Perfect for a gigging drummer.

My Stewart 20x14 "pub kick" is built like a tank and has seen everything from young pretty drunk girls spilling their vodka crans on it, to douche bag jocks tripping over mic wires and collapsing face first onto one of my faucet style t-rods. It has both theirs, and my blood, sweat, and my personal favorite, Whiskey and vodka sodas all over it.. That kick drum is like the little asian kid in highschool you thought you could pick on, but then turns around and freakin' drop kicks you on the forehead in front of your buddies and girlfriend. I love certain MIJ kits (Stewart Star, Apollo, Coronet, Crown) because the wood over the years has become dense and harder then the day they were made, help in sustain, tone, and warmth of the drum, and imho, some can stand up to US made drums. But that is subjective and all depends on what the drums have gone through within their lifetime... When i purchased a brand new classic Ludwig bass drum diamond plate, the tightening side bar that protects the tom holder from getting dented, snapped right off after it wasn't even half way tightened to capacity, compared to a mint original 70's one i had that was built like it could withstand a Hiroshima type nuclear blast and still come out clean..Whatever the case. MIJ's have their pros and cons, but so do all US made big name drums.. As for Sonor, that's another story. ;)

Bent t-rods from Slingerland, Rogers, Gretsch, MIJ. Some dented claws as well. That is just prior owner not taking care of gear.

My take on the OP question. The oversea's companies identified markets that would be profitable. Made good enough kits to get their foot in the door for the US Market and improved from there. US companies just cranked out the same kits for years no innovation to speak of. The many drums bass's and toms modified for the Pearl mount come to mind.

I have a Hoshino Red glitter birch re-ring kit that sounds pretty darn good. The Wood/Fiberglass Pearls sound better. The Slingerland Radio Kings blow these away by miles. Shell construction, bearing edges, heads and hoop material as stated are the main issues.

Creighton

I find this thread very interesting, but one question hasn't been answered, why didn't Ludwig use Phillips head screws? I think the Japanese were a bit ahead of their time in that respect. Ludwig sure uses them now, it just makes sense. Sure makes it easier to take a drum apart. Not everyone has a small ratchet and socket, but everyone has a Phillips screwdriver.flowers2

Because they didn't want to make it easy to take their drums apart.DOH

Actually, it was probably because they had been building drums and using the same material so long, that when the Phillips head screws were invented around 1940, they thought, ehh, why change now. We have a zillion of those ugly five sided screws to get rid of.

It does make it fun to track down old hex head or slot head screws and bolts to keep that vintage vibe for drum builds. Phillips head stuff looks like either modern or Japanese.

There is absolutely nothing weak or cheap about modern Yamaha stands and HH. Nothing. they are built like tanks and don`t shake.

I got a Yamaha HH stand left from the late 90`s, you could demo a house with it and put it back to work that night.

Stripping a Philips is much harder to grab with another tool than it is with octagon head.

Stripping a screw that goes into metal is one thing but when it butts against your wood drum finish ????

Take an MIJ screw and Hardened screw, like SONOR and try to flatten them both on an anvil, you`ll see why it matters.

OK, so if those 5 sided screws were so wonderful, how come Ludwig is now using Phillips? Not to mention pretty much every company out there. Ludwig was not inventive and apparently didn't like change. And dude, you need to quit abusing your hardware.