just gotta chime in here. i have a soft spot in my heart for pearl drums for sure. my first drums were pearl export circa 1989 5 piece mirror chrome 14" snare, 12" 13" toms 16" floor tom and 22" kick. i was fortunate enough at that time to also be able to get the 8" and 10" "power toms". these drums were around 6 bills new and i would never regret owning them. in fact i still do. here is a couple of facts about these drums. they sound great. with good heads and proper tuning they do exactly what they should. project pleasing tones for the rock and roll drummer. the hardware is g**damn indestructible. lotta talk about their pipe tom mounts as being garbage. complete hogwash. yes they do make a bigger hole in the shell yada yada yada, the fact remains that i havent had one single problem with any of the hardware in 20 years! while ive found the ludwig spike whatever hardware to just simply give up. not to go on a tangent about it it seems to me that their must be other people who feel the same way as me about it so yes a vintage pearl kit from the 60's is collectible and relevant to many people. comparing them to a yugo? come on... really? i would save that comparison for c.b. drums or some other garbage. old pearls are more like the 63 nova. no frills but does what it should. Car Driving2

I gotta jump back in here. I have owned a Hyundia, and by choice. I used to be a car guy, and when you can buy a car that uses very little gas, and runs to beat h&ll, for way below whatever real or imagined "value" there is, I'm in. I also own an 04 Nissan Titan that passes everything but Corvettes and gas stations which I bought way back of wholesale, just happened to be at work on the right day. 12K truck for 6000.

Now, back to the Pearls. I just happen to like tinkerin', and these old Japanese drums, regardless the badge, make me happy. They sound good, when properly fiddled with. No, they don't, and never will sound like Ludwigs. But neither do Gretches. Now, what is the most recorded brand of drums in the world? Yamaha Recording Custom. Not Luddy's or Gretch or even the holy Slingerlands. But I cannot afford to buy them at this point in my life. The Japanese drums, I can pick up from free to 100.00 at a time, and get my jollies. Do I want a set of Super Classics?Yes Sir H3ll yeah I do. But I don't have 1000-2500.00 for a set of drums today. And if I run across even Chinese drums on the curb, they go in the back of the truck faster than you can wink. Why? look at the specs on some of those shells Kickin'! Take the taped-on wrap and throw in the garbage, sand them down and stain and lacquer, new hardware/lugs and they are killer sounding. Could you then re-sell them? Yes, I do all the time, and I make a little change doing it.

So let's not be so quick to judge a mans treasure. I would love to have been the one to come across them. What do they emulate???? Looks like Club Dates to me.....Keep on Pl

Anybody up for a set of M***r Custom Re-manufactured Drums????

How did you come to this conclusion? If about 80% of all the rock guys from the 60's and 70's and early 80's played Ludwig, how does this even figure??

Im no pro on who played what, but what's played on stage and what's played in studio sometimes are two very different things.

Thanks for backin' me up on this everyone these drums are coming along nicely took some wax to the shells and they look new just about! I just wish i could afford to get the heads and snare wires i need to finish. At any rate when i'm done i'll post pics seeing how they are the cause of so much controversy(if that's what you call it).

and i also have a set of Exports (black w/chrome tube lugs, typical 80's look) and while they are not my favorite they are one of the best mid/entry level kits out there. Aside from companies like DW who use a completely different name for their lower line(PDP).

You can get packs of new heads pretty cheap online...

http://accessories.musiciansfriend.com/product/Remo-Emperor-Tom-Drumhead-Pack?sku=490092

http://accessories.musiciansfriend.com/product/Remo-Ambassador-Drumhead-ProPack?sku=442597

I think shipping is free if you order 99 dollars worth of stuff.

You should be able to pick up new snares for 5-6 bucks at the music store. These use those cheap 14" wires and my music store sells them for 6 bucks. Give them a call, tell them you need the low end Chinese or Taiwanese (don't remember where they are made) and they sound just fine on these little drums.

Got anymore pix?!?!?!? How is the clean-up coming along?

I'm very interested in the progress of this kit. Could you post a pic or two? We are waiting to see the cleaned up ready to bang on 'em version!!!

Making any headway with this set? Pics would be great if you have them!

Looks like he got scared away...