Nice looking kit.

The logo on the bass drum res head, " Made in Japan" is the actual brand of these drums. They are one of a hundred different stencil brands, but are likely built by the one of the big 3 Japanese builders. You'll have to do further research as to whether they are pre-Tama, pre-Pearl or Hoshino, the 3 most likely builders of this kit.

How do they sound?

The badge is somewhat reminiscent of the "Zim-Gar" line of Pearl stencils made for Zimmerman-Garfield Music Store that was once a music shop in Brooklyn NY.

That is a cool kit. Love the wrap!

Kind of a cross between the Slingerland copy lugs and the teardrop lugs. Kind of look like Ludwig lugs a little too.

I would say this is probably earlier 70's. You usually don't see 60's MIJ kits with metal chrome hoops. The inlay, although hard to tell, looks like it might be slightly off from the rest of the wrap (reso side for sure), which could mean that the hoops are replacements. Too bad you can't see the interiors of the shells. As a general guideline, natural interiors with re-rings = mid 60's, natural interiors with no re-rings = late 60's to early 70's, grey interiors with no re-rings and much thicker shells = early to mid 70's.

Is that a cymbal bracket on the same side of the kit as the rack tom? Based on the tom holder location, the kit is set up correctly and the bass drum is not backwards. Maybe somebody put a splash arm there like Gene or Buddy?

That logo head is cool. Looks like someone scanned a badge and made a decal or screen printed copy. Would be even cooler with the original blue color (and have a kit with those same badges).

Cool kit. Someone really likes to wrap stands in electrical tape......................

Definitely a very cool vintage MIJ kit! I don't believe that the "Made In Japan" logo bass drum head is original to the kit, but rather an aftermarket add-on. All "Made In Japan" badges were used exclusively by Star, who would become Tama. The pictured snare drum is a Star, with the "Made In Japan" badge.

One very noteworthy indicator of who built this kit can be seen by the style of tom bracket on the rack tom, which was used by Hoshino. Another indicator that it's a Hoshino kit are the lugs. I've got the same lugs on my mid-60's Crown kit, which was made by Hoshino.

Hope this helps!

-Mark

If you are old enough to remember many years ago, would you buy this kit if you could spend a few more bucks for a Ludwig??...Thought so. This is just another good rehearsal kit for a garage band in todays market....It looks pretty but its junk.

No need to be so harsh, especially here in the Non USA forum. Many of us that hang out here play MIJs and are pretty happy with them. Of course they weren't built as well as the big American brands, but just the fact that so many are still around and being played means they aren't junk and many can sound pretty darn good.

They also gave young kids a chance to actually own a drum kit, because Ludwig's were more than just "a few bucks more".

The only thing I'm sorry about is that these drums put so many of the Americans out of business. But that happened in nearly every business in the late 60s/70s.

I just noticed the cymbal arm bracket, with two wing screws, on the bass drum. This was used exclusively by Hoshino.

-Mark

That is a lot of valuable info...Thanks so much.

I will pass it along to a neighbourhood school or somebody that would really appreciate it. The heads are good, i changed a couple of them, cleaned it and it's ready to go to a new home.