I have already made these points, and it has drawn great criticism. It all leads to one inevitable fact. They were cheaper and mom and dad see the bottom line cost difference whether Jumior wanted Ludwig/Slingerland/Gretsch/Rogers....And again I will say this. Many of the drummers of today would not be, music would not be, what they are today had there not been the MIJ kits of the 60s and 70s. Too few people could have afforded the big names, or would have been willing to drop that kind of money on that big a Christmas or birthday gift. They could see 200 for the Sears kit, not the 500 for the music store drums, and besides, they look the same to those that don't play, end of story.
Today there are millions of drummers that just would not be, and many professional drummers cut their first chops on MIJ kits. Many of the young guns of today play MIJ currnet lines, while the collectors horde the top condition American vintage kits in air condidtioned silence for no one to ever play again, so music is changed forever.
And if these same people who complain about MIJ drums killing the American market had never gotten that MIJ kit on Dec. 25 1969, they would not be playing and hoarding 1964 Ludwigs today. Pure and simple, they served a purpose. And can you imagine the different world, musically, because there would be easily 1/2 the drummers today? Music would be far different as there would have been far fewer people to influence it's change, and the world undoubtedly would be a vastly different place if music had not gone in the directions it did. That, my good fellows, has been tracked and theorized to be a factor of major social change in this world, the changes and many diverse styles of music.
The same goes for the MIJ copy guitars of the 60s. They, too were far more affordable to give as "The Big Gift" for the year. Junior saw and heard Buddy Holly on tv and wanted a guitar. Gibson was 250, Teisco or Apollo was 65...can you see what mom and dad see? And many of the guitars are worth a small fortune today, and actually sound good.
The points of the woods is well made, and taken. I know very well they are far different. However, when properly worked, the drum shells I prefer, sound amazingly like Slingerland of old.
The work etics and attitude displayed by some union members is not necessarily what I was alluding to. (Although, it may play a part)More precisely, could the salary and benefit demands put upon the companies have made it impossible to price their products to ward off being undercut by offshore companies that did not have those demands on them?Ludwig, Slingerland, etc. may have had no choice but to price their kits as they did, in order to meet their overhead. MIJ, MIT, MIC, companies trained their big guns of low labor and low material cost on our guys, and blew them out of the water.Alternatively, it may not have been a union thing at all. I'm sure a MIJ shell is much cheaper to produce than those classic 3 ply shells made here. (Sorry Jonnistix,no slight intended...lol) But how much of the drum buying public would appreciate the sound and durability differences? All they see is the bottom line cost. How do you compete? Sure you could crank out similar shells, but the labor costs here alone would still give MIJ the advantage. Besides, it would have turned the greats (Ludwig, Slingy, etc) into nothing more than stencil companies. Would we want to see that? Mastrosnare hit on it. Try exactly reproducing that 1949 GE toaster today, what would it have to sell for? Those guys producing the MIJ. MIC plastic toasters will eat your lunch. Sure, it makes better and faster toast. But how many people notice or remember? Would they pay the cost difference? Sometimes I think in sailing through time and progress we lose some really good stuff in the prop wash.
