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Trying to Identify Pearl kit

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I have a seven piece Pearl kit I purchased used in 1982. The person I bought it from told me he bought it new the previous year and it never left his house. It is possible they were in the store for some time so may not be made in 1981. All I remember him saying is they were Pearl Maple. (I purchased a vintage Ludwig kit from him previously.) Drum details:

Pure white wrap

Toms- 8 x 12, 9 x 13, 10 x 14, 12 x 15, 15 x 16 floor tom; Bass 13 1/4 x 22; Chrome Snare 5 1/2 x 14.

The shells have no markings indicating model, year, etc.. The rims are stamped TAIWAN and there is a small sticker on the outside of each shell MADE IN TAIWAN REPUBLIC OF CHINA. The inside of the shells are painted grey. The snare has no badge or any else that identifies it as Pearl; the rim, however, has the same stamp as the tom rims- TAIWAN. With the bearing edges being painted, it is difficult to determine the number of plies but at least three. The badges are 3/4" x 2 3/8" with a dark bronze background that looks more black in most lighting. The lettering is the underlined Pearl encircled in gold. Looking at the 1978 Pearl catalog, it is difficult to tell but it might be the same badge. Hardware is all single braced. The tom mount on the bass is not original. I had it installed.

This is my first post on this site although I have read many of the threads. I would greatly appreciate any insight about this kit- model, year, etc. Thank you.

I am unable to upload photos. Not sure why. They are regular size photos that easily attach to email.

Posted on 6 years ago
#1
Posts: 5295 Threads: 226
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Welcome

You need to resize your pics to fit within the Forum`s restrictions...It`s a common oversight...Here`s a link:

http://www.vintagedrumforum.com/showthread.php?t=1713

Cheers

1976 Ludwig Mach 4 Thermogloss 26-18-14-14sn
1978 Ludwig Stainless 22-22-18-16-14-13-12 c/w 6-8-10-12-13-14-15-16-18-20-22-24 concert toms
1975 Sonor Phonic Centennials Metallic Pewter 22-16-13-12-14sn (D506)
1971 Ludwig Classic Bowling Ball OBP 22-16-14-13
1960's Stewart Peacock Pearl 20-16-12-14sn
1980`s Ludwig Coliseum Piano Black 8x14 snare
1973 Rogers Superten 5x14 & 6.5x14 COS snares
1970`s John Grey Capri Aquamarine Sparkle 5x14 snare
1941 Ludwig & Ludwig Super 8x14 snare
Posted on 6 years ago
#2
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Thanks grantro. I appreciate the help.

Posted on 6 years ago
#3
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I don't know anything to help you out, but that's a great looking kit. Snare looks to be steel.

I like it that they're standard sized instead of the power sizes that were popular in the early 80s through the early 90s(?).

Posted on 6 years ago
#4
Posts: 1427 Threads: 66
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I think they are 8-ply based on the interior photo you posted.

But I believe the maple shell ones had a badge under the "Pearl" badge that said : "MAPLE SHELL" on the maple ones. Maybe that came later too.

That said, although the interior ply is vertical, it does not appear to be luan. And to contradict that, perhaps the grain is filled prior to applying gray paint... Since the maple shell badge is not there, I'm going to guess it is (at best) maple and luan mixed, but I'm not positive at all. It might be worth removing a lug casing so you can see the ply color in the drill hole.

I'm guessing the original tom mounts were the ~3/8" solid hex rod that went into a ball & socket arrangement locked with drum key set screws? That's what I had on my Pearl stencil kit ("Powersonic") which was made in the early 80's (and Luan).

Cobalt Blue Yamaha Recording Custom 20b-22b-8-10-12-13-15-16f-18f
Red Ripple '70's Yamaha D-20 20b-12-14f
Piano Black Yamaha Recording Custom Be-Bop kit 18b-10-14f
Snares:
Yamaha COS SDM5; Yamaha Cobalt Blue RC 5-1/2x14; Gretsch round badge WMP; 1972 Ludwig Acrolite; 1978 Ludwig Super Sensitive; Cobalt Blue one-off Montineri; Yamaha Musashi 6.5X13 Oak; cheap 3.5X13 brass piccolo
Posted on 6 years ago
#5
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Mo Tonkie- Thanks for the comments. They still look almost new. I have taken good care of them.

J!m- Thanks for taking the time to provide some insight. I am quite certain these are the original tom mounts.

Posted on 6 years ago
#6
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[ame="http://www.drumarchive.com/Pearl/Pearl1979Japan.pdf"]http://www.drumarchive.com/Pearl/Pearl1979Japan.pdf[/ame]

If you open the .pdf & scroll down to page 10 that looks just like your configuration, but I do not read Japanese so maybe someone fluent can let you know what your configuration name is. Yours has the late 70's badges too & any catalogues from 1980 onwards have a new black/silver badge. Lots of info on the sister site here: http://www.vintagedrumguide.com/pearl.html but no 1979 catalogue. Hope this helps!

1964 Ludwig Champagne Super Classic
1970 Ludwig Blue Oyster Super Classic
1977 Rogers Big R Londoner 5 ebony
1972/1978 Rogers Powertone/Big R mix ebony
60's Ludwig Supersensitive
Pearl B4514 COB snare ( the SC snare)
Pearl Firecracker
PJL WMP maple snare
Odds & Sods

Sabians, Paistes, Zildjians, Zyns, UFIPs, MIJs etc
Item may be subject to change!
Posted on 6 years ago
#7
Posts: 1427 Threads: 66
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Oh, I thought you had said the mounts were changed.

Cobalt Blue Yamaha Recording Custom 20b-22b-8-10-12-13-15-16f-18f
Red Ripple '70's Yamaha D-20 20b-12-14f
Piano Black Yamaha Recording Custom Be-Bop kit 18b-10-14f
Snares:
Yamaha COS SDM5; Yamaha Cobalt Blue RC 5-1/2x14; Gretsch round badge WMP; 1972 Ludwig Acrolite; 1978 Ludwig Super Sensitive; Cobalt Blue one-off Montineri; Yamaha Musashi 6.5X13 Oak; cheap 3.5X13 brass piccolo
Posted on 6 years ago
#8
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Thanks for the comments. My drums did not originally have a bass mount for toms. I put that mount on. The mounts/stands in the photos are the original. I am sure you are correct in that the badge is late 70s. Not sure what pdf you are referring to. Thanks for taking the time for this. I appreciate it.

Posted on 6 years ago
#9
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From EasternDrummer

Thanks for the comments. My drums did not originally have a bass mount for toms. I put that mount on. The mounts/stands in the photos are the original. I am sure you are correct in that the badge is late 70s. Not sure what pdf you are referring to. Thanks for taking the time for this. I appreciate it.

What looks like a photo in my reply is a link to a .pdf. There's a button in the upper right hand corner that says "pop-out" if you hover the cursor over it.

1964 Ludwig Champagne Super Classic
1970 Ludwig Blue Oyster Super Classic
1977 Rogers Big R Londoner 5 ebony
1972/1978 Rogers Powertone/Big R mix ebony
60's Ludwig Supersensitive
Pearl B4514 COB snare ( the SC snare)
Pearl Firecracker
PJL WMP maple snare
Odds & Sods

Sabians, Paistes, Zildjians, Zyns, UFIPs, MIJs etc
Item may be subject to change!
Posted on 6 years ago
#10
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