wild thing: work colleague who knows I like old drums contacts me to go to her basement - husband left her 5 years ago when she found out he had another family in the US (Im in Canada) - so he just walked when caught and never returned and left all his drum stuff in their (now her) basement - wanted it finally cleared out: got a Japanese 60s/70s U.S. Mercury Pro drum kit in Oyster Black Peal in near mint shape (he was original owner) with original hats which Im keeping as they sound like asian -sounding splashes, 3 '70s cymbals (22/18/17), 6 various cymbal stands, Pearl hi hat stand with 70s Zil. new beats hi hats, vintage Camco pedal, 40 pairs of various sticks/brushes/mallets, high end throne, set of 3 large roto toms (14/12/10) with stand, a 60s luddy acrolyte snare, metronome, mic and stand, travel cases for stands and cymbals, drum books/CDs, few other bits - she said she just wanted it out - I offered her 100 bucks and loaded up my car.
What's up with Japanese stencils: I put the Mercury on local buy and sell - within hours had 4 inquiries - someones coming tomorrow - I know Japanese vintage is a bit in vogue now but still surprised - the kit sounds pretty good but the 12 and 20 don't project all that much but sound decent when at the drivers seat, especially the 16 - its the highlight and sounds great period - pretty beefy tone and even timbre - has ringless shells and round bearing edges.