I have given away set's in the pass to many to recall mostly M.I.J. set's but a few Ludwigs to kid's...I have even given very good drummer's a start in the music..I will not give name's but a some year's ago a drummer used to come into the shop never had money but was one hell of a drummer,he alway's looked for used drum head's and stix's,he always walked away with a pile of heads and stix's for Free...Now he is in one of the biggest band's out today..all i asked of him was to pass it on...Mikey

Good on you, man. Very noble.

I only have my one kit (12/14/20 70's Yamaha) now which is doing me just fine. I know some of you have a ton of these kits lying around, but I honestly don't see the need for hoarding them personally, unless of course you're rescuing and re-distributing them to needy people. One kit is more than enough for me. I don't have the need nor space for several. I didn't get my kit for peanuts but I think I got a pretty good deal and it's already paid for itself several times over.

That being said, an MIJ blue sparkle 4 piece kit with not even a name badge to be found (all the parts were just stamped "Japan" or "Made In Japan") got me through from age 6 to 15 as a drum student. After that I sold it and moved up to a Yamaha Stage Custom kit.

The stencil kits are plenty sufficient for someone just learning the instrument and not overly superficial and concerned with brands.

This is, and more importantly, was, the the whole point of the MIJ stencil explosion of the 60s and 70s. Todays MIA stuff is maybe maginally better built, but will never have the lasting beauty of the stencils of the past. They are and have been drab and plain for more than 20 years, for the most part, and only a handful will be deserving of restoration/preservation in the future. I have seen and will purchase, as soon as I have the liquidity to do so, a modern kit that i am certain will be a viable candidate for such in the future because it built elegantly, well finished with fine hardware and finished in a mahogany stain. Very nice drums, if you can find them, Titan by one of the new names in the game. These will actually hold up very well.

Who is Titan???...new or old company?

As noted in my introductory post, I drove from L.A. to New Orleans in 2006 to give a set of Slingerlands to a drummer who lost his gear in Katrina. It's feeling I'd love to replicate in the future.

On a much smaller level, whenever I see a child grooving when I play, I make a point of inviting him or her to have a bash during breaks and then presenting a pair sticks. In the 20 or so times that I've done that, I've only had a parent give me a sarcastic thanks once.

I'll give free starter lessons, too. I've come up with a pretty good system of introducing basic independence to kids. I've had a few parents tell me that their child's real drum teacher was impressed by the head start their kid came in with.

New, heavy, nice shells, great hardware....These are about 6-7 years old, made by a "New Company". I can't recall the name of the builder, but they are a good set of drums, and sound nice. And I can snag them cheap!

Mikey, you may be the most mysterious person I don't actually know.Hmmmm