JimmySticks!

MIJ's are just so much fun! As to your snare drum, I've found that pretty much any good ambassador-weight head works great, ie; Remo, Ludwig, Evans, Aquarian.

As to wires, I've been using inexpensive MIT snare wires from DrumFactoryDirect. Here are the one's I'm referring to... https://www.drumfactorydirect.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=6_104_374_75

Just scroll down to the 14" 16 strand and 20 strand. For my MIJ drums, I usually go with the 16 strand, but the 20's work equally well. The chrome plated wires give lots a "snap" to the drier Luan shells. In fact, the 20 strand wires are the ones that come on most Ludwig snare drums for some time now. They just have the "Ludwig" logo on the end plates. Their snare drums seem to sound pretty good with these MIT wires!

Good luck!

-Mark

Thanks for the response Mark.

I have some coated Evans G1s and G2s laying around. Would they work ok? When I used the G1s on the batter side of the snare, they gave a really good crack compared to the Calftones warmer, rounder sound. The Calftones on the batter side and the G1s on the resonant side really give me a nice sound on the tom's, so it might work as well on the snare.

Those are some great priced snare wires you turned me onto. Much cheaper than others I've been looking at on ebay. Yeah, they look like the deal!

Hey, any idea if those Pearl wires on my kit are original? I'd love to know because it might tell me my Norma stencil was a pre-Pearl kit. As of now, I'm not sure of the origin of these drums.

Good stuff Mark, thanks again!

Yes, the Evans G1 heads would be ideal. The G2 would be too thick sounding for the shell.

As to those Pearl wires, can you supply a picture? I have a feeling they're not original, though. At most, the typical MIJ snare drum had wires with no logo on them, other than possibly "Japan" or something similar. Anyway, pictures will help.

-Mark

I posted a couple of pics of the snare wire and the original resonant head. Hopefully you can see the Pearl engraving on the wire. If not original, it is very old, as the engraving is almost worn away. I almost missed it altogether.

Thanks again Mark!

I had an MIJ snare drum with those same style of wires! I'm not sure if there was a "Pearl" engraved on it, though. The wires were all tweaked and I probably tossed them. Your wires may be original, but just tough to tell. They do look period-correct, though.

-Mark

Man, I'd love to know if these are original! The font of the Pearl logo is what makes me think they could be original to the kit. The font looks to be the earliest Pearl used, which would put it right around 1967, the year of this kit.

It interests me because I have not been able to find out who built this kit, so this Pearl find is intriguing!

And thanks for the link, I place an order for a few things!

If this is a 3 ply shell, I'd use Aquarian Z-100.

Thanks for your input jonnistix.

I'm not to familiar with Aquarian heads. I've been trying to limit myself to Evans, because honestly, there are just to many choices between the Big 3! After awhile the comparisons all run together! Lol

So I already ordered an Evans Clear 200, which is made specifically for the snare side, and I will keep the Calftone on the batter side. Hopefully this combo, along with the new wires, will really make this snare pop. Thanks!

The Z-100 was coined back in 2009 and, honestly, no one is familiar with this name anymore. Simply stated, Z-100 was the coating applied to the film that was supposed to last longer than comparable coatings by Evans or Remo. Aquarian still uses this longer-lasting coating, but there is no real reference to Z-100 anymore. Aquarian makes very good heads, but there are times when the wide metal hoop can cause fitment problems.

-Mark