Thanks for all the info, I'll do some further investigation, photos and definitely some measurements. Watch this space. I have to say I'm constantly amazed by the wealth of knowledge of the members of this forum. Cheers guys Tony.
Just keep it up and soon you will be a Guru! Look at me....July of last year, I didn't know diddly about MIJ stuff, and now I am an international expert....so to speak. I love these old things, especially the 3 ply shells. Once you get a handle on what you want to do, we can pow-wow and get them up to snuff and sounding amazing. I know you have another, high quality kit somewhere, but if you keep an open mind and take some tips from us that have a lot of experience in tweaking these drums, you will be astounded at how they perform. And the best part is you can do so on the down-low, cash wise.
There are too many "drum snobs" that think these are garbage, and occasionally we get sideways, but I'm telling you, if you keep it open, and listen and do the few tricks, you will find this may become a gigging kit for you. The reason you might want to grab another kit that is 100% correct and also 3 ply is very simple: for the money, and the fact that once they are tweaked, you can save wear and tear on your irreplacable Vintage American drums, and use these babies. No one will know but you, because once the work is done, and you have invested in new heads, you can have two kits, set up for different styles or settings, and have less in both of them than you have in your prized snare. That is assuming you paid more than 300-400 for a top shelf snare...anyway, I think you get the point. Sorry for the long "rant", but I am very passionate, and a champion of the down-trodden, misunderstood and much maligned MIJ sets. This is not to say they are all great diamonds in the rough, but many of them are. And they are so cheap!
