I picked up a sequoia red Pearl BLX recently and I have to say that I am blown away by the quality of the shells. They are 6 ply, all birch shells, lacquered in and out, with impeccable bearing edges. I finally got them back together yesterday and I was excited to play on them after cleaning and buffing such fine shells. They are loud and sensitive (think DW) but surprisingly dry. I'm playing the toms almost wide open, with 1/2 a moongel on the floor. The kick packs the kind of punch I need in my reggae band and will be nice on smaller un-miked gigs when I need the kick to cut through.

The funny thing is that last week I came across a semi-local ad for this kit and the owner was looking to trade for Premier, Yamaha or Tama kit. Those happened to be the 3 brands of kits I had up for sale last week. I ended up trading the 1978 Resonator. Yes, some will think I am insane (insert braindead smiley here!). The Resonator was kind of a niche market here and I wouldn't have wanted to ship it either. I wasn't getting any local interest, 13", 14" and 16" is a big set-up to haul around, and well, white is not that enticing.....so I thought I would try to recoup my losses on the Premier by grabbing and selling this BLX. Now that I have played them it would be ridiculous to sell such a fine giggable kit. I doubt I could easily pick up another high end kit for the price I would have sold them for anyway.

PS; it goes without saying that these drums are only half-way vintage. The love and detailing they received will help them enter that category in style a few years down the road.

PPS: Pics to come, but I'm late for another gig!