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Pearl President : good drums?

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Heya,

I am interested in a Pearl President drum kit (it appears to be a 1969 one), but I don't have many informations on it. (I have done some research yet)

The seller said it may have been done in beech, or poplar, but according to the joined photos, i think it is mahogany ; am I right? How many plies? (seller said 3)

According to you, is it a good drumkit?

The photos :

[IMG]http://img243.imageshack.us/img243/1269/pearl1969zt6.th.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/6848/pearl196968572wa3.th.jpg[/IMG]

Thanks in advance for your replies (sorry, my english sucks ;) )

Posted on 16 years ago
#1
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I have a very similar kit actually, mine is a 22-16-13 in a very time-muddled silver sparkle finish. I think mine is from around 66-67, it's basically a Slingerland clone, the lugs look very similar, but the 3-ply shells are of cheaper mystery wood, and lack re-rings like old Slingies or Ludwigs. I took mine fully apart, cleaned everything, repaired the bearing edges as much as possible, painted the interiors white, and cleaned the wrap as best that I could. Do they sound good? Well, I tried a few different heads and discovered that I liked them best with a fairly loose 2-ply head, Aquarian Performance 2s gave me the low, slightly flappy '70s tom sound I was after. The bass drum sounds best, I used a Super kick 2 for the batter and a Remo PS2 with a 5" port on the front, no blanket or pillow required. I get a lot of complements on the bass drum sound, not so much on the toms really, but within a pretty narrow tuning range they don't sound too bad. The hardware construction is a little sloppy, but they have held up for 40 years, so they can't be too bad. Here is a link to the pictures I posted here last year.

http://www.vintagedrumforum.com/showthread.php?t=2173&highlight=pearl+president

Slingerland Zildjian Aquarian
Posted on 16 years ago
#2
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I would like to see if there is more information, but as I know it the Pearl President line of drums had plastic fiber shells and had a badge that actually said President on them..

The 22-16-13 with that badge was called the Dyna-Max... in the 1969 catalog.

Unless at some point they used the President name on a wood shell kit the President line was not on wood shell drums.

Any corrections will be appreciated...

David

Posted on 16 years ago
#3
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Somewhere I remember reading that the President series was a fully wood kit from around 66-68, and the fiberglass/wood kits started in '69. I'll see if I can find that info again.

Slingerland Zildjian Aquarian
Posted on 16 years ago
#4
Posts: 5176 Threads: 188
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Wow! A lot of those old Japanese kits, while poorly made, often have some of the cooooooolest wraps I have ever seen! I wish an American company could replicate some of those kinds of wraps.

By the way...

It's likely a 3-ply luan wood (sometimes mis-identified as "mahogany"). It's a VERY poor quality wood. The screw that tightens the tom mount is replaced with a hex-head bolt. The spurs are newer replacements, so there is a chance of excess holes.

I would say under $500.00 for sure....Some collectors might pay more for that finish, though! :)

"God is dead." -Nietzsche

"Nietzsche is dead." -God
Posted on 16 years ago
#5
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Yeah, I don't know what type of potmetal they used for hardware, but both spur mounts and the tom mount on mine have been tapped and threaded with bolts.

Slingerland Zildjian Aquarian
Posted on 16 years ago
#6
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From O-Lugs

Wow! A lot of those old Japanese kits, while poorly made, often have some of the cooooooolest wraps I have ever seen! :)

Amen. I have seen the most amazing colors in these 50's and 60's non-USA kits. It's the colors that made kids all over the world put "drumset" on their Christmas lists! It works on me.

Isaac

Posted on 15 years ago
#7
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I found the following at the Pearl Drum Forum:

(1) Citing "Mr. B."

An answer as to when the Presidents finished depended on where the drums came from, in the US arguably from 1969 to sometime before 1972, and in Japan from 1969 to 1979. There is some confusion about this as actual kits don’t always match the catalogs, and catalogs don’t always match from one market to another. The first year was 1966, but generally speaking ‘72 was the last year for Presidents in the North American market, and in Japan they kept the name 'til at least through 1975. The most common shell was 9 ply Luan, however even early on they also had an option called "Plastic Fiber" (a dark brown, Masonite hardboard looking material) that was unique to just the President series. Some of the Japanese market kits could of very likely been Wood-Fiberglass also. To further confuse things sometime around ‘71 they began to use the (until then unique to Presidents) "Diamond Cut" lugs on just about everything. They were probably using up old stock before the big retool. All lugs for all models were updated to the new and long lived C-050’s rectangular style by ‘73.

(2) Citing "3pearlkits" regarding catalogs:

1960’s - No Presidents

1968 - No Presidents

1969 - (Printed in Japan in English): (Quote: "President" drum outfit shell is made of unique plastic fiber. All other model kits 9 ply wood shells.)

1972 - (US) No President series listed.

Artist series: 3/16" full fiberglass shell

Professional series: 1/32" Fiberglass inner, 9 ply wood shell

Deluxe series: 9 ply wood shell,

1975 - (Japan) President Models listed, President 707, 606 and 505, Big Shot,

President, & Crystal Beat.

Various series still seem to have the script President badge, others not. Those have the badge we normally associate with 70’s Pearl kits.

1975 - 9US 0 President kit shown in catalog but not listed as an available model designation. Top model listed is the Dyna Family Outfit with a number of options with fiberglass or wood fiberglass shells

1979 - (Japan) President Export Series, President Series

1979 - (US) Fiberglass, Wood fiberglass and Wood models shown, none listed as President models

Posted on 13 years ago
#8
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I don't know if this is happening to anyone else....when I open pictures from image shack they are LOADED with spyware and viruses.Luckily I have fairly comprehensive virus and spyware protection.LET THE LOOKER BEWARE!

Posted on 13 years ago
#9
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If anyone is interested in seeing a real 1969 Pearl President fiberglass kit - here is my baby. These dark brown fiberglass Presidents were produced from 69-75 it seems.

[IMG]http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn87/Osakabop/DSC_0032_edit0.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn87/Osakabop/DSC_0029_edit1.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn87/Osakabop/CIMG3268.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn87/Osakabop/eabc0fba.jpg[/IMG]

For info. & live schedule:
www.EricWiegmanndrums.com
*Odery Drums Japan endorser/ representative
*Japan Distributor of Vruk DrumMaster pedals
*D'Addario Japan Evans/Promark/Puresound
*Amedia Cymbals Japan

It's the journey not the destination.
Posted on 13 years ago
#10
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