I recently went to a local music store just to look...not thinking I would buy anything since I already have 7 acoustic drum kits, lol. Anyway, while looking at their drum kits, I noticed kinda stacked away in the corner what looked to me to be an old MIJ kit missing several parts....bottom hoops and some other hardware. I asked them about them and they said make an offer. I really didn't need it but they gave me a great price $50 (which ended up being $70 after getting a couple pieces or hardware), so the kit came home with me :) The salesman at the store was great and helped me locate most of the parts I needed in the storage area. The wrap was black and had some warping, so I decided to give them some new life and re-wrap them. The second rack tom is one I already had and I just covered it to match. I know I have two 12" toms but I am able to tune them different, so it works. Anybody have any info on Polaris...did Pearl or Star make them???
Polaris Drums Re-wrapped
Do you have a close up of the badge, sir? I am leaning toward Stars but, I sure have been wrong a few times in my life!
Brian
Here is the badge....
Hmm..... thanks for the picture. Most Star stencils had badges stamped "finest quality" or " World's Supreme Quality". Something like that. Oval shaped. Black. Maybe the Pearl guys can chime in. Looks like I wasn't much help, sir. Sorry.
Brian
Hello ardrummer
Polaris drums started out being produced by Star
That bass drum in particular looks to be Star-made all the way
But Polaris badged (foil sticker)kits were later produced by non-Star Hoshino and Pearl as well
And were a completely different build from yours. and from each other
even the foil Polaris labels were different
it may also be possible that most of the Pearl made and most recent Polaris stuff (70s) was actually made in Taiwan
Also many Star made kits featuring two rack toms on a 20" bass drum
were built with twin 12" toms
I personally prefer that look
a 12" with a 13" on a 20" bass with a rail looks sort of funny to me
even just a single 13" looks a little big on a 20"
(pictured)is my Star-made "Black Jack" kit with the two 12" toms
GREAT JOB!! on that re-wrap they really look AWESOME!!
If you look on the "Made in Japan" section of the Vintage Drum Guide there is also a Pearl-built battleship lug Apollo set on the same page as a Polaris like yours.
teverson-sr
No question those Apollo drums (another original Star label) are Pearl
I really love the battleship style lugs
But those Polaris kits on the page are the Hoshino built versions
The silver is a little hard to tell but the blue kit is for sure
Nice AR, you're getting really good at wrapping ;)
Thanks for the info/comments :)
So it sounds like they are probably Star made. Guess it really doesn't matter since there wasn't a whole lot of difference in quality between the two. Cool kit Kenwood!
I'm actually doing a gig with these on Saturday. Looking forward to playing them!
Very Nice job!
Is that the "Super Platinum Sparkle" wrap from Precision? Looks great!
Interesting design on those bass drum spurs. They look thicker than normal, 3/8" MIJ spurs.
Also, you may already know this but your rail mounted tom is upside down. The clip bracket is purposely installed closer to the bottom head to give you a slight bit more height. It looks like the bracket itself is installed upside down as well. The rounded part of the bracket should be facing the top head (I know it is in the picture, but the bracket should be closer to the bottom head, not the top, thus making it upside down). I'm not able to see the badge in the pics. Is the badge upside down also? If not, you can usually coax it into being rotated.
Sorry if you already knew that, just wanted to help a fellow MIJ brotha out.
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