It's just a stencil game, brother. Trying to figure it out my well drive you bonkers. Look at all the Star and Pearl stencils from the 60s and 70s. 95% of all the "name brands" were made by one or the other, or both at different times in different eras. And furthermore, about 75% of those same names were owned by three large corporations importing them and selling them, competing directly with themselves on shelves across America. Sears, Penney's, Montgomery-Ward, Marshall Field etc. all sold the exact same drums made on the same line and each and every one had it's own badge. And also, they did the same thing to the music stores in the same towns. You could go to 5 drum shops within miles of each other and you see the same exact drums with different names on them, Stewart, Apollo, TrueTone, on and on....so, it may well drive you quite mad as it has me. I'm now a certified loon, according to many other members.

Cheerio!

"...stencil game..."

Well, yeah. I work in the bicycle industry and much the same thing was going on in the 60's and 70's as department and hardware stores contracted with Huffy to make affordable [read: cheap] bikes and brand them accordingly. So I know I'm in for a wacky ride here. Still, researching all these different practice pads is interesting and fun. And, like "stencil" drums, pads are easier and cheaper to find (and they store well to boot, a fact not lost on the non-drumming spouse).