Clearly, I am one of the major detractors of these drums, on this forum and I have considerable experience with them-----from experiencing them fresh out of the box, to rebuilding them and playing rebuilt versions, over the years. I currently have a 4 piece , sitting here 20 12 14 and 14 awaiting repair, waiting for some tweaks and parts and aside from it's cool size quotient,and cheap price it's a pretty yawny kit.
Very little is purchased in our world , without the consideration of " is it good value for the money" being factored in. Were MIJ drums good value for the money for the American( and Canadian and Swedish....)primary consumers in 1968? The answer is an unqualified yes. Were they good value for the money for the rainforests of the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia? Were they good value for the money for employees of Slingerland, or Boosey & Hawkes and Rogers and John Grey and Trixon and ......were they good value for the money for the ultimate users, who out of frustration, struggling with an inferior instrument, quit and left them in the closet?
I get that they can be made to sound like better drums than they did fresh out of the box and I get that the Luan wood , like all wood, seasons and might contribute to a better sound now than when they were made.( those Japanese musical instrument artisans , are so clever----that was definitely their plan). I get that they are now so cheap and available that anyone can pick them up for a song and fuse their woodworking hobby and musicianship. I get that due to their cheapness, many can be acquired for the price of one Gretsch drum and a collection can be attained.
I get most of the points related to purchasing and promoting these drums.
I also get that , the politics and ethics related to their production and the policies related to their general acceptance in the marketplace are a small part of a very serious picture, that is still ongoing and isn't exactly fun and collectible for a lot of people , to whom 20.00 spent on a MIJ drum would be a lot. So, the value of these drums at their current low price is an illusion....and I get that no one has any control over that right now and that the enjoyment of these drums under the current circumstances is a long way from the politics and policies.....but it is something that is there and I find troubling.
I don't get , that almost no one talks about these drums in their entirety.That's the way I see drums, with all the bits they were supplied with. For the most part,the hardware and cymbals mostly get ignored as they should. Quite honestly , I'm surprised that there isn't a Made in Japan cymbal rehammering cult ,out there somewhere. There is a lot of talk about shell packs and toms and bass drums but even the supplied video in this thread shows a Ludwig snare partnered with 3 MIJ drums, as a demonstration. Why not just sneak in a Slingy bass drum too. We can all rock out to those surprising MIJ toms, hey you know, they don't sound too bad!
I get that certain people have an affection for them because they were their first drums. I was around them, when I started but was fortunate enough to start on a used Trixon set, which by the way , cost me 1/2 of what a new MIJ kit would have cost---and I got Zildjian cymbals and an Olympic hi-hat to boot. Which brings me to the biggest thing that I don't get.
If the real interest, out there is in landing good playable drums, at a cheap price----because that's what I read a lot ; something along the lines of, I can afford to buy these, then; why would someone not pursue looking for drums other than MIJ, which go for about the same price? If you look hard enough, Ajax, Olympic, Roxy( Tromsa),Broadway, Beverley,to name a few are all out there( I just bought a 50's , Tromsa 16 lug parallel drop snare---will be about 70.00, delivered to my door). Most of those brands are actually, up to first rate standards and are still around in some quantity,even in North America . You see, pursuing MIJ drums doesn't make sense to me because if you are into drums , then good drums would be of interest, irregardless of maker.....and as for the snobbery. I know a well made drum , when I see and hear one; a drum that is designed, engineered and built with skill and purpose,the goal of which was to make a qualified musical instrument not; just assembled from door panelling and available molded white metal parts ,thrown in a box with a bunch of chromed scrap metal and spun brass torture devices , the goal of which; was simply, to collect foreign currency.
