Truth is, I am not yet a drummer. My son inspired me. My younger brother was a great drummer who lost his own personal battle much too young. I was his tech, and was taking some lessons then. When he passed away, 2 months to the day after our Mom died, I took to the bottle in earnest. For the next two and half years, I did not draw a sober breath. I gave my son the gift of sobriety for his second birthday.

We got into the drums in July, 2009. When I posted the first photos of his little Blue Flash (sparkle) Majestic Jazz kit, I had no idea there was any real difference in the tonal quality of his drums next to an entry level American set from the same era. Today, 7 months later, I am a historian working toward discovering a timeline on an important part of drum history.

The truth is, there are many drummers today that would never have been able to play had it not been for these Made In Japan drums. I don't care what side of the fence you sit on, I believe these drums made more timekeepers than some want to admit to. And let's face it, many of you would not be a drummer today if mom and dad had not given you those Stewarts, Zimgars, Apollo's or Majestics for your 8th Christmas or birthday.

No matter how horrible you may think they sounded then, it was only because you had not the experience or knowledge to make the minor changes it reqires to make a huge difference in the sound of these venerable drums. I make them sound good, no matter what many of you may think, and it is not that much work. If I have to restore a drum set, it does not matter whether they are Ludwigs or Pearls, it takes the same amount of time, and the same type of work, and if they are similar types of shells, they will both sound great. Maybe they won't sound the same, but they will sound great. I am that confident in my ability, how about you? Why don't you give it a try?

Don't disparage us, and the fact that we choose to restore these MIJ sets. Many of us, especially in this economy, cannot afford to flip American drums. It is just as much fun and peace of mind to do a good job on MIJ as it is Ludwig, and just as fulfilling when we hear them for the first time. They sing, just alike, no matter who made them. And it has been pointed out by several that the American drums from this era were slipping in quality, all the while the Japanese were coming up in quality. Sometimes, we all have to step back and remember, we are all drummers, but we all cannot afford the same toys.

So let's try to remember that. We share a common goal, the preservation of a musical instrument unlike any other, and with far fewer players in the whole shceme of things, both from the perspective of manufacturers, and players. There are easily 25 times as many good guitar players as there are drummers, good or marginal. And how many guitar makers? Who can count? We can count the actual number of commercial drum builders, and far more easily. Because we are historians, players restoration artists, we provide the world of used and vintage drums something that we cannot begin to fathom. I would venture to say that probably half the registered memebers of the forum have less than 5 posts. They come here for one reason, to glean information.

And I would also say that another 50,000 or so visitors come here every year and search for the answer no one else could provide, and leave in awe of the sheer volume of information they get, and the quality of that inform ation, like we knew they were going to come here and ask that specific question. Whether they are looking for a timeline on a WFL, or a Jason, let's be the pride of the drumming world, let us preserve not only the drums themselves, but the knowledge, the passion, the experience they will need in 20, 30, 50 years as we pass from this world to the next, we will leave a legacy like no other. History, value, tips and tricks, things they would never think of, because this industry does not like to keep it's history alive, there is no money in the past for drum builders, only in what they can sell new