Nope, usually considered firewood..

It really depends on the finish also and if it is 6 or 8 lugs.

$50 - $85 for the snare

and $25 - $75 for the floor tom.

It never hurst to clean it up though and that is usually free labor!

David

he informed me that both drums are champagne sparkle or gold glitter. the snare is 6-lug. the floor tom is 8-lug.

I tried to tell him firewood, haha. I thought the aged wood, would have a wonderful rich aroma! I can see Yankee Candle coming out with a new 'drum' scented candle real soon!

-Kevin

...just to add...

There is actually a group of collectors for Japanese stencil drums. Most are really bad quality...but some are of acceptable quality... the drums, I mean...not the collectors... ;)...and, in the case of some vintage Yamaha maple kits, comparable-to-American kits of the same era quality.

However, as stated, most of these kits are made from luan wood...very soft and splinter-y wood that isn't stable and often deforms over time -very reactive to climate changes -as are most soft woods.

But, there are people who collect them...In some caes, the finishes were really cool. The "Tiger's Eye" wrap is quite fetching, if you ask me! ;) But champagne or gold sparkle probably isn't at the top of the list for collectors.

I've got a U.S. Mercury that a friend of mine picked up for me, thinking that it was, in fact, a "U.S." made drum. Mine's in WMP.

I couldn't get $25 for the thing so it sits as a "display item" in my music room. For some bizarre reason, the one I've got actually has die-cast rims and lugs that resemble the old Rogers bread & butters. The thing actually looks pretty decent with my Rogers WMP B&B kit.

Here's the truth on these types of drums: some of them are 45-50 years old with chrome that can still be cleaned and shined, shells that are still round with actual bearing edges and snare beds with a nice, mellow sound to them when fitted with good (Remo Emperor or better) heads. They've lasted this long and people are starting to collect them (yeah, me too) because they are the brands and types they learned on way back in the '60s as these drum sets were affordable for the average kid in 1965 whereas the Ludwigs and Slingerlands were out of reach. The Luan shells have not only kept integrity but sound better 40 some years later. Did they age well or did I get better at tuning an old drum? I have a 7 piece 1977 Ludwig Chrome over maple kit that sounds and looks amazing after enduring 25+ years of club dates, festivals, outdoor shows and countless garage practices. But I am tired of lugging this heavyweight around anymore and I am always so concerned about it's safety. So I aquired some '60s stencil drums in mint condition. Light to carry, ringing sound, cool vintage sparkle wrap and I feel like I'm 15 again playing my Majestics!

and another thing...I don't have to hit my Luan shell DrumMate snare nearly as hard as I have to hit my Ludwig Supraphonic to cut through the noise. It's only a little 6 lug that I found in the trash, but it pops and other drummers always ask me about it and comment that it sounds great. Some models or badge names had re-enforcing rings at the bearing edges and the middle. They came in 6, 8 and 10 lug. Some '60s stencil snares had extra snare tension adjustments on the butt side other than the fine control knob on the throw off. Anyway, Luan makes lousy firewood. It burns too quickly and doesn't put out much heat. Don't torch 'em, send 'em to me!

You speak the truth, vintagedrummer53. I've got a 12/14/20 gold sparkle US Mercury that I found for $300, a little beat up but with all original parts, and intact. It's one of my favorite kits I've ever owned, I can't get over how good it sounds. If you put the right heads on it and can tune it up, they really channel that dry, warm vintage studio tone that many people try to capture.

The Problem I always had with the three or four MIJ sets that I had was that they would not stay in tune At a gig they would start to sound crappy after like 15 minutes. I had to give up!!

Retrosonic: that really shouldn't be a prob at all for you.

Tama is offering 'Hold Tight Washers' (I'm using these ones),

Sonor: 'Super Lock Tune Safe Set' or

the wellknown plastic washers (= the cheapest solution) often service as well.

I guess that the other major drum companies have similar products to offer as well.

So, if you replace the original metal washers below your tension screws with one of these products, you won't experience that effect any more.

Ralf