Very cool! This is a late 70s kit. The lugs are the diamond style Pearl lugs, so they would be a end of an era type of stencil. To me, this is nothing more than an early Export, or "pre-Export" kit, same as a Royce. Very clean, but not very interesting as the wrap is nothing more than just plain old white pvc.

Hey Jon,

Yes, I just thought it weird that someone bought a kit 30+ years ago and then put it in storage for all these years. As I am not really a drummer, and only play one when my my real drummer gets lucky while at some non-paying gig and goes off with a very cute freind and then I have to play drums for the whole 2nd set.....but that's another story.........I'm very glad we had many guitar players that night. But, I really do apprieciate Levon Helm and his abillity to sing and drum at the same time. It was a bit of struggle for me. But, I'm getting better.

Actually, this one I think would be a NOS kit, not a stored kit. Seems like the seller bought recently and decided they did not want it. Maybe it sounds the part of old Exports...?

Just made an offer to buy them at listed price.

Will advise if I get them.

good luck on that kit i hope you dont pay too much one thing for sure it will be mint

Well, that is all the money. I would offer 250. Those old Maxwin/Royce/Exports, which is really all these are, with the Apollo badge, all sell for about that, 200-250

If I can get these cheap enough they will become a players kit for grandkids.

Question for anyone, if the wrap is just white pvc, do I need to strip it before re-wrapping?

(I know that re-wrapping probably does not add value but the kids will like it better...)

With these plain white and black wraps, it is likely they are only held in place by at most two strips of double sided tape. The tape is at the seam and 180 out from the seam. If you work very carefully, you can get it off without causing any damage to the shells.

Re-wrapping is up to you, but I would not go all out on high dollar stuff as these are just what they are, early Exports. The outer ply will be the lauan type of open grain. If you take the wrap off, sand them a bit. I would not try to go too far to making them smooth. Use the Sparkle wrap at

http://www.dickblick.com/products/sparkle-brite-glitter-film/ or the stuff on feebay. If you are going for a straight color sparkle wrap, the Sparkle bright is much thicker that the stuff on the bay. If you want something more modern, the ebay stuff might be more to your liking.

I am getting a custom quote for 3 other colors right now, Orange, Galaxy and Rainbow Iris. If you like the idea of using the vinyl wrap for these, let me know. Now, it does not take a ton of abuse. You can tear it, but the Sparkle-Brite brand is thicker than the others. That is not to say it is super fragile, but it won't take tossing in the back of a van. Those that use it report that when reasonable care is observed, the wrap holds up well. Not like the thick wraps we are accustomed to, but if handled in a manner that you would say any other vintage kit, it holds up just fine.

This kit is not MIJ. It is clearly labeled as "Made in Taiwan, Republic of China". I am not even sure that the AGE OF 35+ years claimed by the ORIGINAL seller (in NJ) is correct.

Details...

9 ply luan shells -vertical grain as expected (the insides are not sealed or painted and they look and smell newer than 35 years...). They are still in round.

30mil solid pvc wrap, taped on as expected with NO signs of yellowing with age.

Hardware is cheaply chromed, as expected.

Kick has chromed metal hoops, not wood.

The "ApOllo" badges are not mounted with the grommets, they are tacked on to the shell with brass tacks away from the grommets. The grommets are pressed into the shell and there are two fold over tabs in the back to hold them in place.

The Remo Sound Master heads seem to be correct and have the plastic flesh rings of the era.

With the exception of the heads, nothing about this set speaks vintage to me.... Unless the condition is sooooooo mint that it defies my expectations.

Is this possibly a "stencil of a stencil" ? Anyone want to voice their opinions?

Good news, I scored a new TAMA HH35W hi-hat stand, a new Sonor CS-171 Cymbal Stand, a pair of Camber C6000 14" hi-hats better than the ones I own, and a Paiste 502 16" Crash (s/n 913779). That stuff is worth a couple hundred, so I only have about $200 in the drums themselves... (which still might be $199 too much....)

This will be a players kit for the Grandkids. I am going to re-wrap it.

Should I let the kids play these mint Sound Masters or is there a market for those?