Greetings,
Nice Round Badge Star kit. No fading anywhere! Sizes are 14" x 20", 8" x 12" and 14" x 14". Toms have natural interiors with no re-rings, and the bass drum has gray painted interior with no re-rings.
Both rack and floor tom hoops are 2.3mm. Newer Remo Powerstroke 3 heads top and bottom on the floor tom. Other heads could stand to be replaced but are serviceable. Coated Ambassador on the bass drum batter, Ebony Pinstripe on the front. Tom has a Coated Ludwig Weather Master Heavy on top and a generic thin resonant. Things worth mentioning:
1. The previous owner had installed a different tom mount. I filled in the holes with wood filler and covered the large (1") mounting hole with a piece of wrap that I had saved from the snare that went this kit (it was trashed, but I saved it for lugs and wrap). It blends in perfectly. I had an extra rail mount that matched up exactly with the original holes (that were never filled in). I took a blue sharpie to the smaller screw mounting holes of the old mount, and you can barely tell they were there at all. Also, it appears there was a second Ludwig bracket mounted on the bass drum at one point (for a cymbal L-arm). I filled in the holes and used the Blue Sharpie trick again. Again, barely noticeable. It has the original cymbal holder mounted to the bass drum shell, so I just left it there. There is no eyebolt, so it's "blank" inside. Obviously, there is also a Ludwig bracket and MIJ cymbal arm on the shell as well that functions perfectly, even though it appears the horizontal part of the "L" was cut a bit shorter (again, by the numbskull previous owner!) Bass drum hoops are plastic, but are in good shape with inlays intact.
2. I also had an original tom clip bracket laying around, and again it matched up perfectly into the existing holes on the rack tom, which were not filled in. I covered the other mounting holes and used the Blue Sharpie trick again. The biggest hole is covered by the bracket, the rest are again, just barely visible.
3. The bass drum has a little bit of weird residue on the wrap that I can't get off. It's on the bottom and the wrap is tight, just a residue. Unseen in playing position.
4. The "thumb" mount that the rack tom goes on was very loose and sloppy with lots of play. I used some JB Weld and now it is as tight as can be! There is some JB Weld residue on both sides of the "thumb", but it is barely noticeable, and completely hidden when the tom is mounted. The floor tom leg brackets were stripped and cracked, so I replaced them all with new Ludwig brackets. The hole pattern lined up perfectly, so no extra holes were drilled! New floor tom legs too (the originals are too darn short!)
That may seem like a lot, but it's all in the name of disclosure, and I am disclosing everything about the kit, so you'll know exactly what you are getting. All in all, this is a very nice kit! One of the very few MIJ Blue Sparkle kits I have seen that doesn't have any fading! This kit is very clean and ready to go! I will swap out the-"T-Top" on the cymbal arm with a regular wing nut-just forgot to do it for the photos).
$250 plus shipping.
Thanks,
V
