[COLOR="DarkRed"]They are a '60's Pearl stencil brand. With a little work on their bearing edges, they can be decent drums. But you shouldn't generally pay more than about $350 for an entire set...unless it's one of those uber-cool Japanese wraps, in which case maybe $400.[/COLOR]

Thanks for the info! This is a nice-looking blue sparkle snare, starting at £15.00, maybe worth that?

[COLOR="DarkRed"]1 pound = $1.6...those snares are worth between $50-75 usd, so...worth about 30-45 pds... if in good shape.[/COLOR]

Hi, I have a question but, I have just recently purchased a 6 piece BelTone drumset. The guy I bought it from said it was 3 ply mahogany, and from the 50-60s. I assume before it was awrapped kit, but now the shells are completely bar and stained. I was wondering if there is anyway to confirm that the drums I got are infact from the 50-60s. Thanks :)

Hi And Welcome..to this great forum..With-out any photos its hard to tell but it is a M.I.J. set 60s or 70s...Mikey

PM sent....

Here are the pictures, hope they help. :)

OK, looks like Pearl with a Ludwig tom mount plate on the bass. These are the 3 ply shells. If you want a clean, controllable tone from them, and to protect them for another 40+ years, I highly recommend sanding the interiors of all the shells with 100 and 220 grit and LACQUERING them with 2-3 light coats. This seals the wood and gives them more reflection for the surface. Left untreated, the wood absorbs a good bit of the sound. I do not use poly because it changes the tones from warm and woodie to more plasticy...if that makes sense.

I am one of the few people that really digs these old, thin ply shells. Most others prefer the thicker 6 ply toms and snares and 9 ply basses. The snares can be a bit of a challenge to get right. I am good at sorting out most of the snare shells to get them sounding from good to fantastic. Many of the 3 ply snares are damaged or just sound bad. They can be worked up to sound good, but it takes an almost "wood whisperer" mentality to sort them out. Please don't take this as some sort of arogance, I just quite by luck possess this skill. I am more of a drum tech than drummer. If you like the sound of these drums, cool, but the edges are something I highly recommend you sand smooth as well. It is not difficult to do, but it must be done gently and carefully to avoid any drastic shenge to the contour. Would you mind terribly starting a new thread for your drums? Take pix of the kit set upo, some cleaner pix of the hardware...yeah, I'm gonna ask you to work, but I also promise to help you sort them out and make them a great sounding kit. What is your level of experience? Long timer, new player...is this a practice kit, main kit, gigger...? Let's get you started on your own thread for these.

Also, post in the Non-USA section, as this is an MIJ kit. (Made In Japan)

Alright thank you very much!! I am 16 years old and I have been playing for 4 years, so I am not totally new haha. As for the kit, I would probably have it as a practice kit.

Oh and do you have an idea of what era they are from? And are you saying these might be Pearls and not Beltones?

Thanks, and I will have the new thread set up in a bit.

P.S I just have the shells and most hardware, so I can't set up the drumset yet.