Greeting, Geniuses – I am writing to request your assistance. I am considering purchasing a used Pearl Masters Custom Maple kit but don’t know enough about it to determine a) whether I want it; and b) what is a fair price. I play Yamaha Custom Absolutes, and from what I gather, the Pearl Masters series is on pair with those drums.

Here are the details: I found this kit on Craigslist, and the owner is holding out for a customer who "understands and appreciates what he has." He took me to a cramped storage room, where he had the drums protected in cases. They haven’t been touched for years. The owner took the drums out one by one and handed them to me. There was no room to assemble the kit and audition it. I’ve included the best photos I could obtain given the conditions.

The kit is a red-colored Pearl Masters Custom Maple, and I believe it is an MMX. I have no idea what the age is - early-mid 90s? The finish and hardware are clean – almost new-looking. The configuration is as follows:

22-inch bass drum (maybe 16-inch depth/no tom mounts)

10, 12, 14, and 16-inch rack toms (traditional depth – not power toms)

6.5 x 14 matching snare

All toms are equipped with Pearl’s ISS suspension system.

The kit includes a U-shaped rack, seen folded in the photo below. Ignore the V-drums located behind the rack. This deal also includes all of the cymbal stands attached to the rack.

There are no tom stands – all toms mount to the rack. I am not a big fan of racks and would likely replace this one with floor stands. Can a stand even support 14- and 16-inch rack toms?

Cases are not included in this deal, but the owner suggested he might throw in some pedals and a couple of low-grade cymbals.

Can you please take a look at the photos below and tell me:

1. What model and color are these drums?

2. What is the approximate age?

3. Is this a desirable configuration? (I’m used to having toms mounted to the bass drum and floor toms with legs)

4. What is the package worth on the open market?

Thanks a bunch for you insights. I’ll let you know how things turn out.

Tom