Well, they are thinner and lighter, and again, the chrome is not as well done nor quite as thick as USA made stock. These older ones usually have some pitting and flaking that is not as prevalent in USA drums. And look at the ears and holes, they are a different shape than Slingerland, usually a bit oblong, and the ears seem to have a folded over, inconsistent finish to them. They are just not as hefty, not as heavy and certainly don't have a top quality chrome job. I have some that are pristine, but the many have these issues listed above.

After you hang a few of these MIJ drums on tom mounts and floor tom legs, you will begin to see the slight variations, even from one part of the drum or part to another and some minor to glaring inconsistencies. Just part of the fun of collecting, restoring and enjoying drums, at a much lower admission price than American/European vintage gear. I can actually afford MIJ and enjoy the thrill of collecting, where as if I only counted American or European drums as worthy of my time and effort, I could not enjoy the hunt, the thrill of collecting and preserving history, no matter what others say. They are a part of our heritage, our drumming past.

And many of today's drummers would not be drummers if it were not for MIJ drums. Even though they were "garbage" back then, we, as the youth and future of Drumming, did not have the knowledge and expertise we do today. As adults, we have learned many lessons, from woodworking to painting, cleaning and tuning, head selection and many other skills we did not possess as youngsters. We can actually turn these poor, old dilapidated drums into something very special, and it can be done for little to nothing. The wraps of many of these old drums are what attract us.

Then you find out "Oh crap, these are just Stewart or La Boz or Apollo....junk MIJ drums"...with the coolest wraps on the planet, for less than $100 with a matching wood snare or the original COS snare in perfect condition. There are a handful of guys on this forum who are talented in working them over to make a really cool looking and great sounding gigging kit. Take advantage of our special abilities and knowledge of them, we love to see them brought back from the dumpster, cleaned up, edges re-contoured, new heads fit and then, the first time you actually get to play them all tuned up and looking like a new tuxedo, you say "Wow, I don't remember these MIJ drums ever sounding this good when I was 15..."

And that is because you took a chance and let your heart lead you, not your head, filled with the arrogance of "only American". That is what is killing the MIJ drums and we are losing them because people just don't get it. They are special and can be made to sound terrific, and a lot of guys use them in studios around the world and you would never suspect them to be anything other than a set of Slingerland or Gretsch, maybe even a Rogers or Ludwig, depending on edge profile and heads.

We know our stuff, just as many of you know a Ludwig Super Classic inside out and we know the drums can be in horrific looking condition when they are picked off the curb, or taken from a 180* attic and need what appears to be 100 hours of labor. We are not at all shy about sharing our secrets with you. We want you to have your very own Candy Cane LaBoz kit, or Peacock Pearl US Mercury, or Fantasia Pearl Bolero.

As a matter of fact, if you aren't looking toward an MIJ gigging kit, ask yourself, are you really all that comfortable taking your '67 BOP Super Classic or 54 Copper Mist Nitron Round Badge 3 ply kit out to the smoke filled bars and drunken, brawling scene, where dancing seems to take on a whole new meaning when they are on your stage, trying to pull off the whole Keith Moon thing...

Then the years begin to fall away quite rapidly as they seem to magically clean themselves with very little effort, and before you know it, bam, they look like a new set and sound so sweet with those inexpensive heads and cheap snare wires, because that is what works best with these old shells! What a bonus, knowing you can restore a kit and use lower priced parts/pieces because it just works that way. For instance, Aquarian is making a newish line of single ply heads with a coating called Z-100. They are similar in weight to Remo Ambassador heads but are more supple, not quite as stiff and they just seem to work extremely well with these old MIJ shells, and bonus, they are, or should be, 10-15% less than Remo.

Anyway...give it a try!

Will just add here that Camco floor tom mounts and Slingerland ones have the same distance - so if, in a bizarre piece of reasoning, the original owner wanted to get rid of the original (or MIJ copy) Slingie mounts and replace them with Camco, this would be possible, without re-drilling.

Thanks man. I appreciate your passion for the MIJ drums.

Cheers!