Hi Bryan,The shells look to be Maple so this would date the set about 1980 on..I think the seller is counting the cymbals as piece's also i only see 12 drums..The 4 small toms to the right were added and don't look like Pearl made drums Iam going to say That these are Tama's from the mid 80's..The set is not a rare set to fine do to the fact that i think its a piece together set...Also way over priced for what i see in the listing....Mikey

Not doubting you Mikey, but if they are in fact actually bird's eye maple, they may be quite rare. I don't think that justifies the price however...

I've never seen old Pearls in bird's eye... (or new ones for that matter, but I was looking a lot more in the 80's)

Could be worth the trip to check them out.

I decided to contact the seller in the interests of trying to find out if these are a "1 of 3" kit because someone on this forum must be interested if they are really that rare (price aside for the moment)

He was very kind to reply to my questions, which I have attached most of his response below. Again, just FYI and in the interests of furthering vintage drum information!

His response:

"The person I purchased the kit from had the history. They were made for studio work. 2 sets were Birdseye Maple and 1 was painted white. The set that I have were smuggled into Canada and were used as a recording studio kit for near 20 years. Since date of first ownership the kit has only been dismantled and moved just 4 or 5 times. There is a serial number :181058. The long tube-toms are not Pearl, they are Cannon, out of Youngstown ,Ohio. I had an expert look at them, he owned a drum shop and sold and shipped kits/pieces all across Canada and the USA. He could not put a dollar amount on them because such a kit has never come up for auction or for sale, apparently the kits were special made and not really put on the open market but he offered me $3200 at the time but then I did not want to sell, I was just curious."

He then offered to have me come out and view / inspect them whenever I wished.

Thanks,

Bryan

Interesting...

Have you tried contacing Pearl directly with all the pictures and information you have? Maybe they'd be willing to shed some light, ane reinforce (or not) the seller's claim.

Jim,

No I have not contacted Pearl (yet). I will ask the seller if he has thought of that. Do you think the company will even respond to an inquiry such as that? (pessimism showing through....)

The seller did say that he had tried to find the original owner that he bought the kit from, as this individual could speak to the origin of the set. He had some contact info stored in a file box, but apparently, his ex departed with it and is not responding....

All he knows is that the original owner lived in the small town of Lobo, Ontario and moved into a loft in Toronto, making the big set surplus.

The seller really doesn't want to sell but is facing some financial urgency that forces him to list it. Unfortunately such stories are not limited to the US in these times.

I will see if I can find anything else out.... will ask for more detailed pictures of the actual drum shells too. Will post them if I get any.

Bryan

I would get to the largest Pearl dealer in your area and appeal to them to inquire with Pearl on your behalf. You picking up the phone and calling is futile I'm sure.

I know the former owner of a drum shop around here, and in your position I would have him ask as he still has all his contacts in the industry.

But, I'm in the US and you are in Canada (and it was apparently delivered there originally) so I would definitely inquire from there on this.