It’s rare to find a complete (or nearly complete) snare kit with the box, especially from the Hoshino Kougyou factory, so when this popped up I had to snatch it up (for its historical relevance of course).
Read moreWhat is this drum?
This is a bass drum from Star's junior drum set called the "Midget" model. Its earliest appearance in a catalog was 1965.
Read moreUS Mercury Single Tension Snare Drum
Let me introduce you to my little friend: a Star made U.S. Mercury single tension snare drum. You won’t see many of these out in the wild, so here’s your chance to get a glimpse of a very rare entry-level snare by Star, and it has all its original parts!
Read moreThe Star Lever Hack
One of the most common sights to see on a Star made snare drum is a missing lever on a 930 Strainer. The overall design of the 930 was inspired by Slingerland’s Zoomatic. I have a way to keep the strainer and just add a lever to it.
Read moreYan Bass Drum Pedal Restoration
An often-overlooked part of a Vintage MIJ kit is the Bass Drum Pedal. Most Japanese pedals back then had no name or markings and were pretty generic looking, but Pearl had their “SPEED PEDAL”, no doubt inspired by the Ludwig Speed King and Star had their “PRO PEDAL”, and there is even a “TOP PEDAL” out there. Not to be outdone Gracy via Yan Drum had their “FOOT PEDAL”
Read moreGracy Snare Drum
For me this drum is a keeper, it has so many of the things I look for in a snare drum, thin shell, solid lugs, stick-saver hoops, a reliable strainer, and a stunning wrap. If you find a Gracy like this one out there, I highly recommend!
Read moreThe Wish Book Stencils
Sears not only owned the Sears brand name, but they also owned the Silvertone name which they used for musical instruments and their electronics, but they were also okay with not branding their instruments at all. In fact, most of the drums that came through Sears had no branding at all.
Read moreChris Partridge; Stencil Drum Hero
Now what got me here was my habit of always being on the lookout for drums, especially the stencils, and there were several drum sets that were used on the show, each season this poor struggling family found a way to get a different drum kit.
Read moreMIJ and Beyond
Possibly my favorite is this Rocket badge. This specific badge is my recreation of a pretty rare badge out there, but they nailed that cartoon rocket shape that were found in many toys and comic books in that era. In my searches I could not find any single industry that had so many products that hitched on to space related themes. So it’s official; MIJ Drums are the champions of the universe!
Read moreMIJ Stencil Strainers
Most of the things I write about are just stating the facts as I have found them, but this one is purely an opinion piece, and just for fun.
Read moreRare Little Drum
This beautiful drum was made by Star as part of their “Midget” line. Most commonly seen as part of a four-piece “Low-Teen” drum outfit, they were also sold as individual snare drums.
Read moreThe R-360 By Rogers "Semi-stencil"
I personally think the Semistencil nickname is appropriate for the R-360 & R-380 by Rogers
Read moreEarly Apollo Snare Drum
In an effort to show what is less seen, I offer you another one of my favorites. This gold sparkle Apollo, which was made by Star in the early 1960’s
Read moreWhite Pearls of Japan
In the MIJ world there is a tendency to lump all the drums together. Some of it is from the old myths of them being made in the same factory or a shared factory, but in reality the connections between companies was very small, even the smallest common screw seem to be a little different. This even extends to the wraps, where similar, but not the same, seems to be the rule.
Read moreThe Tama King-Beat Bass Drum Pedal
The King-Beat was one of the most heavy-dutiest of any pedal made by anyone. This became their flagship pedal up through 1983
Read moreStar/Tama Pearl Fantasia Snare Drum
Some of the most attractive things about the vintage Japanese drums were the great wraps. One of the most original and desirable wraps is Star’s Pearl Fantasia.
Read moreJapanese Heavy Metal
Sorry to disappoint the fans of X Japan and Loudness, this is all about the vintage heavy 10 lug steel shell snare drums made in Japan. These snares are often overlooked in the MIJ drum world because of all of the great wrapped wood snares overshadowing them, but these drums have their place as well, especially if you rock!
Read moreDonn Bennett : Preserving The Legacy Of Elvin Jones
When jazz drumming giant Elvin Jones passed away in 2004, his wife Keiko was left with the daunting task of handling his vast estate. Elvin had two apartments in New York City. He and Keiko lived in one; and the other was strictly for his drums.
Read moreWoolworth's Audition Drums
Woolworth’s did sell drums for many years, but unlike the other big department stores, they were not a catalog company by which we could document what and when they sold drums. So all we have are the drums themselves to tell the story.
Read moreThe Snare Drum Outfit
Many of us share the introduction into the drumming world with that first snare drum, or if you are one of the fortunate ones, the “Snare Drum Outfit”!
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