Vintage Pearl kit! Second Opinions?

[daynnethedrummer]

Scored on what the dealership and I both believe to be a 1968 Pearl Super Deluxe kit. Pretty good drums, I've gotta say. Thin, mahogany shells. If they are indeed luan, they've been treated in such a way that they are rock solid, because there isn't anything soft about this wood. They really sing. The wrap shows it's age, as it's faded in some spots, but the shells are like new! The bearing edges are flawless, and there's no warping or wood flaking around any drilled hardware. The shells really resonate, and have a nice warm sound to 'em. 14"x5.5" snare, 13"x9" rack tom, 16"x16" floor tom, 22"x14" bass drum.
I'm VERY pleased with the way they sound. Great vintage tone. They kind of remind me of my old Rogers kit I used to have.

The only thing that really holds me back from definitively saying "THESE ARE '68 SUPER DELUXE'S" is that the finish doesn't really match anything I've seen on catalog. I'd describe it as a gold or champagne sparkle finish, but the only remotely comparable finishes I've seen are an orange sparkle and a silver sparkle. Could be that it's aged to look this way; I guess; but I really doubt it. The color of the wrap is far too even around the shell for it to have faded from sunlight, so I dunno. The other thing is that (although I've seen it before), the badge doesn't match anything I have found on record (though admittedly, I haven't dug too deep) but the logos on the hardware all match the era. So I'd like some more insight on them, if at all possible.

Either way, you can tell these were built to be a higher end kit and I'm really happy with them. I brought these home for $300. Couldn't be more thrilled.

 

[Matt Bo Eder]

Classic! Congrats! Maybe it was a special run of champagne sparkle back in the day? Champagne sparkle wasn't really rare and Pearl could have done a few just to put out there. I know Ludwig and Slingerland both were making drums in colors that weren't in their catalogs back in the 60s and 70s for sure, so maybe that's the same with your kit. Post a video!

 

[T.Underhill]

First thing, I can't find a Pearl badge that looks like that. Strange.

From what I've found it looks like a President outfit, not Super Deluxe. The lugs don't match of the SD kits listed in the 67-69 catalogs. Take a look
http://pearldrum.com/support/product-catalogs/1967-68-general-catalog.pdf

That era offered gold, silver, and pink sparkle finishes all of which might have been used between years although they weren't in the catalog. Have you removed any of the hardware? That will show the most true color of the wrap. You'd also be surprised what wraps can do...I've had silver Slingerlands turn yellow. Almost unrecognizable.

 

[daynnethedrummer]

First thing, I can't find a Pearl badge that looks like that. Strange.

From what I've found it looks like a President outfit, not Super Deluxe. The lugs don't match of the SD kits listed in the 67-69 catalogs. Take a look
http://pearldrum.com/support/product-catalogs/1967-68-general-catalog.pdf

That era offered gold, silver, and pink sparkle finishes all of which might have been used between years although they weren't in the catalog. Have you removed any of the hardware? That will show the most true color of the wrap. You'd also be surprised what wraps can do...I've had silver Slingerlands turn yellow. Almost unrecognizable.

It really is strange. This isn't the first time I've seen that badge either. There was an old chrome snare drum with that badge that I played back in high school, years ago. It looks quite a bit like the President, I will admit, but I don't know about the plastic fiber bit. They're definitely mahogany. There's even a knot in the innermost ply of the rack tom XD
I like your idea though. I'll take off a lug when I get a chance and check out the wrap.

I wish I could take a video of it, but unfortunately the only means I have of doing that is via a crappy cell phone camera, lol. I don't think that'd do it justice.

 

[Larry]

The President kit shown in the catalog that Mr. Underhill provided is the only one with lugs like that.

Plus the bass drum spurs are a spot on match, different than the Super Deluxe.

Maybe it's from 1970. (The lettering on the badges reminds me of the lettering from The Beatles "Yellow Submarine".)

 

[daynnethedrummer]

I found a thread all about this, complete with video! Makes for an interesting read.

https://www.pearldrummersforum.com/showthread.php?271558-Rare-badge-from-1970ish-please-help-ID-GENE

Apparently they ARE Presidents. Phenolic shells (which admittedly I haven't heard of before), according to a quick google image search. Could've fooled me though. They really look like they have a grain.

I've attached a couple images from my phone. They're pretty low res, and the lighting is pretty bad too. The pictures make it look like the bearing edges are lighter colored than the rest. That isn't the case. Everything is a dark brown color like that.

Either way, it sounds like I have a rare find on my hands

 

[T.Underhill]

Sweet find! It's always fun to track down exactly what you have.

In regards to your finish question I hope you find the answer. For reference to that time period take a look at President model snare I sold a while back. You can see how the wrap turned brownish compared to the bright green on the bottom under the hoop which is sticking out a bit.

 

[daynnethedrummer]

I popped off a lug. It looks the same underneath.

Also, I gotta say. I don't think I'll touch it, because original hardware really adds to the value, but... I really don't like bass drum spurs. It makes it wobble and I would imagine it'll ultimately damage the shell.

 

[Push pull stroke]

I found a thread all about this, complete with video! Makes for an interesting read.



Apparently they ARE Presidents. Phenolic shells...
Either way, it sounds like I have a rare find on my hands

How do they sound, though?

 

[daynnethedrummer]

They've got a lot of cut and projection. But they're surprisingly warm and fat at the same time. They resonate really well. They're currently tuned a lot higher than I normally would tune a drum but they still have a lot of bottom end, and the bass drum is surprisingly Bonham-esque for it's size. I'd attribute that to how dense, thin, and shallow it is. The snare really has a good crack to it and is pretty sensitive.

They won't be leaving my possession anytime soon, that's for sure.

 

[Matt Bo Eder]

I popped off a lug. It looks the same underneath.

Also, I gotta say. I don't think I'll touch it, because original hardware really adds to the value, but... I really don't like bass drum spurs. It makes it wobble and I would imagine it'll ultimately damage the shell.

Perhaps you could do a re-drill and install new Pearl spurs - I love those SP-30 ones they use on the Reference Pure drums - I think that's an upgrade that everyone would understand, even if you decided to keep them museum quality.

 

[FreDrummer]

They've got a lot of cut and projection...

Nice looking kit and a great score. Yes, I would imagine -- like any acrylic or fibreglass drum -- they have great projection.

BTW, is that a new (taller) snare stand on your PDP kit?

 

[Icetech]

Very pretty kit.. hope you enjoy them for years

 

[daynnethedrummer]

Nice looking kit and a great score. Yes, I would imagine -- like any acrylic or fibreglass drum -- they have great projection.

BTW, is that a new (taller) snare stand on your PDP kit?

Haha, nope that's the same stand with a 6.5" deep snare on it to make up for how short it is. I do have a different snare stand for the new Pearl kit (it's a concert stand), but frankly it's cheap junk. I can't even adjust it to sit how I would prefer XD
I guess that's the price of using bottom dollar hardware.

 

[Tom M.]

Scored on what the dealership and I both believe to be a 1968 Pearl Super Deluxe kit. Pretty good drums, I've gotta say. Thin, mahogany shells. If they are indeed luan, they've been treated in such a way that they are rock solid, because there isn't anything soft about this wood. They really sing. The wrap shows it's age, as it's faded in some spots, but the shells are like new! The bearing edges are flawless, and there's no warping or wood flaking around any drilled hardware. The shells really resonate, and have a nice warm sound to 'em. 14"x5.5" snare, 13"x9" rack tom, 16"x16" floor tom, 22"x14" bass drum.
I'm VERY pleased with the way they sound. Great vintage tone. They kind of remind me of my old Rogers kit I used to have.

The only thing that really holds me back from definitively saying "THESE ARE '68 SUPER DELUXE'S" is that the finish doesn't really match anything I've seen on catalog. I'd describe it as a gold or champagne sparkle finish, but the only remotely comparable finishes I've seen are an orange sparkle and a silver sparkle. Could be that it's aged to look this way; I guess; but I really doubt it. The color of the wrap is far too even around the shell for it to have faded from sunlight, so I dunno. The other thing is that (although I've seen it before), the badge doesn't match anything I have found on record (though admittedly, I haven't dug too deep) but the logos on the hardware all match the era. So I'd like some more insight on them, if at all possible.

Either way, you can tell these were built to be a higher end kit and I'm really happy with them. I brought these home for $300. Couldn't be more thrilled.

I just stumbled upon your post from 2016 while doing research on my 1967 super deluxe set. I know for certain that I have a 67 because it was originally purchased by my father back in 67. The badging for some reason does not look the same. I am in the middle of refurbishing my set as the have been in storage for over 30 years. Did you have to replace any of the hardware on yours? And if so did you have any luck finding original lugs/claws ect... mine has a few spots where corrosion has ate away at the finish on the lugs and if I need to replace I was hoping on some insight on where to look for these items. Attached are pictures of the pieces in various states of restoration.