1960's Zim Gar Drums

[quinntheeskimo]

Has anybody ever heard of this brand, or know any history/endorsers? My kit is a 4 piece blue sparkle (20/12/16/w matching 14x5). The 8-lug snare has a microsensitive-esque strainer w/ adjustable butt. Die cast hoops on snare & toms. Really nice punchy sounding kit.

[Webmaster]

Well, this is a Japanese Import brand. I get these questions a lot on the main web site. Mainly because the Japanese were importing drums under at least 30 different names.

Mainly companies like we know now as Pearl and Tama were a big part of it.

Here is the page to the Japanese Badges

http://www.vintagesnaredrums.com/japanese_badges.html

It sounds like your set has been upgraded on the hoops since Japanese imports had cheap hardware. With that said most of the time they were copying American drum companies to take part of the market in the 60's and 70's. Hence the strainer similarity you mentioned.

I'm sure they sold tons of drums since many people could not afford a new set of Slingerlands or Ludwigs etc...

The wood grain on the shells interior should run up and down. Unless these might be a newer version or better shells.

David
Webmaster

[CowboyNeal76]

These drums were even worse than US Mercury{***-import}.
I know of NO endorsers, they were basicly BOTTOM OF THE BARREL,
If your folks could NOT afford a descent student level drum set THIS IS WHAT YOU GOT !!

Sorry to say, they are basicly worthless !flower Toilet Toilet


//

[Blue Note]

Were these japanese import drums imported in the US by american dealers?
Does import always means low budget?
As for the quality of hardware, it seems time has changed. Most american drum companies don't use any american made hardware anymore on their drums. All of the hardware is Taiwan made and of lower quality as on japanese drums. Japanese companies are always in developement and invent genious hardware systems while american companies often stay old-fashioned at this point.

[Webmaster]

Lots of good questions and Yes, I would imagine American stores
would order through their normal music distributor. The distributor
was probably responsible for ordering from overseas.

That is a good question and I can only speculate.

Back in the 60's I think Import did mean low quality. I have a little article on the web site from a Pearl employee. He discusses the word "Export" and how it applied to the drums that they were making at that time in the 80's.

Click Here (http://www.vintagesnaredrums.com/other_stuff/roy_holliday/roy_index.html)

I have always been impressed with Yamaha and Tama hardware and the inventions they had in hardware.

Early on the overseas companies were copying American drums and when they realized that quality was important they started creating there own patents and unique hardware.

I is much cheaper for current companies to use hardware that is from overseas then make their own stuff.

We do see a trend for simpler lighter hardware in the industry and the day of the 80's and 90's double braced heavy duty stands is taking a back seat.

I'm sure others in the business can shed more light on this topic.

David

[Blue Note]

Thank you for responding.

Tama and Yamaha indeed do a lot of good inventions. Also Pearl is a leader on that field. I own a Pearl Masters Mahogany Classic jazz set wich is wonderfull. I also have a Gretsch renown maple jazz set. Both sounding great, but the Pearl hardware works better. I visited the Gretsch website and discovered that they recently made some upgrades on hardware.
It's a pitty that almost all of the hardware isn't made of real metal (iron?) anymore but of an alloy called "zamac" wich is not so durable and the layer of chrome is less thick and less beautifull put on.

[big daddy]

I've heard (and this is only hearsay) that Zim-Gar were basically Tama, before they started using the Tama name. As stated, it's likely that they (early Tama) were making drums under many names. My first kit was a Cortley. Although it was a low-end/low-price import, they seem to be fairly decent quality as they have lasted over 20 years and are still in use to this day (by my nephew).

[ARCHxANGEL]

First off here is a list of many if not all of the 60's stencil kits.

Pearl and Tama 60's distributors and stencil brands:

Apollo
Artist
Asama
Bolero
Barclay
BlacKJack Deluxe
Bradley
CB-700
Champion
Coronet
Crest
Crestline
Crown
Decca
DelRay
Dixie
Dixon
Drum Trio
DrumMate
Edgeware
Emperado
Gamble
Goldtone
Heit
HyLo
Ideal
Kingston
LaBoz
Lido
Lyra
Magnum
Majestic
Matador
Maxitone
Maxwin
Mayfair
Mica Norma
Olympian
Paramount
Polaris
Prestige
Raven
Recco
Pro
Regent
Revelle
Revere
Roxy ? (may be German)
RoyalStar
Penncrest
Saturn
Sound
Star
Starlight
Stewart
St. George
Stetson
Telestar
Tempro
Toreador
Truetone
Trump
UltraTone
U.S. Mercury
Vibra
Weltron
Werco
Westwood
Whitehall
Winston
ZimGar

I actually enjoy and collect kits of this nature. While no they are not " the best " of the best...they do have meaning to me..and they are a part of drum history. Would you actually believe that CB ( under Kamam ) made the Free-Floating snare first and sold it to Pearl? They did.I wouldn't say these drums are worthless. More and more people are buying them since they are being tossed away,mega-modified with holes,and being cut,etc...And honestly comparing the 60's - 70's stencil kits to kits of this type made these days. The older kits are better. They generally had the right number of lugs on all drums and had some care invested in them. These days there are kits with 8 lugs on a 13" tom..10 on the 16" floor tom and maybe 12 on a 22" bass drum. And the drums are made from ply-wood. A friend of mine a few years back gave me his groove percussion kit as he was gonna just throw it out but figured maybe I could use parts or do whatever with it. I had to drill new holes for all the lugs and buy all new ones as the ones on the kit would snap when you would tune the drum.And all I kept thinking was my U.S.Mercury,Tempro,etc...never gave me this grief,nor anyone else.But to re-cap no their not great kits and not top of the line. But with good heads,good bearing edges and proper tuning they sound really good.

[Webmaster]

Nice list. I have been working on collecting images for badges for many years so if you take a look at my badges you might see a few you do not have. If you have badge images please send them and I can add them to the web site.

Here is a link to the main badge page (http://www.vintagesnaredrums.com/snare_badges.html#). Click on the Apollo badge.

I will keep you list on file for the badge page, since so many people ask questions about Japanese sets and what they are worth etc..

David
webmaster
vsd@vintagesnaredrums.com

[ARCHxANGEL]

The only badges I have are from my Tempro and U.S.Mercury kits. The tempro badge you have pictured already but i'll definatly take a pic of the U.S.mercury badge for you.Most of my kits are badgeless.But sometimes Misc drums can yield a hidden treasure. A few years back I bought a 60's used 3 piece kit. 20" bass,14" floor tom,and a 12" tom. I had no idea what make they were and got the set for $40...so it was a good deal either way.After some research...and severe ebay looking I determined its a 60's Yamaha kit. I found out by the lug design as they were very odd sized and odd looking.In the few years I have onwed the kit I have seen maybe two listed on ebay and know one person who owns one.They are rare to the point where the Yamaha head-quarters in Cali doesn't even have a kit for display,lol. I noticed one on here and would love to pay the $400 for it ( well worth it ) but alas I don't have room for kit 16....as it is...I'm gonna have a hard time finding a place for my 06' Peace endorsement kit which is gonna be a 12 piece,lol.

[2drum2]

Hello People
Has anyone ever heard of CONTINENTAL DRUMS. I have a set that was purchased in 1978 and I can't find anything on these. I ran across this cool site http://www.georgesdrumshop.com/t-faq7.aspx
I can send pictures and more info if anyone is interested in seeing these. Just send me a email.
Thanx for any help.
Joe

[ARCHxANGEL]

Well Joe thats the list,lol. With a few names such as Continental missing from it.Basically Continental is the same as the Zim-Gar drums that were talked about.A basic 60's stencil kit.Nothing grand or extravagant about them but decent drums none the less.If you could I would love to see a few photos.Maybe your kit has something rare to it.A few weeks ago I saw a U.S.Merury snare drum that had an origional Psychadelic wrap....rare to say the least.

[2drum2]

Yes I know. I'd give anything to find and old ad or catalog on these things. Drop me a line if you want. The blue drums are the original drums I got in 1978. The silver kit are the same exact drums I bought a couple years ago, I recently did a re-wrap on them, using a silver sparkle, and I made a ludwig logo for the front kick head. cleaned all the hardware and they ROCK!!
take care
joe

[ARCHxANGEL]

Definatly two very nice kits.The blue one looks exactly the same as my U.S.Mercury kit only my kits is red and yours is blue,lol.Same lugs,mounting hardware,style badge,i'll bet the wood is the same as well.Unfortunatly I don't think many ctalogs or ads were put out for alot of these kits.Some we just a few runs or less.I'll keep an eye out though for any ads or catalogs that include Continental in them.

[Rich K.]

My first set was a Mica Swingline in WMP. 20, 12, 14 with a snare, but my dad (cheaskate) traded in the snare because I had one already. Price was $99 in 1968.
Nowadays, in comparative dollars, entry level sets are much more playable and actually cost less if you factor in inflation.

[2drum2]

Greatly appreciated. You know I love these drums so much I keep an eye on ebay and I have my wife calling me when she hits the yard sales and thrift stores.
I have been playing mine at band practice and they sound good. I'm actually thinking about playing the silver kit at my next gig.

[wayne]

Amen!! To That

[waderandolph]

Hey guys, sorry to resurrect this old thread, but I have an old Japanese set, a Revelle five-piece. It's been sitting in my parents' basement for years and now the neighbor-kid is learning how to play.

I'd give him the set for free but my parents are old and cheap. How much could I sell this to him for without feeling like I ripped him off? 100 bucks?

I also have a few cymbals (non-vintage) that maybe you could help me price for him as well, I don't know if the zildjians are K's or what:

12" zildjian splash
14" zildjian crash
16" zildjian crash/ride (pretty old)
and 14" AA Sabian hi-hat

I just really want to let this kid get started. It's not good for this stuff to be sitting in a basement not getting played. Thanks in advance.

[Bebop]

Hey guys, sorry to resurrect this old thread, but I have an old Japanese set, a Revelle five-piece. It's been sitting in my parents' basement for years and now the neighbor-kid is learning how to play.

I'd give him the set for free but my parents are old and cheap. How much could I sell this to him for without feeling like I ripped him off? 100 bucks?

I also have a few cymbals (non-vintage) that maybe you could help me price for him as well, I don't know if the zildjians are K's or what:

12" zildjian splash
14" zildjian crash
16" zildjian crash/ride (pretty old)
and 14" AA Sabian hi-hat

I just really want to let this kid get started. It's not good for this stuff to be sitting in a basement not getting played. Thanks in advance.
$100 bucks would be fine. That's the normal price for stencil kits.
I dunno about the cymbals, although I have been looking for a 12
splash and a 16" zildjian crash/ride for awhile if there's anyway I could
take them off your hands...

[zimgar123]

yeah i have zim gar bass drum that i bought from a fellow just a week ago.
i bought it from a location all the way up in NEW JERSEY.
and i was told that zim gar was a company in brooklyn newyork back in the 60's
pretty cool huh?
everyones always syaing how crappy their kit is or w.e
but
i was suprised by the sound and tone i got out of this 20" bass.
i want to continue this thread cause i nkow therse more zim gar users out there.
when i got it out ofthe box it came with some olldddd heads.
which i swapped out with a remo ambasador and aquarian superkick 2.
the sound is GREAT
its nice a punchy;
exactly the old tone i was llooking for in a tiny jazz kit.
ZIM GAR is great.
no lie.
and the cosmetics.
i guess i was fortunate i didnt have to do to much to this bass drum.
well; the old wrap is still nice and tight; nothing wrong with it at all.
stil shiny.
the hoops? well their wood thats all i know. and i have this one lug design where you dont need a tuning key to tune it; theres some key built into the tension rods. and thats pretty cool. it gets the tone nice and tight for you.
these drums dont need any muffling.
like any drum; changing the heads is a great idea.
if you want pics.
email me.
or visit my myspace.
type in miracleboy14 after the this myspace.com/my user thingy.
if ucant see it cause its set on private or w.e
request me or w.e and i have sound clips and videos and pics of this 20 inch 60's bass.
its amazing.
u have to hear it and see it.

[Jordan557]

does anybody know where i can get another "lyra" badge for my 1960 snare drum?

[George Lawrence]

Zim Gars were imported from Japan by the Garfield Zimmerman company in NY, a music distributor. The drums were made by Hoshino, the same company that later produced and still produces Tama drums. The drums were of varying quality from the cheapest crap to some fairly decent maple shells of midline quality. George

Has anybody ever heard of this brand, or know any history/endorsers? My kit is a 4 piece blue sparkle (20/12/16/w matching 14x5). The 8-lug snare has a microsensitive-esque strainer w/ adjustable butt. Die cast hoops on snare & toms. Really nice punchy sounding kit.

[Olimpass]

Here's a Pic of a Zim-Gar badge. I've seen recently on ebay. It was on a floor tom being sold with a Stewart kit.