MIJ stencil v.1 "Custum" red sparkle set

[cn679]

We've got a new name to add to the expansive list of Japanese stencil kits! I present to you this recently brought back to life 'Custum' drum set in red sparkle.

9104

9105

9106

9107

This is my first attempt at restoring a vintage set. It is nearly complete, just need some spurs for the bass drum and maybe a bass drum anchor. Bought the bass and toms for a whopping 70 dollars and found the snare later for $45, I think.

The bearing edges on the reso side of the BD and toms had a bit of damage and were pretty rough, but I did some repairs and sanded them smooth. I was surprised when I got heads on them that they tuned up so easily (and without mufflers!) Bought hoops for the reso sides. Put emperors on the toms batter side and medium clear on the reso side. Amb on snare, PS3 on bass batter and the original head as a bass reso. The set was in pretty bad shape when I bought it, and there are plenty of scratches and pitting on hardware, but the rust is gone. I think it looks pretty decent at this point, and it sounds much better than I expected given the shape it was in (I should have taken some 'before' shots). The rail consolette is pretty useless to me (anyone have any tips on how to get these things to work?) and the snare is getting a lot of sympathetic ring from the rack tom, but all in all, for around $130 and the cost of new heads, this is a pretty fun set.

[Ralf]

Hi,

the tom lugs are exactly (or copies of?) Pearl President parts.

Why doesn't the rail consolette work? What's wrong with it?

And: 'Custum': one more of those ridiculous Japanese fantasy drum names.
Never heard of ...

Ralf

[Jaye]

Congrats ! Nice rehab ! 'CUSTUM'...hehehe...I love it.

Are all drums badged ? I ask because the lugs on the toms and the lugs on the bass are different. They are definitely all vintage Japanese, but the bass ones look like Star, while the tom ones, as mentioned, appear to be Pearl President or Tempro. It may be that this was a mix-'n-match kit. No matter, as the drums were pretty much all the same spec back then, anyway.

The consolette rail...hehehe...I may be the only person in the world who actually Likes 'em. But I understand your frustration...they were basically just tension-screw adjusted bent metal, not anymore sophisticated than plumbing pipes...so, some work well, some don't.

If it is just rough and hard to screw/unscrew, then using some PT Blaster (it's like WD40, but better (and smellier) may loosen things up for you).

If not, then take the upper portion OFF the kit and store it somewhere, leave the rail portion On (they make great handles when you are moving the drum).

Yes, once the edges are fined a bit, the sound on these old '60's-70's Japanese kits improves immensely. Your head choice is pretty spot-on, too.

Enjoy.

[wayne]

Im actually going to be putting an effort into collecting these old Japanese kits,i just love them now,and thats a 180degree turn around for me.The toms and kick sound so mellow but i will add,i will certainly use my best snare drums with these.Yes Sir

[Jaye]

Well, it's certainly a cost-effective hobby, because they never seem to sell for much.

Just FYI (not that you necessarily want to)...but recutting the bearing edges to a sharper edge will make these sorta drums "punch" a bit more.

They are fun old kits...but as you said, not very loud....

[wayne]

Thx Jaye,but loud is what i dont need anymore.Im micd at rehearsals as well so i dont need to hit very hard.I let the drums do the "singing".

[cn679]

Hey, thanks everyone for your responses!

Let's see... yes, I am aware that the lugs are different on the bass drum. I think you are right and it may be a Star brand; it is painted gray on the inside but the toms are not. I bought a set of matching bass drum lugs off ebay but the screw holes are spaced about 1/8'' too wide and I was NOT going to drill more holes. So I just left the lugs on it. Maybe the wider spaced lugs were for 22'' bass drums. The only badge is on the rack tom, but I'm pretty sure the floor and the rack tom were from the original set. If anyone is interested I could post some pics of the inside of the toms.

The rail consolette wont stay tight enough to really hit the rack tom. And when I attach the tom it kind of sags and wont stay 'up' enough. It's frustrating because I would prefer to use it over a stand, but I need the set to play and be solid. Might the incompatibility between the mount and the tom come from the fact that they are slightly different designs from different companies?

I agree that the snares are the weak link with these drums. I usually play a supra or another Taiwanese snare I have. But I do like that I have a 'matching' snare with the kit (OCD kind of thing, I guess.)

I also dont mind that these are not super loud, generally speaking. I think it kind of adds to the character of the drums, and I can always hit harder. The bass drum has a pretty good boom to it, however.

As for collecting these drums, I am all for it. I have no problem with some kid taking a Chinese set and painting it death metal black and drilling holes all over it if they want, but I think the MIJ stuff is generally higher quality than has been given credit for and these things deserve to be rescued, set up for optimal sound and playability, and sold for modest prices so someone can get themselves into a decent vintage set for a fraction of the cost of a Lud/Sling/Rogers. I would like to say, for the record, that I dont think there is a lot of money to be made in the restoration and reselling of these sets, because new hoops, heads, springs, lugs, tension rods, and inserts can definitely add up to more than the initial cost of the set and not necessarily translate to an equal increase in the value of the finished set. Fixing these up is a labor of love. That said, this is just volume one. I have a few more of these sets that I'll be sharing with the forum down the road. Dont want to spoil the anticipation (ha!), but there will be some WMP and gold sparkle!

[Rob G.]

Mij Wmp? :D

[Ralf]

'... And when I attach the tom it kind of sags and wont stay 'up' enough. It's frustrating ...'

That must not be. I üersonally have a similar construction and it can be fixed steadfast.
As far as I can see on one of the pics, the 'flexible' part of the clip which fixes the arm on the rail consolette is too tight to the other clip side. So you can't put more power on the fixing screw as the metal parts are in touch. I guess, if you give the 'flexible' part of the clip a more flat curve by pressing it (carefully) in a bench vice, you create more space between the two clip parts and the screw (should be a stainless steel one) can put more pressure on the clip parts.

... hope I can be understood ...?!

Ralf

[jonnistix]

Nice job! I have a little "red rocket" single ply snare with rerings that really cleaned up and tuned up nicely. And being a single ply, with 45 bearing edges, makes this one hard to find drum. They were not known to last. Look at the rail on my Majestic. You may need to grab a new set of bolts, and maybe try a different L arm as they used two sizes. One being a hair narrower than the other. I too am starting to "collect" the Japanese sets. They are cool! And do yourself a favor. If you see one of the "Made In Japan" steel snares for cheap, grab it. They sound really good. I mean scary good, if taken care of. I picked one up for like $18 on eBay, and it came to me in almost new condition, and it is a 72 model. It sings like some of those $500 drums. Some people are laughing at that statement, but until you tune one up yourself, you'll never know. And they can be had for a song. Make sure it looks like the one in the picture, not the CB, or Dixon or any those. It has to be the one with the round blue blue badge. Ask Poppy, he has one.
These are actually a matched set, the bass has faded badly, and the original snare is on the couch, behind my son. Have fun with it!

[jonnistix]

The rail consolette wont stay tight enough to really hit the rack tom. And when I attach the tom it kind of sags and wont stay 'up' enough. It's frustrating because I would prefer to use it over a stand, but I need the set to play and be solid. Might the incompatibility between the mount and the tom come from the fact that they are slightly different designs from different companies?
I see the possible problem with your rail consolette.Sumo Dude The "arm" is two piece. Over the years it most likely has spread slightly and just won't tighten up. You could try some bench work, or better, watch ebay, they show up quite frequently in other configurations, like the one on mine that wraps around. Tell you what, if I find an arm that has a blade on either side, I'll get the extra one to you.
As for the shells, the bass is a Star line, maybe Stewart? Zimgar? Who knows. Another hint for you concerning those reworked edges, take some candle wax and burnish them in real good. It will give those heads a little more wiggle room. I treated all of mine after reworking and they sing now. It makes it easier to tune in either direction, and after I did the snare, some of the ring went away. I am replacing all of my heads with single ply as that is what these edges were designed for. The old single ply "Soundmaster" heads that came on them still have a minute or two left in them, only after I waxed the edges do they resonate again.

[Jaye]

'... And when I attach the tom it kind of sags and wont stay 'up' enough. It's frustrating ...'

That must not be. I üersonally have a similar construction and it can be fixed steadfast.


Dammit...I want an umlaut on MY keyboard !!!!!!

[jonnistix]

http://cgi.ebay.com/GENERIC-TOM-HOLDER-PART_W0QQitemZ230379645419QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_De faultDomain_0?hash=item35a3b269eb&_trksid=p4999.c0.m1

Here is a tom arm that will work for you!