I don't think the "US" in "US Mercury" indicates the country of origin. It looks Japanese from my childhood years.

Japanese-kit built to look like a Slingy knock-off.

MIJ, probably cheap luan wood. Save your money.

Well some of those old MIJ's really don't sound bad when tuned properly.

BTW It says Made In Japan on the badge;)

Obviously, I knew they were made in Japan from the tag. But that's all I knew, and my understanding is that some of these 60's/70's Japanese knock-offs are actually decent, though most of them are junk. I was looking for some help as to which category these fit in (decent or junk).

"US Mercury" but made in Japan? Now that's clever.

Kinda like Pete Best's "Best of The Beatles" album that came out in 1965 to capitalize on his former band's popularity :)

They're really only junk if they're warped/out-of-round and/or falling apart. The kit you posted looks in fine shape and worth 175, but try to get em for 150 anyway...:)

+1 on DownTownFarmer`s comments.With proper tuning and a little muffling it`s amazing how these MIJ`s can sound esp,from the 60`s/70`s.

Wayne

I agree! I have a Stewart kit from this era (same factory, badge, lugs etc) and the kick and toms have a nice tone. Great for medium volume gigs. Wooden MIJ snare can't handle much tension, I'm sure the aluminium one with this kit is decent.