Well, I did go and see the kit yesterday, and to be honest, as soon as I was led down to the basement area and saw the kit sitting there, I think my jaw must have hit the ground! They were better than i could ever have hoped for. The condition is staggering.
Apart from a couple of very small indentation lines on the rear of the 12" tom, likely from the snare, they are almost mint.
The chrome has little or no pitting or rust at all, in fact if it wasn't for a couple of tiny blemishes, I'd swear they were brand new.
The inside of the shells are all date stamped from August and September 1968, and in perfect condition.
My main concern was that it was going to be a re-wrapped kit. The wrap is bang on what Ringo's looks like, and has a beautiful silvery-grey tone along with the black. I still have a nagging fear of it being a re-wrap, but i don't belive there's any material out there that comes this close to the original. Plus, there is no evidence of any badges being removed, and the wrap is absolutely perfectly seated on the shell, with no bubbling or lifting. I did take the heads off and I'm not sure if the wrap is imbedded in the scarf joint or not.
I was shocked when I got home and compared the 13" tom with the same from my Legacy (Vintage Oyster Black). The Legacy tom is not even close to the original. From a distance yes, but has waaayyy too much blue in it.
Anyway, here's some pics after setting it up in the configuration that will be mostly used....Beatle Tribute Band.
I really think I got a steal at $1600....oh, and he also threw in a 1960's Speed King pedal in awesome condition!
Cheers
Phil
